Summary

The Tri-Share Program was originally developed in Michigan and is administered by the Michigan Women’s Commission. This Tri-Share Program proposal was crafted specifically for Noble County, addressing the issue of child care affordability, while also creating future guidelines for child care sustainability and quality.

What is Noble Thrive by 5?

The Noble Thrive by 5 Early Childhood Coalition brings together organizations in Noble County to develop innovative, sustainable solutions around the challenges of child care and early learning so parents are able to go to work knowing their children are safe, loved, and learning.  From the core organizations of the Community Foundation of Noble County, Noble County Economic Development Corporation, and Crossroads United Way, to the many organizations that make up New Community Initiatives, the Noble County Interagency group and the Community Learning Center Leadership Team, child care affects so many throughout the community, and many are deeply involved in its solution. The existence of Noble Thrive by 5 is to bring the community together to increase the capacity, affordability, and quality of child care and early learning in Noble County.

The Idea

As you know, education is primarily publicly funded. It doesn’t matter your socio-economic status, every child in grades K-12 has access to a public school education. That’s not the case with early learning opportunities for ages 0-5. In this space, high quality child care that provides a curriculum even for the youngest infants can be prohibitively expensive for families, while still preventing early learning professionals from earning a living wage. In a July 7, 2022 article from WFYI PBS in Indianapolis, a home child care worker said it best when she stated that child cares are a “school setting without the school funding.”

Children need these early learning opportunities to have the best chance at not only success in school, but for the rest of their lives. Ninety percent of brain development happens in the first five years of a child’s life. So much happens in the child’s brain during those years that if we’re not investing and putting young children in environments that are learning-rich, we are setting them up for struggles in school, lower income levels as adults, higher health care costs later in life, even a higher likelihood of amassing a criminal record.

The Tri-Share Program will address the affordability of child care and early learning programs in Noble County. Parents who make less than 127% of the Federal Poverty Level can qualify for Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers, while parents making 128% or more still struggle to pay for child care, as well as the daily costs of living.

“Affordable” child care is defined as paying 7% or less of a household’s gross salary on child care. In Noble County, the average weekly cost for care is around $150. To be considered “affordable,” a family (or single parent) would have to be making $109,000 annually. In Noble County, the median household income is $56,000. That means child care is not affordable for most Noble County families.

This program will increase affordability for families by splitting the cost of child care three ways for qualifying families.

• One third the cost of child care is paid for by an American Rescue Plan contribution from the Noble County Commissioners
• One third the cost of child care is paid for by the parent
• One third the cost of child care is paid for by the employer

Some things to note about the Tri-Share Program. We do not intend this to be a stand-alone project. It is one piece of a multi-faceted plan to address the capacity, affordability, and quality of early learning opportunities in Noble County.

It will address affordability now, by putting more money back in the pockets of working families. They will be able to spend it elsewhere in our economy, while the child care centers still get the support they need to continue their vital work of educating our youngest Noble County residents.

As we move forward, plans are developing to tackle the challenges of capacity and quality. We are working with providers and local stakeholders to expand and open new seats to ease waiting lists. As space becomes available, this could potentially draw more residents to Noble County, if local government plays a role in a child care benefit to families. Employers who “opt-in” would be more attractive to potential employees, because participation in the Tri-Share Program indicates that employer appreciates and supports it workers.

We are advancing ways to make sure child care and early learning workers are supported through professional development that’s not a burden to them or to their families. That education, in turn, increases the quality of care our children receive and allows them to receive the additional benefits, including financial incentives and recognition to attract families.

There are so many people and organizations locally invested in making a difference in this space. This Tri-Share Program is one small step in the right direction.

 

Eligibility

• Employers may “opt in” to the program.
  • Employers could choose which employees (outside of income levels) would be eligible for the benefit (full-time, part-time, etc.).
  • They would choose a maximum number of staff members who could participate, or could choose to fund the education of a maximum number of children.
  • If more than that maximum number at one employer are deemed “eligible,” priority will go to the staff members with the lowest household incomes.
  • We would request that each employer that “opts in” provides at least one representative for the Tri-Share Program Committee.
  • We have several employers who are interested in the program, talking further and potentially allocating funds, but want to ensure government support before proceeding.

