(Johnston)– An already critical shortage of childcare in Iowa has gotten even worse since the pandemic and has been identified as a major impediment by the Governor’s Economic Advisory Board. Governor Kim Reynolds announced today (Wed.) the formation of a statewide Childcare Task Force that will be chaired by Emily Schmitt, General Counsel with Sukup Manufacturing. Schmitt says the group will be convening for the first time in the very near future and that they will be identifying a number of strategies…
“Some of our actions for this task force will be to study successful delivery models from other states. We will work to identify the correct regulatory environments to foster both safety and quality. We are also going to think of how to incentivize employers to be partners with this childcare assistance. And we’re going to measure our success with the goal of increasing Iowa’s childcare slots by 50 percent within five years.”
Schmitt laid out an ambitious time frame, saying they hope to have a plan in place within 100 days.
