On Wednesday, Aug. 30, Southwest Montana Youth Partners held its annual meeting at Boulder’s City Hall, where board members discussed how Jefferson County’s child care supply and demand has changed, particularly in Boulder.
SMYP President Drew Dawson shared thoughts at the meeting, reflecting on the journey of bringing a child care facility to Boulder. After what felt like a promising opening in May of 2023 – with enough staff in place to start registering children – it appeared all would be well, and that the building brought to town in December of 2021 would start filling up with children (the center can accommodate up to 28).
But this was not the reality. In July, Boulder’s Discovery KidZone Preschool and Daycare Center announced it was closing its doors on a temporary basis, as children weren’t coming through the door.
Dawson and other members of the board have been racking their brains about why that was and continues to still be the situation. There are many questions. Is the cost of child care an obstacle? And if so, are parents in need of child care aware of the Best Beginnings Scholarship and the gap scholarship program? Or did they find an alternative child care option in Boulder?
The latter is something SMYP didn’t anticipate. When the decision was made to bring a building to town for child care, Nature Story Montessori didn’t have a presence in Boulder (they had centers in Helena and Montana City), and Boulder Elementary’s KinderCub program wasn’t in existence. These developments are good things, Dawson said; however, he believes they have presented some unanticipated challenges to filling the SMYP child care center.”
“As we reassess, we’ll need to take that into account,” Dawson said.
Rochelle Hesford, who serves as the Jefferson Local Development Corporation Child Care Coordinator, is conducting a survey to determine the number of children residing within the Boulder zip code (59632). According to research conducted by Hesford, there should still be close to 40 children in the area in need of childcare (excluding children enrolled in Nature Story and KinderCubs).
With all these child care options available, Dawson and SMYP board members agreed that the best way forward is to work together with the child care providers in the community and assess the needs together. According to Nature Story Montessori owner Jessica Shattuck, Nature Story has filled up its 16 spots, and currently has a handful on the waiting list.
KinderCubs, now in its second year at Boulder Elementary, is funded through the Office of Public Instruction and is free just like public school. The curriculum is the same as kindergarten. There are currently 19 students enrolled under the care of teacher Kristen Muffick. It’s an early childhood education program to help prepare children for kindergarten and a school setting. KinderCubs Boulder Elementary Superintendent/Principal Doug Richards said he and other members of the KinderCubs instructional team are considering a class size limit for the program.
“We don’t want to turn people away,” Richards said, adding he is a part of an instructional team overseeing KinderCubs, “but we want to be careful not to supersede what we can handle.”
Discussion during the SMYP annual meeting suggests the need for child care should still be there for Discovery Kidzone, which brings the discussion back to affordability. According to its website, Discovery Kidzone charges $285 per week, and Nature Story is comparable, adding up to about $280 a week, according to a parent.
Both Discovery KidZone and Nature Story encourage parents to apply for the Best Beginnings scholarship, a program funded under a contract with the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services. As a result of recent legislative changes, eligibility has changed, and the scholarship is more accessible, Hesford said at the Aug. 30 meeting. For more information about eligibility, visit www.cccmontana.org.
Those who do not qualify for Best Beginnings can apply for the gap child care scholarship, a program by Child Care Connections. Those who live or work in Jefferson County, make less than $131,000 annually and have a child between ages zero and five who attends a legally operating child care center may likely be eligible. Dawson indicated that SWYP is a partner with Child Care Connections and is accepting donations to increase the number of eligible families who can receive gap scholarships via licensed child care providers throughout Jefferson County.
Both child care centers in town accept the same scholarships, but Discovery KidZone has struggled to enroll children and provide adequate staff, while Nature Story is full and wanting to expand. Dawson said SMYP is still assessing this situation, and will continue to seek solutions. He is working with SMYP’s executive committee as well as the board of directors on the best way to move forward.
Discovery KidZone CEO Rachel Supalla told The Monitor that it’s been a challenge to get people to apply.
“We have had a couple of kids added to the waitlist but most of them wanted to start in Clancy,” she said. “We did some research on the need in the town and so far it seems that there aren’t enough children under five that need care.”
Yet Nature Story and KinderCubs sat there is unmet demand. Shattuck attributes a lot of the Boulder program’s success to director Gretchen George, a Boulder native. Shattuck said George’s heart is attached to her hometown center, located in the United Methodist Church on Monroe Street.
“These families are our people,” George said, referring also to certified lead staffer (and fellow Boulder native) Janai Turner. “We’ve known so many of the people who walk through the door all our lives, and we want them to feel comfortable.”
