LEWISBURG, Pa. — Since the beginning of the pandemic, more than 1,500 child care classrooms in Pennsylvania have closed, but the need for child care is still growing.
Angela Heimbach of Mifflinburg has been in the child care field for many years. She is a nanny and sees the need for care.
"There's always a need. There's so much. Families are always working, moms and dads."
According to the Greater Susquehanna Valley YMCA, there are nearly 11,000 pre-kindergarten-aged children in Union, Snyder, and Northumberland Counties, and around 60 percent have working parents. But with more facilities closing, parents have fewer options.
"I have a workforce that's 80 percent women, and it's the number one conversation that young employees have with me. They just don't have access to affordable child care," said Kendra Aucker, president and CEO of Evangelical Community Hospital near Lewisburg, one of the owners of the Miller Center.
Thanks to more than $3 million in grant money, a child care center will be built at the Miller Center, a sports and recreation facility outside Lewisburg.
"Whether you're a university, a hospital, a manufacturer, a grocery store, you need a workforce. In order to do that, you have got to look at getting people back to work," Aucker said.
The new child care facility is expected to have between 100 and 120 spots and serve the entire region.
"That's perfect because everybody can come from Danville," Heimbach said. "State College doesn't come down this far, but there is definitely a need for child care."
Aucker says the hope is for the new child care facility to be built within the next year and a half.
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