The City of Storm Lake has contracted with First Children’s Finance (FCF) to complete the child care study. The study will include research and analysis on:
- The needs of local families and children
- The current supply of registered child care
- Parents’ current and preferred child care choices
- Impact on employers caused by lack of child care
- Child care providers’ challenges in operating
The study will result in a report that will include the key findings of the research and analysis, including insight on the child care gap - how many children likely need care versus the number of spaces available.
The research includes a survey of parents that are currently using child care in Storm Lake or want to use child care in Storm Lake, to learn about their child care preferences along with child care challenges they may be facing. The survey for parents can be accessed online from now through September 30, 2023 at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/StormLakeParents. A Spanish language version is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/PadresdeStormLake.
In addition, local employers and child care providers will be contacted to participate in surveys to provide insight into the current child care supply and how it is affecting them.
“It has been a number of years since Storm Lake has had data on child care needs. We encourage parents to take this opportunity to share their input. The information will be vital to future efforts to meet the needs of the community,” City Manager Keri Navratil said.
If you have questions or would like more information about this project, contact Lee Dutfield, City of Storm Lake at dutfield@stormlake.org or 712-732-8000.