• Child care providers may “opt in” to the program.
  • All Noble County child care providers and early learning programs who are licensed, registered, or legally licensed exempt will be eligible to participate in the pilot program.
    • We hope that this will encourage more providers to become regulated.
  • Continued eligibility will depend on guidelines for providers after the first year, which could include increased staff wages and participation in the Paths to Quality program (see “Future Plans” under Benefits, below).
  • Interested providers include:
    • Kendallville Day Care Center (Licensed Center, Paths to Quality Level 3)
    • Lighthouse Childcare and Learning Service (Registered Ministry)
    • Trinity Day Care Ministry (Registered Ministry)
    • The Jr. Jungle (Licensed Home, Paths to Quality Level 3)

• Employees of companies that “opt in” to the program are eligible.
  • Eligible employees willmake between 128% and 300% of Federal Poverty Levels*
  • They must not be eligible for other assistance (CCDF, On My Way Pre-K).
  • Their children must attend a participating child care/early learning program.

*Guidelines for CCDF eligibility are expected to be updated in October 2022. At that time, adjustments to the eligibility of Noble County’s Tri-Share Program will be updated accordingly.

Program Administration

The administration of this program will be conducted by Noble Thrive by 5. This includes:

• Application and approval process for employees.
• Onboarding of new providers and employers
• Billing for government funds (through the Community Foundation of Noble County)
• Billing for employer funds.
• Billing may happen quarterly or monthly, depending on needs of provider.
• Noble Thrive by 5 will request a small administration fee (10%) from grant funds to support this program.

How This Will Benefit Noble County

The Noble County Tri-Share Program will immediately address the issues of child care and early learning sustainability and affordability for families, while creating additional plans to support quality and increased wages for early learning professionals.

• Affordability: Sharing the cost of child care will help families who are making a livable wage, yet still struggling, be able to spend less on quality child care, increasing the amount of money they have to spend elsewhere.

• Sustainability: Building a partnership between the county government and local employers will support the operations of the child care center, while also allowing more parents to put their child in a quality early learning environment so they can fill some of the open positions in Noble County, improving the local economy.

• Future Plans for Increased Wages: Employers participating in the program want to make sure that the investment not only supports the current funding levels of the child care provider, but increases wages for employees to a “living wage.”
  • More information is needed yet from child care providers about what a preferred minimum hourly rate would be, and the cost to provide that to all employees, while also providing a pay increase to existing employees.
  • This part of the project will require additional development

• Future Plans for Increased Quality: Participating providers will work to earn or maintain Paths to Quality levels.
  • This could be a barrier for some to start. While providers are in support of additional education for staff and the possibility of joining Paths to Quality, time and willingness to take classes are a hurdle that we must address before this can become part of the program.

Support for the Tri-Share Program by the Noble County Commissioners

Noble Thrive by 5 is requesting $50,000* of Noble County’s Share of American Rescue Plan funding. This money will be deposited into a Noble County Tri-Share non-permanent fund at the Community Foundation of Noble County, where it will be distributed to local child care and early learning providers to pay 1/3 of the fees for eligible families.

In addition to the funds, we would request that the Commissioners appoint one representative to serve on the Tri-Share Program Committee, which will guide the pilot program in the first year, and collaborate to determine its future.

*Noble County Government offices were named as one of the largest employers of parents with children in local child care. We would like to suggest that the Commissioners allocate more funding, and would essentially pay 2/3 the cost of child care for their eligible employees. If the Commissioners agree with Noble County being an employer, as well, we would request an additional $25,000 in funding, for a total of $75,000. For reference, we expect the maximum amount of 1/3 of child care in Noble County to be around $70 per week. If Noble County, as an employer, was funding 1/3 of the child care for ten children at the maximum, the cost for the year would be $36,400. However, if we look more at the average amount of child care in Noble County, 1/3 of the average cost would be closer to $50 per week for a total cost of $26,000 annually. This amount is negotiable, based on the maximum number of employees/children the county would agree to support through the program.

We expect that this initial $50,000 investment would be able to assist about 20 families in its first year, depending on the cost of child care. True participation depends on a number of factors, including income levels, participating employers, and whether children are being cared for in one of Noble County’s licensed, registered, or legally license exempt providers.

If there is funding still available at the end of the pilot period, we would request that the money be retained at the Community Foundation of Noble County for the purpose of supporting child care and early learning. At that time, the Commissioners would be able to determine how those funds would be used.

Albion, IN – The Albion Town Council has approved the submission of requests for proposals to conduct a fiscal analysis and architectural study, the first steps to building a new child care center in Albion.

The Town of Albion, Kendallville Day Care, and Noble Thrive by 5 have partnered to help address the lack of child care capacity in the community. The preliminary plan to construct a new building to house a second location of Kendallville Day Care would include using Tax Increment Finance (TIF) funds from Albion, as well as enacting a robust grant funding strategy, public fundraising campaign, and a Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) grant proposal.

