The child care crisis can’t be solved in one sweeping action. There are numerous components to the complex issue; each must be addressed with the same urgency.

Specific, deliberate steps to increase flexibility in the workplace for parents with young children are necessary along with opening more child care facilities to accommodate those children and finding qualified caregivers.

Although more needs done, entities in Terre Haute have taken solid steps when it comes to increasing available child care spots. Indiana State University is renovating its Chestnut Building to house its Early Childhood Education Development Center. The move has many benefits, including an updated facility as well as added capacity for high-quality child care serving both ISU and the community. In addition, funding to build a new Chances and Services for Youth child care center is coming in quickly thanks to Brandon Halleck, CASY’s chief operating officer. Both projects are being supported in part by American Rescue Plan Act funding.

Now, Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded Ivy Tech Foundation a $21.9 million, three-year grant to support the efforts of Ivy Tech Community College to help strengthen Indiana’s early childhood education workforce.

The grant should affect every area of the state as Ivy Tech becomes a player in boosting the caregiver support network needed to help solve the child care crisis.

This funding will support programs and partnerships that will expand options for and improve access to high-quality post-secondary education and training for current and future early childhood education professionals, Ivy Tech said in a recent news release.

Indiana’s current supply of well-qualified early childhood education professionals is inadequate, leaving communities unable to provide high-quality care options. Demand for these professionals is expected to keep growing.

The college expects to increase enrollment in its early childhood education programs by more than 100% by 2027, ultimately graduating 1,950 individuals annually, thanks to the grant.

That’s a lot of caregivers.

“As Indiana’s workforce engine, Ivy Tech has a responsibility to fuel the state’s pipeline of skilled early childhood education talent,” said Dr. Sue Ellspermann, president of Ivy Tech, in a news release. “We are grateful for the generous support from Lilly Endowment that is enabling us to remove barriers to education and training for early childhood educators. However, we also recognize more must be done to attract and retain talented, passionate Hoosiers to this important profession.”

It’s clear leaders across the state are recognizing how vital a vibrant child care network is to not only support the economy but the well-being of Hoosier families.

Thanks to the Lilly grant, Terre Haute will no doubt benefit from Ivy Tech’s increased output of early childhood professionals, funneling them into our awaiting child care centers and boosting the area’s economy.
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