St. Francois County

Access to affordable, high-quality childcare is a challenge for families across St. Francois County. Under the leadership of the St. Francois County Community Partnership, stakeholders and leaders, both within the early childhood sector and beyond have come together to address the issues facing families, providers, the childcare workforce, and employers across the county. The team has researched the childcare and early education landscape, identified gaps in the local childcare ecosystem, collected both qualitative and quantitative data, prioritized issues, developed strategies and is building solutions as a team.

A child care and early education action plan outlining community- and data-driven strategies, will serve as a roadmap as the team moves into the implementation phase to support a high-quality, accessible early childhood system throughout St. Francois County.

Key Findings

The number of children who need care is higher than the number of available slots. Nearly 800 additional infant and toddler slots, and more than 300 additional Pre-K slots, are needed.

On average, families are paying 17% or more of their income to cover the cost of care.

Current, unaffordable annual tuitions are not enough to cover the true cost of high-quality care.

Community Priorities

The Research

Child Care Is A Workforce Issue

71%

of surveyed employers report that employees’ access to child care greatly or significantly affects their business

94%

of surveyed employers report employees doing at least one of the following during the past year: terminating their employment, permanently changing their work hours/availability, trading shifts with co-workers, or otherwise temporarily changing their work hours/availability, taking time off to fill child care gaps, candidates declining employment offers, or other.

“We have lost several good employees because of childcare reasons over the years.
If the employees do not have local family support, the importance of affordable childcare becomes increasingly more important.”

– Employer

Quotes and survey data are drawn from a non-representative convenience sample of St. Francois County residents, ECE Directors and Owners in the county, and senior leaders of county employers.

Families Lack Access to Child Care

The number of infants and toddlers who need care is higher than the number of available slots, with 798 kids who do not have a slot. Preschool capacity for kids ages 3-5 is sufficient for the needs of the community, but 310 additional slots are needed for Pre-K programs. This data is based on 70% of the estimated total number of children in the area, aligned with policy research estimates used by the State of Missouri.

“The biggest challenge has been finding openings in the age range of my children, and finding openings that my children could remain together in one facility. Cost of childcare has also been a challenge. Most childcare facilities cost over $1500 a month for 2 children.”

-St. Francois County Parent

Infant & Toddler (Birth-2 Years)

48%

Kids Served

1,524 Kids
726 Slots

Pre-Kindergarten (4-5 Years)

41%

Kids Served

529 Kids
219 Slots

Other Preschool (3-5 Years)

100%

Kids Served

1,592 Kids
1,910 Slots

THE COST OF CHILD CARE IS UNAFFORDABLE FOR FAMILIES

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), child care is considered affordable if it costs families no more than 7% of their income. With median household income of $54,813, local families are paying 17% or more of their income to cover the cost of care for one child.

% income parents pay for Infant & Toddler Care

28%

% income parents pay for Preschool

16%

* 7% affordability threshhold

Median Household Income (MHI)

$ 54,813

Infant & Toddler parent tuition

$ 15,210

Preschool parent tuition

$ 10,400

Affordable Cost Level ( 7% MHI )

$ 3,837

More Resources ARE NEEDED to Provide Affordable High-Quality Care

In addition to being unaffordable to families, the annual cost of tuition does not cover the
true cost of high quality care for providers. Additional funds from other stakeholders are needed to support high-quality care.

Total Cost: $20,719

Infant & Toddler

$ 3,837

$16,882

Total Cost: $12,281

Preschool

$ 3,837

$8,444

Investment Gap

Affordable Cost for Parents

“[Biggest challenge is] not being able to hire employees. I could take a few more kids but don’t due to [lack of] employee coverage and not being able to cover breaks [or] because more employees [are] sick at the same time. “

– Provider in St. Francois

REACH OUT

To learn more about the exciting work of the St Francois County community, contact the St. Francois County Community Partnership to hear about the leaders, organizations, and advocates involved.

Brandon Tucker, Executive Director, St. Francois County Community Partnership
brandon@sfccp.org

Community planning, research, and facilitation by Child Care Leadership Lab; in addition to supply building initiative co-design and implementation with community partners. Data compiled and presented by IFF in partnership with Kids Win Missouri. Thank you to our partner St. Francois County Community Partnership. We also thank our funding partners Children’s Trust Fund and Upward Momentum.

StFrancoisCo_CmtySlides_ALLdata_PDF

St. Francois County