Missoula YMCA new child care center opens its doors, expands capacity to over 90 children
Missoula's newest expanded child care facility opened on Monday, with renovations now allowing the Missoula Family YMCA to serve nearly 100 kids.
The building will offer licensed child care options for children up to 5 years old to combat Missoula's child care shortage. It has the space to host 94 children, which is about double the Y's previous capacity, according to Heather Foster, CEO of the Missoula Family YMCA.
"One of the best ways to set children up for future success is through early education child care programs. The Y has been a champion of quality, affordable child care for more than 20 years, and we're committed to addressing our community's need for reliable child care options," Foster said in the news release. "The new building will allow us to increase the number of children served through the program."
In years past, the Y's child care center has been split between two buildings. The expansion will bring the facility under one roof, in a building just north of the Y's main campus on South Russell Street. One of the old buildings was a donated 1970s modular building, the news release stated.
The new center has five classrooms, a kitchen space and a therapy room in a new building, along with an outdoor playground area.
Data from the Montana Department of Labor and Industry found that child care shortages exist in every county in the state. Of all 56 counties, 33 report a child care desert, defined as an area where supply meets less than a third of estimated demand, the Missoulian previously reported . That gap is especially pronounced in rural communities and for families seeking care before or after school.
A lack of child care options is a documented issue nationwide , too, as parents around the country grapple with increased care costs.
"We hear time and time again that Missoula families need access to quality, affordable child care, and we hear that families need a safe space for their children to learn, grow, and thrive while the adults are at work," Foster said in an email to the Missoulian.
Foster said it's licensed through the state of Montana, meaning it accepts Best Beginnings scholarships and operates five days a week. She said like many local child care centers, the Y keeps an ongoing waitlist.
The Y's new facility was renamed the Phyllis Washington Early Child Care Center to honor the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation's long-standing support of the YMCA, the release stated.
"The Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation is proud to support the Missoula Family YMCA's new child care building and expanded service because it is consistent with our mission and priorities on early childhood education," Foundation Executive Director Mike Halligan said in the news release. "This expansion will take an already successful program and make it more available to the families and children in need in the Missoula area."
The Y's new facility is part of their Here for Good capital campaign. Foster said they follow strict child-to-teacher ratios and over the past month, the Y grew its teaching staff to prepare for the expansion.
Zoë Buchli is the education reporter for the Missoulian.
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