Frequently Asked Questions

Local businesses and families in Crawford County have long recognized the lack of high-quality, accessible childcare as a pressing concern. Parents voiced frustrations with long waitlists, limited options for children with special needs, and the lack of enriching educational experiences during childcare hours. These challenges were formally documented in a 2022 study conducted by the Business of Child Care, which included insights from over 50 stakeholders, including business leaders, educators, and community members. The study revealed a gap of over 400 licensed childcare slots, emphasizing the urgent need for action.

Based on the findings of the 2022 study, CCKA was established to address the county’s most urgent childcare challenges through a comprehensive action plan.

Key goals include:

Expanding childcare capacity across the county, including 2nd and 3rd shift care.
Enhancing quality standards through support programs like Project CHILD’s Circles of Quality.
Improving access to special needs care with specialized resources and support.
Strengthening the early childhood workforce and building a sustainable talent pipeline.
Increasing learning opportunities to promote school readiness.
Encouraging family engagement through improved communication platforms and early intervention tools.

Explore local data on early care here: IECAM Data Tool – Crawford County

CCKA has focused its efforts on:

1) Creating a staff development pipeline with Lincoln Trail College (LTC)/Illinois Eastern Community College (IECC) and local county schools.

2) Offering existing providers opportunities to expand and improve through business sustainability by providing training, additional capacity grant funding, and quality training at no cost, as well as a variety of other resources to support state grant funding, such as the State of Illinois Smart Start Program, food reimbursement programs, the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and Project CHILD resources.

3) A childcare gap scholarship fund has been established to support families and the workforce, encouraging employees to return to work and provide child care assistance to qualifying families. Continuous work to identify and implement additional strategies to close the gap between existing childcare openings and the number of openings needed, including expanding early intervention services and specialized childcare for children with special needs.

The Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) recognizes four levels of childcare quality:

Licensed (Foundational): The basic level of care, meeting minimum state standards.

Bronze: A higher level, requiring enhanced staff qualifications and professional development.

Silver: An even higher level, meeting or exceeding standards for the learning environment, instructional quality, and other critical factors.

Gold: The highest level, validated against seventeen rigorous standards. These include quality benchmarks for the learning environment, instructional quality, group size, staff qualifications, professional development, age-appropriate curriculum, screening, and other essential factors.

Currently, Crawford County has 12 licensed providers, one bronze provider, and the Gold provider with whom CCKA has contracted. A link to learn more information on these programs and their requirements, and what is expected from providers to achieve quality childcare standards can be found here: Circles of Quality - Excelerate Illinois

CCKA has kept providers informed and updated informed and updates about grant opportunities, assisted with grant applications, provided training opportunities (including on-site training given at the provider's facilities at no cost), hosted appreciation events, facilitated expansion efforts, offered technical assistance to apply for federal programs (like the food program), business model review, and supported community engagement initiatives.

CCKA has provided monetary grant funding of over $99,000.00 to area childcare providers.

Most recently, CCKA, through the generosity of a local employer, has established a gap scholarship fund, available beginning April 1, 2025, to all daycare providers on a first-come, first-served basis. This program enables providers to apply for scholarships to help their families with child care expenses.

CCKA remains fully committed to all aspects of its mission, including supporting existing providers with future grant opportunities. As part of this effort, a provider needs assessment survey is scheduled for Fall 2025. This survey will help identify and address the ongoing and evolving needs of childcare providers in Crawford County, supporting CCKA's broader objectives of monitoring county-wide childcare needs to promote community sustainability, foster growth, and adapt to changes in state regulations and provider support requirements

hat is certainly not CCKA’s intention, though it is likely that some impact may occur. Our community is already seeing a shift in after-school childcare with the opening of the Boys & Girls Club, which now offers both after-school and summer programs.

When any new business or service becomes available, it’s natural for people to explore their options. Over time, those that consistently deliver good services and value tend to thrive. From the beginning, CCKA has been transparent about its goal to expand access to quality childcare in the community. To that end, we have provided monetary grants, training programs, and a wide range of resources and technical assistance to help existing providers adapt and sustain their businesses.

It’s important to remember that this entire project stems from a well-documented and ongoing shortage of childcare in the area. With recent announcements of industrial expansions in the region, the demand for childcare is expected to continue growing. The additional slots created at the new CCKA facility will help meet that need—but they will not, on their own, eliminate the gap identified in previous studies.

CCKA remains committed to supporting licensed providers in Crawford County. We will continue to prioritize staff development opportunities and work collaboratively with existing providers to strengthen and increase child care services across the community.

In an ideal world, existing childcare providers would have been able to meet the growing demand for both quality and capacity. However, Illinois continues to face a statewide childcare shortage, with significant regulatory barriers to entry. Most critically, Crawford County is officially classified as a childcare desert.

For more than two years, CCKA has worked to support existing providers by offering assistance to expand capacity and improve quality. While some providers took advantage of these opportunities, others did not—leaving a persistent shortage of high-quality childcare options in our community. Recognizing the continued need, CCKA sought additional strategies to help close this gap. The construction of the Crawford County Kids Association Early Education Center, paired with a contract with a Project CHILD Gold-Level Circle of Quality provider, reflects CCKA's ongoing mission to expand access to licensed, high-quality care, supporting both existing providers and welcoming new ones.

