By Jack Reaney ASSOCIATE EDITOR
On Nov. 14, the Cooperative, Holistic, Innovative, Local, Design (CHILD) Task Force met at BASE to discuss child care needs and opportunities in Big Sky.
The hour-long discussion focused on three topics: child care workforce retention, employer supported childcare, and policies and subsidies. The CHILD Task Force held similar meetings in numerous other Gallatin County communities. About a dozen Big Sky community members attended, mostly representing a local nonprofit or company.
At the end of the workshop, organizers urged Big Sky community members to fill out a five-minute survey that follows the same questions asked in the workshop.
“A key component to developing a successful strategic plan is obtaining input from community members. Anyone who cares about child care in Big Sky and its impacts is encouraged to take this short survey,” Maclaren Latta, a consultant helping to guide the effort, wrote in an email to EBS.
With the results from the survey and insights from the Nov. 14 discussion, the task force will create a Gallatin County Childcare Strategic Plan.
This ongoing effort is funded by the Bozeman Chamber of Commerce, City of Bozeman, Gallatin County, Yellowstone Club Community Foundation and Zero to Five Montana.
Workshop takeaways
According to Jackie Haines, executive director of the Northern Rocky Mountain Economic Development District, child care expenses should make up about 7% of a household’s monthly income to be considered affordable. According to community surveys (no state or federal data is available) Big Sky parents pay closer to 20%, with child care costing an overage of $1,733 per month, per child.
Haines said a Big Sky household would need to earn $297k annually to afford child care at the industry standard affordability rate of 7%.
Discussion also covered the topic of transportation, as Big Sky’s expansive layout makes it difficult for parents to quickly leave work and transport their children between school, care facilities and activities. Many parents in Big Sky’s workforce live in the Gallatin Valley which may add complication.
The workshop asked for factors in improving caregiver retention. Housing, pay, development and growth opportunities, benefits, time off and healthy work culture were listed as areas to improve.
For policy, the Montana Early Childhood Project offers professional development incentives to help students become licensed Child Development Associate professionals. Meeting attendees also noted similar incentives at the University of North Dakota for elementary educators.
For parents in the workforce, improvements to parental leave may help. One attendee pointed out that some parents simply stop working because the cost of child care offsets their paycheck. That loss of workforce leadership can negatively impact Big Sky’s economy.
When asked what’s unique about Big Sky’s needs, one attendee pointed out that Big Sky is not a multi-generational community. Often without parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles to provide support, parents are left to fend for themselves as they raise kids.
The seasonality of Big Sky adds another challenge, as parents’ variable work situations may dictate variable child care needs.
What could Big Sky look like?
With better child care, attendees suggested, Big Sky could have a larger and better-retained workforce with more working women. Stress levels would decrease, and community morale would increase, the group agreed.
One attendee imagined full-day, seven-day-a-week child care in Big Sky. Another suggested a diversity of options including child care options for visitors.
Big Sky could be more family-friendly if some recommendations in the Gallatin County Childcare Strategic Plan target the unique needs of Big Sky. The strategists are hoping to emulate good ideas such as Colorado EPIC—not to be confused with the ski pass—and avoid mistakes made by other communities.
To inform the study, hosts encouraged Big Sky residents to fill out the five-minute survey—Haines pointed out that because Big Sky is unincorporated, surveys are often the only public source of data.
Although Big Sky residents may feel survey fatigue, Haines urged the community to always take a few minutes to provide feedback and data when surveys arise.
