Discovery KidZone’s Boulder location has suspended its operation due to low enrollment. As of July 10, Discovery KidZone representatives moved the four registered children to its Clancy site.
Southwest Montana Youth Partners Board President Drew Dawson told The Monitor he is very disappointed it is necessary to temporarily pause the delivery of child care, as it’s taken a lot of time and effort to bring the facility to Boulder and provide this level of child care for the community.
“We apologize to the families who were going to depend on us,” he said.
The need for child care has been a priority in Jefferson County for several years. The Jefferson Local Development Corporation even created a position for a child care coordinator. This job belonged to Lindsey Graham, who was instrumental in bringing the building to Boulder (from Helena) in December of 2021, thanks to American Rescue Plan Act funding.
This in itself was a process, as was getting the building up to code and ready to host up to 28 children. Then it had to be staffed, which was also a challenge. It took longer than anticipated, but the Boulder Discovery KidZone finally has the staff it needs.
With everything in place, it was the hope of the SMYP that, if they brought the building to town, the children would come, but that has not been the case. So what happened?
Assessing the child care capacity takes a lot of work, Dawson said, and is an ongoing process. It can be difficult to gauge, he said, and also difficult to educate families on if they qualify for scholarships to afford the child care option now available in Boulder, especially when qualifications for Best Beginning scholarships and the Gap Scholarship Program have changed.
Dawson said if all eligible families understand the potential financial assistance available, additional families would likely take advantage of the support and education opportunities offered by licensed childcare facilities.
Despite the setbacks, Dawson, Graham and current JLDC child care coordinator Rochelle Hesford told the Monitor they are optimistic about the future of the child care facility. Responding to the community’s need is not something that happens overnight, and they said they will continue to seek solutions, which they believe they will have sooner rather than later.
If families have questions about the potential Gap Scholarship or Best Beginnings, they can contact Hesford at (406) 225-3164.
Discovery KidZone CEO Rachel Supalla did not respond to inquiries from the Monitor.
