Baker County Community Childcare Collaborative to Open Fall 2021
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Monday, April 26th, 2021 in Eastern/Southeast Oregon News More Top Stories
BAKER COUNTY – (Release provided by the Baker County YMCA) Baker County residents will have more childcare options this Fall when The Baker County YMCA opens a new childcare center on the campus of the Baker Early Learning Center. The childcare center is a community-wide, collaborative effort to address a critical need for both families andemployers. This new childcare resource is expected to open by September 2021.
“We look forward to providing high-quality, dependable childcare to local families who need it,” says Rob Wilkinson ofBaker County YMCA. “Parents and other caregivers will be able to work productively throughout the community withoutworrying about the care of those most precious to them.”
This new childcare center is the result of tremendous community support. The Baker School District will provide the facility and custodial needs of the new childcare center on the Baker Early Learning Center campus. The Baker County YMCA will provide staffing and programming, with ongoing financial support from Saint Alphonsus Medical Center and Wilson Cattle Company. Additionally, start-up resources have been contributed by St. Luke’s Health System and The Ford Family Foundation, and investments in a playground to be shared by all Baker Early Learning Center students is made possible by Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative, InterMountain Education Service District, Eastern Oregon UniversityHead Start, and Chaves Consulting.
Baker County has been referred to as a “childcare desert” with only 20% of the childcare need currently being met according to Eastern Oregon Child Care Resources. A Community Health Needs Assessment recently conducted by St.Alphonsus Medical Center also recognizes childcare as a central need not currently being met, and results from a localcommunity survey agree with this finding.
As the need for additional childcare resources has grown, community leaders have come together to help meet the need.
“We are honored to be a partner in providing this additional resource to the families in our community,” says Baker Early Learning Center Director, Angela Lattin. “The collaboration involved in meeting this need has been inspiring.”
The community childcare center is expected to serve families with infants to school-aged children during the standard work week, with hope of expanded hours in the future.
If you are interested in this childcare resource, please contact the Baker County YMCA by calling 541-523-9622.
About the Baker County YMCA
Baker County YMCA consistently exceeds community needs by creating valued programs and partnerships that nurturethe potential of youth, promote healthy living, create a sense of social responsibility and demonstrate solid financial stewardship.