This project is critical to the community because there is such a need for child care seats in Noble County, said Jenna Anderson, Noble Thrive by 5 Early Childhood Coalition Coordinator.

“Early Learning Indiana’s recent Closing the Gap study estimated that there are 2,240 children under the age of six who need care in Noble County,” said Anderson. We only have seats for a fraction of those, and wait lists at local child care providers keep growing.”

“As an Albion native for over 40 years, I have personally been a part of and witnessed the struggle, for children and families, of finding high-quality, licensed, childcare in our small – but growing – community,” said Tina Lee, Director of the Kendallville Day Care Center. “While Albion has always been a tight-knit community, blessed with loving homes and facilities to care for children, there just simply are not enough child care options for families to meet the workforce demand.”

Preliminary estimates for the project are at $2 million for capital costs. The funding strategy will include up to $1.32 million in grant dollars, plus additional money coming from a local fundraising campaign. TIF funds would fill in the gap between the amount raised and the total cost to build.

“TIF funds are meant to spur economic development or fund infrastructure construction within the TIF district that would not occur without the availability of the funds,” said Albion Town Manager Jacob Ihrie. “The construction of a daycare facility meets this mission. According to the Early Learning Policy Group, the child care industry has an economic impact of $99.3 billion through direct and indirect impacts.”

Once the fiscal analysis is in hand, Noble Thrive by 5 will begin applying for grants to support the project. The amount of funds raised will decrease the TIF responsibility of the town.

The lack of child care in Noble County not only affects families, but it also affects the economy. Employers have noted that a lack of child care has been a barrier to filling their open positions. Creating space in a new facility will provide care for up to 150 children, which is the approximate number of children on waiting lists at Noble County’s major providers. Those parents can then enter the workforce, bolstering our economy.

“Simply put, child care is economic development,” said Ihrie. “It gives parents the freedom to pursue careers when they otherwise couldn’t due to a lack of childcare options.”

Ihrie continued, “Through making investments in increasing child care options, we hope to signal to our employers that we want them here, we want their employees to have more reliable child care options, and we want more individuals to feel like Albion is or could be their home.”

Much thought went into approaching the Kendallville Day Care Center to expand into Albion.

“It’s important to build on an asset that is already in our community,” said Anderson. “Kendallville Day Care is a high-quality, licensed center that is on Paths to Quality, and provides early learning curriculum for its youngest children, even infants, to give them the best possible start in life.”

Kendallville Day Care supports low income families through acceptance of Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers and On My Way Pre-K, which provides free high quality preschool opportunities to qualified families.

“All children deserve a location where they can feel safe, valued, equal, and that their basic human needs will be met by loving, compassionate, and qualified caregivers,” said Lee. “I’m proud to be part of the team bringing more child care options to my hometown!”

Expanding the Kendallville Day Care is the first step in addressing the issues of capacity, quality and affordability of child care and early learning in Noble County. It will provide more choices for families, as well as support existing child care facilities by the opportunities this project will bring, including new partnerships with employers.

“This is innovative,” said Ihrie. “This is something that, to the best of my knowledge, hasn’t been pursued in the State of Indiana. This is an opportunity to show that rural counties can innovate. We can defy the odds. As I round out my first year as Albion’s Town Manager, I have been astounded by our community’s resilience, and I am hopeful that we can continue contributing to this resilience through our innovation, determination, and resolve.”

For Immediate Release – July 5, 2022

Stabilization Funds Support Early Learning, Set the Stage for Expansion

Ligonier, IN – After the second and final round of Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grants, Noble County child care providers received more than $1.126 million to support their businesses.

In the first round of Stabilization Grants in late 2021, Noble County providers received a total of nearly $360,000, equaling an estimated three months of operating expenses. The second round, available in early 2022, provided five months of operating expenses. Because more child care facilities were eligible to apply for the second round, the amount being invested in Noble County exceeded expectations. Providers were granted about $766,000, far more than the original estimate of $600,000.

“We were so excited to see more local child care providers take advantage of the second round of Stabilization Grants,” said Noble Thrive by 5 Coalition Coordinator Jenna Anderson. Her office has assisted local child care providers with the grant application process when needed.

These funds have not only spurred the increase of salaries in some cases, but have also provided relief for underpaid child care staff in the form of bonuses and added benefits.”

These funds came from a portion of Indiana’s appropriation of the American Rescue Plan Act. Build, Learn, Grow Stabilization Grants were non-competitive and designed to provide short-term funding to early childhood and out-of-school-time programs that have faced increased costs because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible providers are using the grant funds to stabilize their operations and build capacity for the future, including spending at least 25% of the grant funding on increasing staff wages and benefits. Dollars can be used across six categories of allowable expenses ranging from personnel costs and facility fees to mental health supports for children and staff.

