HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – Help is coming to Nebraska’s child care crisis.
The Knowledge Network for the Early Childhood Education Workforce is made possible through a grant from the federal Department of Education. The program aims to reach rural areas and equip residents to meet their child care needs. This comes amid Nebraska’s child care crisis, with nine of the state’s 93 counties in so-called “child care deserts,” meaning there are no licensed facilities available for families living there. I am doing it.
In addition to development and networking, the KNEW project will focus on supporting the recruitment and retention of early childhood educators.
Philip Lai, an associate professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney who led the effort to implement KNEW, said it was a team effort.
“This is truly a team project and we have two subcontractors along with UNK, Communities for Kids and Nebraska Extension,” Lai said. “The three of us are working together on this two-year project.”
Dr. Kim Carlson has been involved with the project for the past two years, and she said the numbers speak to the dire need for child care.
“I was looking at some numbers the other day, and there are 94,000 children in Nebraska with unemployed parents. This is due to a lack of access to children’s care,” said Dr. Carlson. “Child care efforts will therefore be essential to reducing this number.”
Carlson has been involved in the project for the past two years, and she said the need for child care is great.
“In some rural areas, there are no child care facilities at all, and parents who need child care have to drive miles to get their children there,” Carlson said. Ta.
Sen. Deb Fischer sponsored federal spending on this funding.
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