Momentum Continues to Grow as Community Leaders Focus on Morgan County

Momentum continues to grow as community leaders focus on our county’s greatest needs.  CFMC has continued to support the Better Communities Coalition (BCC), initially established by Home Bank, in response to our county’s most pressing needs, such as short and long-term housing, mental health, transportation, and early learning.  A task force is established for each focus area.

The BCC recently added a childcare task force to the coalition.  A Martinsville childcare provider shared with our Martinsville Chamber of Commerce that they currently have 75 children on their waiting list, and a Mooresville childcare provider has 63 on their waiting list.  Given that this is just feedback from two providers, and in partnering with The Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County to assess early childcare learning through a pilot program, we know that there is a dire need for additional childcare availability and also assisting existing childcare providers to level up in their quality-of-care ratings.

The Martinsville Chamber has been monitoring challenges that employers in Morgan County face.  At the top of the list is a severe shortage of quality daycare openings, which keeps many parents and guardians out of the workforce.  Indiana employers are estimated to lose approximately $1 Billion annually due to absenteeism and staff turnover due to childcare-related issues.

The BCC’s Childcare Taskforce needs your help completing this brief survey for parents and guardians.  Will you please help the task force by sharing your voice?  This survey helps the task force understand what childcare-related areas the taskforce needs to focus on most and needs to hear directly from parents and guardians of birth to five years of age children.

For Morgan County employers looking to pursue grant dollars for childcare-related challenges, please visit this link provided by the Martinsville Chamber of Commerce: Childcare needs in Morgan County focus of October Chamber Luncheon – Martinsville Chamber of Commerce.