MALVERN, Iowa (KMTV) — Mills County, Iowa has a childcare shortage and leaders in Malvern are in the process of turning an old nursing home into a childcare center in order to address the problem.
Architectural renderings of the proposed center were on display in the community building on Friday afternoon following the East Mills homecoming parade.
“I love how many kids we’re going to be able to accommodate,” said Emalie Hogan, a Malvern parent who is also on the board of the new center. “So, it is really fun to see our vision come to life.”
Members of the East Mills Childcare Solutions board expect the new center to hold up to 150 children.
An occupational therapist who works in Shenandoah, Hogan has a four-year-old and a baby on the way.
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“I’m on waitlists ranging from Shenandoah, to Essex, Stanton and Glenwood. We’ve reached out to home providers, but because I have an infant, it’s hard for home providers to accommodate an infant because they’re only allowed one or two (babies).”
The new child care center in Malvern, she hopes, will break ground next year and she can have both kids in one place.
“It would be more time with my family, less time in the car commuting. It would be more time that my kids get to spend with other kids that go to school with them,” she said.
The lack of childcare affects more than just young families. Kate McGann is a vice president at Malvern Bank and the vice president of the East Mills Childcare Solutions Board.
“It’s an issue for families, but it’s also an economic development issue for businesses,” she said.
Childcare access means families buying the new homes being built in the school district and spending money locally.
“As you try to market those homes to people, it just becomes tough when their next question is, ‘What are the childcare options in the community?’ And we don’t have a great answer to that question.” said McGann.
The board set a fundraising goal of $5.3 million and says it’s about halfway there thanks to a $1 million donation from the Charles E. Lakin Foundation. The plan is to break ground next year on the project.
@kmtvomaha 3 News Now Reporter @katrinamarkel stopped by Malvern, Iowa during Homecoming. She’ll be talking to the community about the need for childcare options in rural Iowa. #Iowa #news #fyp ♬ original sound - 3NewsNow
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