Parents looking for someone to watch their children so they can earn a living may have to keep looking for the time being.
Efforts to find solutions to a lack of child care locally and statewide continue to move forward, but providing the service is taking more time than most people might like. The number of child care providers has dropped by 11% throughout the state since 2021.
In Wrangell, there have been some efforts to increase the number of child care options, though only one, through the Wrangell Cooperative Association, is moving forward for now.
Last month, the WCA conducted a survey to assess the child care needs in town. Fifty households responded to questions regarding the type of care parents or guardians currently use, how much they pay per month, how many children they need day care for and what types of curriculum they would like to see in a child care facility, among other questions.
Parents were also asked how much they were willing to pay per month. WCA is still compiling the survey results.
“I think it’s a huge challenge and there’s a huge need not just in Wrangell but across the state,” said Esther Aaltséen Reese, tribal administrator for WCA. “When we met with Sealaska (Corp.) and their board, they were hearing that in all the communities they’ve met with.”
Reese said the survey found that out of the 50 respondents, 12.2% are stay-at-home moms, 22% have no child care that they use regularly, 48.8% use family or friends and 17.1% use an unlicensed facility or watch other children in addition to their own.
Wrangell has no state-licensed child care provider.
The WCA may be able to secure a space for child care services in an unused classroom at Evergreen Elementary School, but more work is needed to actually open a facility.
Reese said the next steps are difficult due to state licensing requirements, but the WCA is working with the Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska to “see what would be required to move forward with a day care with all those (state) requirements.”
Another possible location is the vacant Church of God building on the corner of Bennett and Reid streets. However, fixes needed for the space may be too costly.
Pastor Kem Haggard of Harbor Light Assembly of God said the Church of God building is otherwise well-suited for a child care program because it has space for recreation, classrooms and a kitchen. “It needed a lot of fixes,” he said of the building, which also houses a roller-skating rink. “Nobody could step up for that.”
Haggard’s church on Zimovia Highway had been suggested, but the building already hosts other programs.
“You’re talking about a Monday through Friday (child care service), that takes out a lot of things we do for the week,” he said, such as mission groups, basketball and other youth groups, plus providing lodging for different organizations like Girl Scouts leaders who come to town.
“It couldn’t be here because it would change everything we do,” Haggard said.
At the state level, legislators are considering a measure to allow businesses to receive tax credits for investments in child care services, and one that would provide additional financial assistance for child care for families who earn up to 300% of the poverty level.
Neither bill is likely to move forward this year; both could come up for consideration again next year.
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