NGage has been committed to creating partnerships to address childcare availability and affordability, allowing the workforce in Gage County to be utilized at full capacity in their strategic planning.
Erin Chadwick said work on this strategy began years ago.
“In 2021, when I worked for NGage full-time, the former director applied for a Communities for Kids (C4K) Initiative,” she said. “It’s a program funded through Nebraska Children’s Foundation. It provided $10,000 a year for three years to communities. In Gage County we wanted to be sure our children under five were taken care of.
“The grant was specifically to support and coordinate planning for access to high quality early childcare. This was to build awareness and to do studies.”
In addition to the C4K Intiative, Gage County was selected in 2022 as one of the twelve Nebraska communities to receive funding from the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act.
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“All these grants were focused on quantity of available childcare,” Chadwick said.
Gage County was found to have nearly 400 children without access to quality childcare according to studies completed.
The 2023 NGage Annual Report notes “C4K funds will be geared towards administrative assistance, advocacy, and training for providers while CRRSA funds will be spent primarily on child care capacity expansion and related expenses, such as wage support, minor facility renovations, educational supplies and expenses directly tied to licensing requirements.”
“Inadequate child care on Gage County families and businesses has an estimated potential annual impact totaling over $5.8 million between families and employers combined” the annual report notes. “Child care is crucial to our economic well-being.”
“NGage wanted to invest in this initiative because youth are our future,” she said. “It’s also an investment in our workforce and our employers.”
Owner of Sky High Learning Center Ashley Garrison was able to access some grant funding to renovate a home in Beatrice. The center has availability for approximately 75 spots for children 18 months to five years of age. They will be opening in November.
NGage Marketing Coordinator Megan Wicht said additional funding was provided by a Preschool Development Grant.
“The PDG focuses on focuses on quality childcare,” she said. “They were able to go through training and be reimbursed for training like CPR for several years.”
NGage is partnering with the Beatrice Public Library to provide new programming to the Gage County childcare providers beginning in mid-November.
“We are showcasing the library’s makerspace,” she said. “But it’s a STREAM program that emphasizes hands-on, interactive activities that encourage exploration, critical thinking, and creativity.”
STREAM is Science, Technology, Reading, Engineering, Arts and Math.
Baskets of projects will be available to childcare providers that they will be able to take back to their site.
NGage Executive Director Rachel Kreikemeier said more than half of the providers in Gage County have been actively participating in the funding available.
“To date 63% of providers throughout Gage County are actively participating in this opportunity,” she said. “We still have funding for those who have not yet participated.”
