KOOTENAI COUNTY, Idaho — In our ongoing Boomtown coverage, KREM 2 News is tracking the growth in our region, but one thing not growing is the number of child care options in Idaho.
At Kinder Prep Learning Center in Hayden, Idaho, the kids aren't just building block towers; they're building a foundation for the rest of their lives.
Kinder Prep owner Erika Starkey and her staff are helping them out.
"They're our second family," Starkey said. "These kids are with us eight to 10 hours a day."
The hours are filled with fun, from drawing to reading. But while plenty of books are here for the kids, the same can't be said for the number of child care facilities across Idaho.
"Child care should never be taken for granted," Starkey said.
According to the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, more than 160 child care facilities that were part of the Idaho Child Care Program (ICCP) closed between 2019 and 2023.
According to the state, reasons for closing include rent increases, increased or unsustainable operating costs, retirement and trouble keeping staff.
Starkey suspects the pandemic also played a part.
"I would definitely say that COVID took its hit," Starkey said. "A few child care programs didn't make it through and some said it was easier to just walk away instead of going into debt trying to keep the program open."
Meanwhile, North Idaho is growing rapidly, with more people moving in and needing child care.
"I would say at least 60% of my clientele isn't from here," Starkey said.
The demand for child care is why Starkey said they built and opened a newer larger facility, an upgrade from their previous building in Post Falls.
"We hear quite often that they've called everybody, they're on a bunch of waiting lists, and it's that domino effect where everybody's looking for the same spots," Starkey said.
In Post Falls, Shannon Vandever owns and operates A Place for Kids. She's also seeing the demand, especially for infant care.
Right now, she has 18 names on her waiting list for infant care alone. In the past, she's seen it reach as high as 25 names.
"Most of them come on the waitlist before they're even born, and they'll be on the waitlist until they either find other care or sometimes until they're two," Vandever said.
Vandever said she's made adjustments to try to fit more families into the program, including tweaking the ratio of children to adults in her one-year-old classroom from six to one to 10 to two.
While she admits she could have more kids at the facility, Vandever intentionally keeps the number of enrolled children smaller for both the sake of the kids and the staff.
"I'd love to make it bigger, but I also know that I personally can only handle so much stress," Vandever said.
One thing not helping is Health and Welfare's temporary pause for ICCP enrollment due to a projected budget shortfall of about $15 million.
The program is meant to help families by paying for a portion of child care. The pause started back in August.
Since then, Starkey said she has seen about six or seven kids leave Kinder Prep because of it.
"We see some families leaving so that mom can stay home with the babies because they're not getting the help that they need and that has been provided over the years," Starkey said.
On Thursday, Health and Welfare announced they're ending the pause in mid-January.
Meanwhile, Starkey is optimistic about one thing: the more people moving into North Idaho, the more potential talent comes in.
The first step often starts with a mom dropping off their child.
"They see how much fun we're having and what we do here and, all of a sudden, they want a little taste," Starkey said.
So while North Idaho's child care shortage isn't going anywhere anytime soon, there's still work being done to help kids living in Idaho build strong foundations for the future.