Montana News
Helena hospital expands employee child care program
With Montana News, I'm Eleanor Smith. Childcare centers in Montana are using federal grants to expand, but access is still out of reach for many families. Governor Greg Gianforte on Tuesday toured a child care facility, serving employees at a hell in a hospital. The governor is encouraging private businesses to help with the state's child care shortage. MTPR's Shaley Rager reports. Pete's place, a child care provider created by St. Peter's Health for hospital employees, is expanding. It found a new home in the former Ray Bjork Elementary School, and now has the space to increase capacity from 40 to 180 kids. Wade Johnson, CEO of St. Peter's Health, says this kind of child care model has become a necessity to keep staff. I think in order for organizations to have the workforce that they're going to need for the future, they're going to have to address this issue. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of infant care in Montana is more than $9,000 a year. Johnson said a one-time-only $1 million federal grant made it possible to expand their program. The state has doled out $110 million from the Congressional American Rescue Plan Act for child care providers for their business operations. Pete's place has also been able to hire new apprentice staff after the state lowered the age requirement for child care workers from 18 to 16. Governor Greg Gianforte says the state can help, but much of the responsibility to create new child care options falls to the private sector. I think it primarily has to be driven by the employers. This is something that logically links with employment. In 2021, Gianforte vetoed a bill to create a privately funded task force to study employer-based child care, saying it would confirm what's already known. Child care providers say they continue to struggle to pay competitive wages and retain staff. And the cost of care is still a hardship for the majority of Montana families. In Helena, I'm Shalee Rager.