Issues related to child care are not new to Door County, and lawmakers are working to understand the struggles for guardians and providers to get children enrolled. On Tuesday, State Senator Andre Jacque, State Representative Joel Kitchens, and a staff member from the office of U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher listened to a virtual crowd in a Door County Child Care Town Hall organized by the United Way. The forum was centered around discussions on the challenges for single and double-income families to find affordable and quality childcare. Jacque mentioned that issues finding care for children have barred some parents from joining the workforce and taking part in the economy. He also says that since childcare centers shut down during the pandemic, it has not been easy to get people to join or rejoin that field of work. Though it’s a nationwide issue, Jacque pointed to Door County’s specific economic and geographic challenges.
The State Senator brought up legislation he has worked on and ideas aimed at introducing unemployment benefit cliffs, creating a more gradual departure from the benefits. He says ideas like this can eliminate disincentives for people to work and improve in their field. Jacque calls solving child care issues a hard nut to crack that will take a multi-faceted approach. He feels confident resource allocation ideas and improvements can be made on a bipartisan basis.