Care for the kids
By Michael Johnson, Editor
With a boom in the job market in North Dakota, many 20 and 30 somethings have returned home to grow their family in a safe environment with great job opportunities. And it’s not just the men finding the jobs. There’s enough work that 85 percent of women in McLean County with children age 0 to 17 are out in the workforce, according to the North Dakota Resource and Referral (using 2012 numbers). While mom and dad have found work, many parents have not found ample childcare opportunities, but that could be changing soon thanks to legislative decisions. Of the 1,032 kids ages 0-12 that could use childcare in the county, only 192 licensed childcare spaces were available. That means 81 percent of the kids that could be in a licensed daycare are either searching for one or under unlicensed care. Parents like the Klabundes of Washburn would like to see options when it comes to childcare for their family and others. “We had a hard time finding daycare for the kids when we first moved to Washburn,” Carissa Klabunde said. At that time their was no licensed daycare, she said.
