"We know that the childcare system in Minnesota is broken and it's not a sustainable model," Trisha Lien, business development director for First Children's Finance in southwest Minnesota, tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
That's because, according to a First Children's Finance survey, just 13% of child care centers in the state have staff members who actually make more than dog walkers.
And that's not all: The last study showed that childcare providers in Minnesota on average make less than dog babysitters.
And that's not the only reason behind a child care shortage in rural areas.
"Many rural Minnesotans just can't afford to pay what it costs to provide child care," Lien says, noting that a child care provider in the metro area might charge a quarter what a provider charges in rural areas.
And that's not just a problem for parents in rural areas: It's also a problem for small-scale farmers, who often need a job off of the farm to make ends meet.
In fact, the US Department of Agriculture says 89% of farms in rural areas rely on off-farm sources for the majority of their household income.
And that's not just a problem for parents in rural areas: It's a problem
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