Grant awards were calculated using a cost estimation formula which considers each provider’s licensed program type, average attendance, staffing costs, quality level and geography to arrive at an estimated funding level.

In the four-county Northeast Indiana region, child care providers in LaGrange, Steuben, Dekalb, and Noble counties earned just over $5.5 million in Stabilization Grant funds.

This money has helped our providers tremendously by giving an infusion of funds when it was needed the most,” said Anderson. “What can be used for expansion, which was not within the Stabilization Grant guidelines.”

According to the Early Learning Indiana Closing the Gap Profile, as of February 2022 Noble County only had 28.2% of the capacity needed in child care and early learning programs. This gap in care for 0-5 year olds is affecting the economy, as local employers struggle to hire folks to fill their open positions, and family members can’t work when they can’t find quality, affordable child care.

Noble Thrive by 5 is working with a number of providers, employers, and organizations to increase the amount of child care and early learning programs in Noble County. Anyone who would like to learn more about the work of Noble Thrive by 5 can reach Anderson at 260-445-3369 or jenna@noblethriveby5.org.

Written by Jenna Anderson, Noble Thrive by 5 Early Childhood Coalition Coordinator

I may not be native to Noble County, but I have made it my home for the last 22 years. During that time, I didn’t simply sit back and let the world happen around me. I got involved, and something became clear very quickly. Noble County is the definition of the word collaboration. Looking back, I know I saw this when I was a reporter for The News Sun. Moving to the Kendallville Public Library, I noticed that we partnered with many organizations throughout the community to create important programs and services. But it wasn’t until about 2017 when I recognized it for what it truly was.

I was donating my time and talents to the United Way of Noble County to create a video that would run at their first Power of the Purse event. I was asked to attend an Interagency Meeting to record the communication and collaboration that goes on among social service agencies. It’s not overstating to tell you that I was blown away by this monthly gathering. Around 30 agencies serving Noble County were represented. Some were based in Noble County and some were headquartered elsewhere in the region but serve Noble County residents. All were committed to collaboration that benefits those living and working in our little slice of Indiana. They shared the work they were doing. They shared grant opportunities that they had found, even though another agency applying for the same funds might prevent their own organization from receiving the grant. I heard from an agency that serves multiple counties that they were awed by the collaboration and cooperation in Noble County, because they do not find it within the other counties they serve. I saw the groups getting together right after the main meeting to talk about how they can join forces. That’s when I realized what I had known all along about Noble County…we are the definition of collaboration.

It’s the reason I’m so involved in my community. Heck, it’s the reason why I took the job as Noble Thrive by 5’s Early Childhood Coalition Coordinator. No one person, organization, or even a small group of agencies is going to solve the complex challenges surrounding child care and early learning. It’s going to take ALL OF US.

If I hadn’t witnessed the power of teamwork within Noble County, I would have turned down the position back when it was offered to me in September 2021. But because I know our organizations and individuals are committed to working together and not duplicating services; because I have seen the powerful things that can be built by many having a common goal (such as the Community Learning Center); because I have been part of groups that literally change the landscape of the community for common good (Noble Trails); I knew that Noble Thrive by 5 would have all it needed to increase the capacity, quality, and affordability of child care and early learning experiences in Noble County. It has the power of collaboration behind it.

Noble Thrive by 5 wouldn’t have gotten off the ground without three main organizations seeing its value and working together. The Community Foundation of Noble County, Noble County Economic Development Corporation, and United Way of Noble County (now Crossroads United Way) saw how the lack of child care and early learning opportunities affect so many in our community. It affects, families, businesses, the economy…it’s incredible how much it touches. Because of that, those three organizations brought other stakeholders into the collaboration. Brightpoint, Parkview, the YMCA, educators, employers, community leaders, child care providers, social service organizations, and more. Since joining the team, I have been working closely with New Community Initiatives based in Ligonier, which is made up of a large number of community leaders, the Community Learning Center’s Leadership Team of dedicated programmers and supported organizations, The ARC Noble County Foundations, which reached out to offer assistance with staffing, with the Town of Albion and its manager on the potential for a new child care center. We’re working beyond the borders of Noble County to create a Regional Early Childhood Coalition which will enable further collaboration throughout our 11 counties in Northeast Indiana. We are meeting with coalitions and child care providers across the state to work together to solve the challenges all of our communities face.

I can’t possibly list all the partnerships surrounding just this one project. But my point is this: Noble County is collaboration. Every day, those of us who live and work here team up to make our community a better place. And we wouldn’t want it any other way.