Pensacola will be hit this summer with several childcare and early development programs either being discontinued or cutting back due to a lack of qualified workers.
Why this matters: Children, their parents, and the local businesses operate better when a community has easily accessible, high-quality child care and early education options.
Pensacola State College is shuttering its campus daycare, which Campfire USA operates. Several local churches have announced reductions.
Update: PSC President Ed Meadows explained the closure of the daycare was due to Campfire USA losing its insurance Carrier:
Rick, the Campfire Childcare organization has operated on our campus for many years, and in addition to our decision to not renew their contract has lost their insurance. We informed them before that decision by their insurance carrier that we would not be renewing their contract for next year.
When we discovered they had lost their insurance, we notified them to close by the last day of coverage or provide proof of insurance to continue operation. I assume they lost their insurance for some of the same reasons we let them know that we would not renew their contract. You stressed in your article the same concern we have in offering quality child care.
Our concern is for the safety of children in childcare centers. – Ed Meadows
The Early Learning Coalition has $22 million to help parents pay for child care and early education. It has a waiting list due to the lack of staffing at childcare facilities. Last fall, we reported the waiting list had 568 children and the facilities were running at 76% capacity.
Child Care Personnel must complete 40 hours of approved training and pass a competency exam to work full-time in a daycare facility. Pensacola State College is one of the few community colleges that doesn’t offer online courses in early childcare.
Dig Deeper:
source: U.S. Treasury – The Economics of Child Care Supply in the United States
PARENTS: Temporary childcare crises can have long-lasting impacts on parents, as their decisions about whether to remain in the labor force, reduce hours, or set sights on a promotion when their children are young can have long-run effects on their career paths and earnings trajectories.
During the pandemic, one-third of working mothers and one-quarter of working fathers reported that they needed to reduce their work hours. Jobs that allow flexible hours and part-time options pay lower wages, so parents’ earnings suffer both because they are working fewer hours and earning less for the hours they do work.
Many parents who cannot work full-time because of child care lose access to their employer’s healthcare insurance, retirement programs, and other benefits tied to employment.
CHILDREN: Evidence suggests that children who participate in organized early childhood programs are less likely to commit crimes later in life, which benefits the potential victims of those averted crimes and reduces expenditures in the criminal justice system.
Recent research tracked the siblings and children of people who came from low-income backgrounds and were randomly selected to participate in a high-quality preschool program in the 1950s and found that the siblings and ofspring completed more schooling and had higher earnings, providing direct evidence of spillovers to others.
EMPLOYERS: The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation worked with four states and estimated costs to employers ranging from $375 to $500 per working-aged adult due to child care-related absences and employee turnover.
The 2018-2019 National Survey of Children’s Health reported that the parents of two million children under the age of 5 “had to quit a job, not take a job, or greatly change their job because of problems with child care.”
An Era Ends
Mike Ashby and his family yesterday closed on the sale of Intermission, an iconic bar that has been on Pensacola since 2000. The staff will remain but it won’t be the same without Mike behind the bar talking about Kentucky basketball, boxing and Tombstone.
Why this matters: Intermission was a go-to retreat for politicians, county workers, the service industry, locals and Inweekly.
Duwayne Escobedo, David Alsop and I developed the first “Ballsy Plan” at the bar in May 2004, with Mike offering his input. We took all the big ideas floating around the community – Adm. Jack Fetterman’s maritime museum, the Studers’ minor league ballpark, and the UWF President John Cavanaugh’s downtown campus – and put them in one audacious plan. Most of it has come true.
The Walker Holmes thrillers – “City of Grudges” and “Blood in the Water” – have several scenes in Intermission. Holmes gets his butt kicked many times there.
The NAIA Men’s Lacrosse Invitational yesterday completed its quarterfinals at the Ashton Brosnaham Soccer Complex.
No. 1 Keiser (Fla.) def. No. 8 St. Ambrose (Iowa), 19-7
Keiser (Fla.) netted five goals in each of the final three periods to knock off eighth-seed St. Ambrose (Iowa) .
No. 5 Webber International (Fla.) def. No. 4 Reinhardt (Ga.), 13-12 (OT)
Webber International (Fla.) utilized a four-goal second quarter and the golden goal from Christian Tapia for the Warriors upset Reinhardt (Ga.) in overtime.
No. 3 Cumberlands (Ky.) def. No. 6 Concordia, 14-8
Cumberlands (Ky.) had six players tally multiple points, while goalie Michael Toohey made 20 saves as the Patriots defeated Concordia (Mich.).
No. 2 Indiana Tech def. No. 7 Siena Heights (Mich.), 19-6
Indiana Tech netted ten unanswered first-half goals en route to a 19-6 win over Siena Heights (Mich.)
More game highlights – here.
Today’s Games
4 p.m. (1) Keiser vs. (5) Webber
7 p.m. (3) Cumberland vs. (2) Indiana Tech
The NAIA Network – the association’s official video-streaming home – will broadcast all games live at the 2023 NAIA Men’s Lacrosse National Invitational. To purchase CLICK HERE