Efforts to help local providers expand their services and connect with other child care providers have been strengthened thanks to a close partnership with the Henry County Childcare Network (HCCN), a nonprofit that creates a web of quality care for all children. It is a training, resource and opportunity network for the county that works to bring together local organizations, providers and stakeholders to strategically address the need for quality early childhood education and care.  

HCCF has participated in HCCN’s events that gather child care providers together for training. At one event, teachers enjoyed lunch, giveaways and a valuable presentation on fostering literacy in the classroom. Another event, the S.T.E.A.M Maker Fair, equipped educators with books and six innovative kits to enhance their teaching. 

When providers come together to learn and collaborate with each other, it offers opportunities to address their needs. At past meetings with HCCN, providers had expressed an interest in increasing infant and toddler seats. In response, HCCF and HCCN created a grant application for providers to help meet their goals and increase seats for infants and toddlers, which are in high demand in Henry County. 

One of the recent successes from these efforts has been the expansion of a beloved local child care provider who has served the community for many years. Holly Massengale, who operates Country Kids Child Care, a Paths to QUALITY™ Level 2 licensed family home, reported having 20 infants and toddlers on a waiting list.  However, with the support of HCCF and the Early Years Initiative, she was able to build an additional site, adding 14 new infant and toddler seats, and hire additional staff.   She now has two licensed family homes. She celebrated the expansion with an open house, giving the community a chance to see firsthand the impact.  

HCCF’s support has also funded two more child care providers. Since joining the Early Years Initiative, HCCF has supported providers to add a total of 24 seats in Henry County. 

While the foundation is still in the early stages of some of these efforts, the future looks bright. HCCF is focused on continuing to foster collaboration between providers and addressing the ongoing needs of the community. By working closely with local organizations and listening to the needs of both providers and families, HCCF is building a sustainable framework for child care services in Henry County.  

Their work is not just about creating more child care seats; it’s about ensuring that every child in the community has access to quality care and education, setting them up for a brighter future. 

The Closing the Gap report focuses attention on the relationship between the various factors contributing to early learning access across Indiana and provides communities with a side-by-side comparison of their local early learning supply and demand changes since the report’s development. Community stakeholders, leaders and early care providers can use the report findings to equip themselves with the data needed to make informed and deliberate choices in expanding access to high-quality child care in their communities. 

“Our report confirms that we are making slow, but steady, progress in expanding access to high-quality early learning opportunities, ” said Maureen Weber, president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana. “Even as this work continues in communities across Indiana, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that every early learning classroom has an effective teacher and that families in need can afford the cost of care.” 

The report analysis centers around Early Learning Indiana’s Early Learning Access Index methodology and the change in child care access statewide over the course of a year. This unique index assesses child care availability for families in need of care as well as program quality, affordability and choice. To improve families’ access to care and boost local solutions, Early Learning Indiana, with generous support from Lilly Endowment Inc., is awarding over $1M in grants for organizations to close the gap in their communities.  

The 15 grants impact 14 unique counties in Indiana. In total, their proposals will create 563 new child care seats for 233 infants and toddlers and 330 preschool and pre-K children. These recipients have proposed strategies to address a variety of community-level access issues, including providing high-quality early learning that meets families’ unique needs by offering care options that prioritize capacity for infants and toddlers, an early learning center partnering with Habitat for Humanity to ensure both affordable housing and child care, and creating an intergenerational model connecting early learners to seniors.   

2022 Grant recipients include:  

• Early Childhood Alliance – Allen Co.  
• Grace United Methodist Church /Helen Lieber Early Learning Academy – Blackford Co.  
• Brown County Schools – Brown Co. 
• Clarksville Elementary School (Clarksville Community School Corporation) – Clark Co.  
• Early Learning Center at Hubbard Hill – Elkhart Co.  
• Realife Church STEAM Academy – Hancock Co.  
• Early Childhood Alliance – Kosciusko Co.  
• Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana – Lake Co.  
• Michigan City Area Schools – La Porte Co. 
• YMCA of Greater Indianapolis (Baxter) – Marion Co.  
• Montgomery County Community Foundation – Montomgery Co.  
• Duneland Family YMCA – Porter Co.  
• Habitat for Humanity of Northwest Indiana – Porter Co.  
• The Children’s Learning Center of Posey County – Posey Co.  
• Starke County Economic Development Foundation, Inc. – Starke Co.  

Notable report findings from 2021 to 2022 include: 

• Indiana saw an increase in the statewide Early Learning Access Index from  —60.6 to 62.2 out of 100, equaling moderate access to early learning and care statewide. 
• Counties with the most growth are Sullivan (+17.2), Grant (+17.0), Brown (+16.6), Jefferson (+13.6) and Wabash (+12.6). 
• The Capacity Sufficiency Rate, (CSR) represents the percentage of children who may need care in an area that can be served through existing local capacity in that same area. – increased from 55.5% to 61.2%. 
• Over 70% of Hoosier children ages 0-5 do not have access to high-quality care and education. This represents an increase from 25.7% in 2021 to 28.4% in 2022. CEven the counties with the most high-quality capacity can still only serve fewer than 50% of children ages 0-5 who may need care.  
• The number of counties with no high-quality infant/toddler care decreased from 14 counties in 2021 to 5 in 2022. 

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About Early Learning Indiana 
Early Learning Indiana is Indiana’s oldest and largest early childhood education nonprofit, providing leadership, advocacy and early childhood education services to continually improve the early learning landscape in Indiana. Today, Early Learning Indiana operates 11 high-quality Day Early Learning centers, a network of premier community-based schools used to advance the science of early learning, train the next generation of teachers and leaders, and instill essential skills in the children we serve. Through regional and statewide programs, the organization enables early learning providers to build capacity, transform operations and improve learning outcomes. Learn more at EarlyLearningIndiana.org.