One topic that’s caught attention in Farm Bill discussions is the expansion of child care in rural communities. One northern Indiana community has seen the effects of a child care center closure, as well as how building a new center revitalized the town.
Adam Alson farms near Rensselaer. He’s seen first hand the benefits of rural child care.
“There was one licensed child care center, and we sent our child there, and he had a wonderful experience. He made friends. He learned so much. He grew in ways that we didn’t think possible.”
But when the center closed in 2018, the ripple effect hit Rensselaer hard.
“Some of us drove a half an hour to 45 minutes to the next nearest child care center. Some families, one of the two parents stopped working. In some cases, I know there were families that left Rensselaer. We all tried to figure out how we could get our kids what they needed while still being able to do the things that families need to do.”
Alson joined forces with other members of the community for a solution. They created Appletree Rensselaer, a licensed child care center that opened in March.
One challenge they needed to meet was the cost of child care.
“The cost to provide quality child care is akin to a college tuition payment. Per capita incomes in Rensselaer and in most rural communities are not high enough to pass that full cost on to families.”
Alson says that Appletree has succeeded in lowering that cost so that families can afford their services.
“It’s allowed families to take new jobs, take remote jobs, to change jobs, all of that, it leads to better individual households and it leads to more economic activity within the community.”
Alson says that child care is a part of attracting and retaining talent for the agriculture industry.
“It’s one of those things that we, hopefully, as an ag community, start thinking is essential infrastructure in the same way that we have about broadband access over the last five to ten years.
“This problem is one that plagues almost every rural community in Indiana. The problem is, is trying to figure out how to solve it and how to fund it.”
As for Appletree Rensselaer, the center is close to full, and there’s now a waitlist.
Hear the full conversation with Alson in the media player below.
