COVID-19 impacts local childcare

     Due to COVID-19, schools in Iowa have been closed and some parents still have to go into work as essential employees of the State of Iowa, this situation creates a need for additional childcare services across the state.

     In some cases, parents can work from home. In others, childcare is a must.

     “While not often included with first responders, the service you provide is critical,” states the Iowa Department of Human Services. “Thank you for your public service. We appreciate childcare providers staying open to provide quality, safe care to Iowa’s children during this critical time.”

     The Iowa DHS encourages parents who telecommute (work from home) to keep their children at home with them during this time.

     In addition, they ask childcare settings to limit rooms to 10 children per room, when possible, and to increase space between children.

     Childcare facilities, whether in-home or centers, can remain open during this time. Additional restrictions and policies have been placed on childcare facilities to limit the spread or coronavirus. For instance, all plush toys were asked to be removed from childcare settings.

     Natalee Herrig, director at St. John’s Daycare in Monticello, said while they are licensed for 50 children total throughout all of their rooms, they are only maintaining an attendance of 10 children in the entire center.

     “We have had several families, 10 in fact, withdraw due to this crisis,” shared Herrig.

     That means they have openings for 32 more children if needed, especially from essential workers such as medical, public safety, grocery store workers, etc. That equates to eight infants, four toddlers, and 28 open spots in the “big room.”

     With the low numbers, Herrig said they have not extended their hours to meet the community’s needs.

     “It just hasn’t been sufficient,” she said.

     As far as changes the CDC or DHS has now been requiring, St. John’s has now established a new check-in station at the church entrance.

     “We are not allowing parents into the building farther than the check-in station at this time,” explained Herrig.

     St. John’s has beefed up its cleaning processes, too.

     “We are cleaning twice as much due to COVID-19,” added Herrig.

     With the low attendance, St. John’s unfortunately had to cut some of its part-time staff hours.

     “If families are in need of care for school-age children, we would be willing to take them on,” urged Herrig. “We, as a center, are prepared to make adjustments, but normally we only take children 4 weeks to 5 years of age.”

     DaLana Rigby operates an in-home childcare center. Her numbers are typically around 10 to 15 children of varying ages, depending on how adults she has assisting her. Lately, that figure has been 8 to 13.

     While Rigby cannot take on any more full-time children, she does have room for part-time/drop-ins.

     “We have several drop-in families, additional kids on a case-by-case basis,” said Rigby.

     A few of Rigby’s families are teachers, now staying home. In those cases, they’ve pulled their kids out rather than keep them in childcare.

     Rigby said extending or adjusting her hours has not been an issue for people seeking childcare right now.

     Like St. John’s, Rigby has stepped up her cleaning procedures as well. They are also working with the kids about proper hand-washing techniques, complete with a song. They also switched to using paper towels versus hand towels.

     “We check temperatures at the door before entering and periodically throughout the day and keep a log of their temperatures,” explained Rigby.

     To lessen outside exposure, Rigby or her assistants meet parents at the door for drop-off and pick-up.

     “We have instituted a no visitor rule to keep the daycare free of exposure,” added Rigby.

     She has not had to increase hours or bring in additional adults to help.

     “It is a scary time right now,” said Rigby, “and we try to do everything we can to keep everyone safe.”

     Angie Beitz, who also as an in-home childcare center, is full for both full-time and part-time slots.

     “For the most part, nearly all of the children are attending each day,” she said.

     Beitz has, though, chosen to expand her hours to accommodate changes to parents’ work schedules. She opens a little earlier, and offers childcare later than normal.

     Like so many other childcare providers, Beitz has also implemented the DHS guidelines suggested during coronavirus. Some of those include: extra hand washing, taking children’s temperatures upon arrival, not allowing toys or blankets to be brought from home, laundering children’s bedding daily, and sanitizing all toys each day.

     “Everyone here has been well and I have not had children missing due to their own illnesses,” shared Beitz.

     With some kids remaining at home during this time, parents have had to modify schedules to make sure someone is home with their kids during the day. Some parents, like Angi Kearney, are working remotely so she’s able to stay home with her two kids. She’s using real-world experiences to keep her kids engaged, such as cooking.

     Katie Greif is also working from home while her husband farms. They’re kids also remain at home.

     “We are thankful of online educational resources we can utilize and enjoy getting outside as much as the weather allows,” said Greif.

     Nicole Moestchen and her husband both work away from home. They have implemented online learning for their children thanks to the power of technology.

     Moestchen, who’s heavily involved in Scouts, will also be leading a Scout merit badge that the Scouts will complete via Google Hangouts.

     “With the recent social distancing restrictions, we are not able to meet in our Scouts groups,” explained Moestchen. “We started a few merit badges a few months ago and are using this down time to finish them up.”

     They’ll log on to Zoom to work on a forestry badge, working with PowerPoints and lectures.

     Laura Zumbach, the second grade teacher at Sacred Heart, has sent out some educational program ideas to her parents that they can work with their kids on from home.