Rallying Around Child Care in Clayton County

In 2023, Garnavillo residents Tierney and Tony Hoefer were expecting their first child, and the couple was thrilled that their family was growing. One part of parenting, though, made them anxious: Securing a spot in the local daycare center.

“We were told we’d have to wait nine months,” Tierney said. “We ended up getting
in, but until she was born, we didn’t know.”

Families across Clayton County and beyond have experiences like the Hoefers. Child care is an essential service that helps parents enter the workforce, drives the local economy, and provides enrichment for children. At the same time, centers often experience funding challenges for facilities and workers, leading to a shortage of available spaces for children.

As the Hoefers fretted, the Community Foundation was taking action. Thanks to support from a state grant and local partners, leaders conducted a study that reinforced the need for a more robust child care system and developed a child care strategic plan with input from stakeholders across the county.

The Foundation also launched a county-wide Small-town Dreams Initiative. This program helps rural communities raise money and secure matching funds to build $450,000 endowments that pay out $25,000 a year – forever – to address local needs.

Armed with data from the study, Foundation leaders saw an opportunity for the Small-town Dreams fund to support child care. They decided to allocate the first available grant money from the fund – $12,000 – equally among the eight nonprofit child care centers in Clayton County. These $1,500 grants supported playground updates, professional development, and bonuses for staff recruitment and retention.

The second round of grant dollars from Small-town Dreams helped the Community Foundation hire a coordinator to facilitate the strategic plan resulting from the study. Tierney, who also serves on the Garnavillo Daycare Center’s board, had the firsthand experience and passion to made her an excellent fit for the coordinator role.

Leading the Clayton County Child Care Coalition, one of Tierney’s responsibilities is to build an endowment that can provide continuing education opportunities for child care workers. The goal is for no family to face the same anxiety she and Tony felt. “As a family, our hope is to lay down roots, and continue our legacy of farming,”says Tierney. “To do that, we need a child care program that is sustainable.”