CARIBOU, Maine — A group of Aroostook business and education leaders is spearheading efforts to create more child care options for a region in desperate need.
Recent statewide data from the Bipartisan Policy Center revealed that Aroostook has the largest child care disparity in Maine, meaning that 2,600 children under 6 have a need but only 565 slots are available. But Aroostook leaders are looking to collect more regionalized data to inform future child care initiatives.
Parents faced one of Aroostook’s worst child care shortages when Miss Jordyn’s Child Development Center, the largest in Caribou with 106 slots, closed in August. That left many parents fearing that they might have to quit their jobs if they could not find other options.
“[As a parent] I wasn’t impacted when Miss Jordyn’s closed but a lot of my friends were,” said Lydia Kieffer-Till, director of the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s Campus Center. “It was a very stressful time for parents.”
Kieffer-Till, who lives in Caribou, is one of 14 members of a new volunteer group that has begun researching the impact of child care shortages on Aroostook families.
Group members represent some of the Caribou region’s largest employers and include Penny Thompson, Caribou city manager; Kris Doody, CEO of Cary Medical Center in Caribou; Matt McHatten, president and CEO of MMG Insurance in Presque Isle; Megan Barnes, director of programs at Aroostook County Action Program; Clara Collins, operations manager at S.W. Collins Company; Tim Crowley, president of Northern Maine Community College; and Jane McCall, interim superintendent at RSU 39, the school district serving Caribou and Stockholm.
The group first formed in late July but became further motivated after Miss Jordyn’s owner Jordyn Rossignol announced she would close due to financial struggles. Since then, RSU 39 and Aroostook County Action Program have been working to launch an after school child care program that will begin later this month.
The group also is looking toward the future. In October, they launched an online survey targeting parents, including those who work for employers represented in the volunteer group.
The survey asks parents about their current child care situation, if they have back-up care, what communities they live and work in and what challenges they’ve faced with finding reliable care. So far, respondents have spanned almost all of Aroostook County, from Fort Kent to Houlton, Kieffer-Till said.
“We started with the Caribou area but we’re spreading out through The County and looking at what impact we’re actually seeing,” Kieffer-Till said. “We want to look at what people’s needs and concerns are and what we’re lacking.”
The survey currently does not have a deadline but is being spread within companies that group members work for and on community Facebook pages, including Aroostook County Child Care.
Group members want to eventually use the data to explore specific programs or partnerships to help parents and child care providers. What those programs might be will depend on getting data tailored to what Aroostook parents and providers are experiencing, Kieffer-Till said.
The group is unsure when their next meeting will be held but are hoping to set up a public forum on child care featuring members of Aroostook’s legislative delegation, Kieffer-Till said.
