The Bath Area Family YMCA held a groundbreaking ceremony in April for its new preschool building. At the podium is Bill Haggett, the Y’s capital campaign chairperson; at right is Annie Colaluca, the Y’s child care director; and at left is Jacqueline Stahl, the Y’s billing coordinator and parent of a child in the preschool program. Courtesy of Bath Area Family YMCA
The Bath Area Family YMCA is hoping a recent $100,000 donation by the Bath City Council for its expanded child care center will inspire other communities to contribute to the $7.2 million project, which will more than double its capacity as child care providers across the state continue to downsize and close.
The City Council unanimously approved the donation, paid for with most of the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan funds distributed during the coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a critical investment to the child care infrastructure,” YMCA CEO Rob Gray said. “We’re committed to the project and excited for the families who are going to be served as a result of the community’s generosity.”
The organization has raised $4.2 million for the project, which broke ground earlier this year. The first phase of the expansion, expected to open in January, will increase child care slots from 52 to 84. All the new slots have been filled and there’s a waiting list for future spots that might open up, according to Gray. The next phase of construction will increase the number of slots to 108.
The YMCA originally asked the City Council for $350,000, but councilors were averse to taking out a $250,000 bond on top of the $100,000 in coronavirus relief money, pointing to a new $25 million bond the city is taking out for sewer upgrades. The YMCA plans to approach communities like West Bath, Arrowsic, Woolwich, Phippsburg and Georgetown for donations.
“There is a national and a local child care provider crisis,” Gray said in a pitch to those communities. “Most day cares, if not all in this region, have a waiting list that could be 30-50 children.
“It’s very difficult on the local economy and state economy when people can’t get back to work because they can’t find quality, affordable child care.”
The YMCA estimated at least 175 Maine child care providers have closed since the start of the coronavirus pandemic as more people worked from home. The American Rescue Plan included $39 billion in aid to child care centers nationally, but that money is running out and more and more providers are downsizing or shutting down, Gray said. Forty percent of Maine child care providers are understaffed, according to a recent survey by the Maine Association for the Education of Young Children.
A recent report found a lack of child care workers in Maine means providers are unable to enroll about 10,000 children, while officials said the lack of child care options is a drain on the state’s economy to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars a year in lost productivity.
Bath City Councilor Roo Dunn called the donation “long overdue and very much needed.”
“This one-time investment in the Y is important across a whole lot of areas,” he said. “It’s an investment in workforce development. More parents can feel more comfortable about working and having somewhere for their kids to go. … It is a job creator because the Y will be hiring more people for this, and it positions the Y to encourage others to seek expanded child care.”
Councilor Phyllis Bailey agreed.
“It’s going to allow people back into the workforce, particularly people who need infant care,” she said. “It’s a good investment.”
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