It’s just before lunch time at The Next Best Thing Daycare in Kenai. A baby girl, who isn’t but a few months old, looks around curiously as she’s being held by a caregiver. Another little girl greets those passing by, practicing her “hellos.”
These children’s parents are some of the lucky ones on the central Kenai Peninsula – they were able to secure childcare. Options in the region are sparse. And most state-licensed facilities have waitlists.
“People will call me crying on the phone,” said Bridget Woodward, owner and director of The Next Best Thing Daycare. “I’ve made it where if one kid’s absent for a day, someone could come in during that spot. It’s like a drop-in program, and that’s probably how most people get in, is they have to drop in until there’s a spot available.”
Tanya Lange, of Kenai, has two grandchildren who attend The Next Best Thing. Before enrolling them, one grandchild attended a daycare facility in Kenai while another was under the care of Lange’s daughter in Nikiski.
Lange was required to drop off her grandkids before clocking into work early in the morning, which she says made finding childcare even more difficult.
“Just always running around, never had much time at home,” Lange said. “They’re exhausted, always. We’re always on the road running here or there, but if my daughter wasn’t able to help us out, I’m not sure what we would’ve done, because I’ve got to go to work and can’t take them with me.”
But the cost of childcare can also be a deterrent. According to the Alaska Childcare Market Price Survey Report, the average cost of childcare in the state is $850 a month. This may lead some parents to choose between their career and their child.
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“It’s always, ‘I have to have childcare before I can start work,’ but then it’s, ‘Can I afford the childcare to start work?,’” said Rachel Jenkins, administrator for Little People’s Education Center in Soldotna. “You hear so many different, varied stories, but it’s always, ‘Can we get in? Can we find a place? And then, ‘Can we afford it after we get in?’”
Jenkins says she began working at the daycare center because she couldn’t afford childcare. Employees receive childcare discounts.
But, not everyone has that luxury. One Kenai Peninsula mom, who asked not to be identified, has a toddler enrolled at Little People’s Education Center. She receives childcare assistance through the state – and reapplied for assistance last month.
But, because she recently got a raise at work, she now has to pay more per month for childcare. The mom says she had to refinance her car just to afford daycare payments.
“You get a raise, you get some extra money, try to get ahead of things, and then it was like, ‘Oh, just kidding, here’s another $100 we’re going to have you pay towards your daycare bill again,’” the mom said.
Daycare workers say the issue of securing childcare on the central peninsula is also driven by a lack of qualified providers. Little People’s Education Center, for instance, can serve up to 90 children but only cares for two-thirds that amount because of a shortage of staff. The center also has to pay employees a decent wage, which they say increases childcare costs overall.
“It puts a lot of pressure on us to make sure that we’re getting appropriate staffing in here,” Jenkins said. “You hear those heartbreaking stories like, ‘We need care so we can get jobs’, but at the same time we need to make sure they’re a right fit. To us, we feel the urgency but we can’t always fill the need.”
Alaska lawmakers recently passed legislation to fund child care centers in the state. Gov. Mike Dunleavy also created the Alaska Task Force on Child Care to improve its access and affordability. But Central Peninsula child care workers and parents say more needs to be done on the state and federal level.
