Dubuque nonprofits launch survey of area child care needs – THonline.com: Dubuque News Dubuque nonprofits launch survey of area child care needs

Two Dubuque nonprofits aim to develop a clearer picture of demands for child care services in the community.

Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque and United Way of Dubuque Area Tri-States launched an online survey to assess child care needs among community members with children younger than 10. The effort is part of a larger project to determine the needs of Dubuque-area residents in the areas of child care, employment and mental health.

aFor the homeless population, child care is a huge, insurmountable barrier,a Wood said. aItas a chicken and an egg situation because they need a job to afford child care, but they canat get a job without having child care.a

Participants in the Circles Initiative, which connects volunteers and community leaders to families and individuals wanting to emerge from poverty, also find child care to be a barrier to achieving self-sufficiency, Wood said.

The few extra dollars tacked onto their paychecks can cause families to lose federal benefits, including child care subsidies, creating a benefits acliff,a Wood said.

aWe conducted focus groups of people who provide in-home child care who talked about getting calls from women who has just found out they were pregnant and trying to make sure they had a slot eight to nine months away.

Tara Roddick, child-care consultant supervisor at Iowa Child Care Resource & Referral, said the state as a whole has witnessed a reduction in the number of in-home child care providers over the past 15 years.