Appointed Committees

May 31, 2023 Committee on Childcare in Minot Committee on Childcare in Minot – May 31, 2023 AT 4:30 P.M. Members Present: Scott Burlingame, Rianne Kuhn, Lisa Olson, Keli Rosselli-Sullivan, Harold Stewart, John Van Dyke, Terry Schumalz Members Absent: Amy Jenkins, Becca Oswill, Heather Cymbaluk, Also Present: Mikayla McWilliams (City Clerk) The meeting was called to order by Chairman Scott Burlingame at 4:32 pm. Rianne Kuhn discussed her husband being in the military and how she has seen first hand some of the struggles the MAFB has with daycare. She presented an e-mail from Lt Berry. The Minot Air Force Base currently has 134 children waitlisted for childcare. It impacts about 268 service members in the 5th Bomb Wing and the 91st Missile Wing. The Childcare Development Center (CDC) needs more than 30 childcare providers in order to fill the void out on base. This problem adds more stress onto the military families when the work environment can be stressful enough. It was discussed how these numbers might not reflect the military families who live in Minot. Military families can look for childcare in Minot or on the Minot AFB. One of the major problems is the demand for childcare during nontraditional times. The CDC on base is only open certain hours also so there might be hidden numbers of people in need. ND Aware still has the numbers from 2019 but they are focusing on updating those. The committee did not know if the numbers for Minot on ND Aware included the Minot AFB. Kelli discussed some of the Senate Bill incentives that just passed in state legislature. It was $65.6 million dollars in incentives. The PowerPoint presented was added to the May 18, 2023 agenda. Military families and providers should look into the incentives to see if any would fit to help secure affordable, quality daycare. Family Care Center (FCC) is an option for military families on base it is similar to the home daycare options available in Minot. This helps the service members find care for the 5-day 24-hour work shift. Conditions here force one spouse to work and one to stay home due to the childcare issues. The CDC on base is federally funded through the DoD. The Air Force also subsidies the FCC rates to match the fees the CDC is allowed to charge. Families pay a fee at the CDC based on their rank in the military. The CDC is still in need of providers but the base also needs the FCC providers who will do nontraditional hours. There are programs in place to help families but the providers have to be willing to participate also. The committee reiterated the idea of having conversations about childcare development being an educational program maybe with the college or the CTE. If the base needs to advertise for employment, there is job service as an option but this might be an overall workforce development issue. It is important to get the resources out to the public on what programs are available. The MACEDC website has a resource list and they could add links for the military if someone can provide them. Rianne discussed an incentive program for the 5th Bomb Wing called the HHM incentive. Families with children get a weekly stipend depending on the age of the child, there can be provider licensing bonuses, NAFCC accreditation bonuses, recruitment bonuses, etc. It is important to send out the message about such programs. MACEDC sends out a monthly communicator newsletter, they use social media, and they post on their website. The committee needs to create knowledge on the issues and the programs available. The committee sends a standing invite to Lt Berry for anytime she is available to meet with the committee. It was also mentioned that MACEDC has a program called Start Up Minot and the committee thought doing a childcare entrepreneur one would be great with Kevin Cross and Becca Oswill. Page 1 of 2 The next meeting will be Thursday, June 15, 2023 at 1:30 pm at the new City Hall (10 3rd Ave SW). Chairman Burlingame would like the committee to start thinking about what they can start now. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 5:15 pm. Page 2 of 2