Even if CCKA had chosen to operate the facility directly (despite lacking the necessary expertise and resources to do so), the impact on the existing provider landscape would have remained the same.

The reality is simple: Crawford County still does not have enough child care.

By partnering with the only local provider currently meeting Gold-Level Circle of Quality standards, CCKA is ensuring that the response to this community need is both sustainable and effective. The Crawford County Early Education Center will also serve as a valuable hub for continued professional development, training, and support for providers and parents across the county.

The CCKA Board is comprised of volunteer members. Members are nominated by the Nominating Committee, which is comprised of representatives from business, industry, education, healthcare, and other stakeholders.

Childcare providers (past and present) were offered the opportunity to join as board members as their expertise has been vital to furthering the CCKA mission. Only one local provider took advantage of that offer.

As with any board, if a member has a conflict of interest regarding a particular item, that member does not take part in the discussion or action on that item.

The CCKA Board is comprised of dedicated volunteers who, as the project progressed, recognized that they lacked the necessary time, specialized expertise, and state certifications required to operate a high-quality childcare facility or even apply for a childcare facility license. In alignment with CCKA's mission, we have partnered with a highly qualified local childcare provider to help achieve the capacity and quality objectives identified in 2022.

This strategic move enables the CCKA Board to concentrate on advancing and promoting high-quality programs, training, support services, and strategic planning for child care providers throughout Crawford County. It also directly addresses a critical community need, underscoring the essential role of childcare in supporting economic development in our region.

It is common practice for nonprofit organizations to contract with for-profit businesses to deliver essential services. A well-known example can be found in the healthcare sector, where many community hospitals are governed by volunteer boards. These boards often lack the time, expertise, or professional credentials to make daily operational decisions—such as hiring doctors, nurses, and staff, or managing the purchase of medical equipment. To address this, they frequently partner with for-profit management companies that bring in trained professionals to ensure high-quality care and efficient operations. Communities value this approach because it places critical decisions in the hands of experienced experts in a field as vital as health care.

So, why should we expect anything less when it comes to child care—the very foundation of a child’s early development and a crucial support for working families?

Crawford County is among a small number of communities in southern Illinois taking innovative, forward-thinking steps to address local child care needs. A nearby example is Dieterich, Illinois, where the community recently constructed a new child care facility. That center is overseen by a nonprofit organization, which opted to contract with a for-profit child care provider from outside the community to manage its operations. This model has proven both practical and effective—not only in delivering quality child care services but also in supporting the village’s housing development efforts. CCKE is following a similar path as the Dieterich non-profit, except CCKA is contracting with a local provider, rather than bringing in an outside business.

CCKA’s mission has always been to enhance both the quality and capacity of childcare in the area. When the opportunity arose to contract with the only childcare provider in Crawford County that meets the highest level of care—the Gold Standard of Quality —demonstrating experience with Smart Start Grants, the Food Program, Quality Initiative Programs, Head Start, and ISBE programs. CCKA chose to partner with the only local provider who can provide the highest level of child care, who understands the unique needs of this community, and who has experience in providing child care in this community, rather than contract with an outside entity with no experience in this community and with an unproven record in this community.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Understanding the Need and Vision

Why child care expansion matters in Crawford County

Why was the Crawford County Kids Association (CCKA) established?

What are the goals of the Crawford County Kids Association (CCKA)?

What is the Mission of Crawford County Kids Association (CCKA)?

How has CCKA worked to achieve its mission?

What is meant by “highest level” of child care?

What is CCKA's plan for sustainability?

Provider Support and Workforce Development

What has CCKA done to help existing childcare providers?

Do Crawford County tax dollars support CCKA?

Will the opening of a child care facility in the new CCKA building cause children and employees from existing child care providers to transfer to the new facility?

Is it fair for other childcare providers to have to compete with a provider operating out of a new building financed by a nonprofit?

Will the new child care center in the CCKA building create jobs for the community? If so, how many jobs?

Will the new CCKA building have any space for use for anything besides the childcare operation?

How was the makeup of the CCKA Board determined? Specifically, are there or have there been owners or employees of existing child care providers on the Board, and does that create a conflict of interest?

At one time, there was discussion about the need for childcare for second- and third-shift workers. Is that being provided?

How has CCKA been transparent throughout this process?

Program Oversight and Funding Guidelines

What is the role of the new 501(c)(3) organization?

What has CCKA done to help existing childcare providers?

Has CCKA taken any steps to address the shortage of trained employees for existing and new childcare providers?

How has CCKA used donated funds?

Why did CCKA choose not to operate a childcare center and instead contract with an existing childcare business to operate in the new CCKA facility?

Why is CCKA, a nonprofit organization, contracting with a for-profit business to operate a childcare center in the new building?

How did CCKA determine who would operate a child care business in the CCKA building? Why was that particular provider chosen over​​ other options?

Who determined the terms of the lease contract between CCKA and the Gold Level childcare provider?

Still have a question?

How did CCKA determine who would operate a child care business in the CCKA building? Why was that particular provider chosen over other options?