Cook County lands largest grant yet for child care services, but lacks the providers needed

Cook County has been awarded a $385,000 DEED (Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development) grant to address its ongoing critical need for child care, but it still lacks the providers required to address the crisis.

The grant is the largest Cook County has received, $200,000 more than was awarded the first year, 2023. The funds will help the county continue to provide wage enhancements for child care providers, adding $6.11 per hour to their pay as of Jan. 1. However, the money will also be used to explore putting a child care center in a new housing development and child care options that extend beyond regular business hours to better assist those working in the county’s service and hospitality industries.

However, finding providers remains a challenge for Cook County and the state. “There is not one county that I know of in Minnesota that fully has all the slots they need for the children that need to be served,” Nancie Deming, Cook County’s Children and Family Services Supervisor, told WTIP.

According to Deming, the lack of providers is a systemic problem, with child care workers vastly underpaid and the business model of child care struggling.

“Most of it’s just barely scraping by at a profit. But people who are in this child care workforce are here because they love children, and they love working with children,” Deming said. “But those numbers are going down. We have, even in our own county, we’ve had some child care employees who are retiring, who are aging out, who are closing some of their businesses. And there aren’t enough new younger employees coming in to start them or to sustain them further.”

Cook County’s lack of affordable housing makes hiring workers who need to relocate challenging. The county hopes to find more providers locally by providing hiring bonuses and training. The county is also willing to provide funds to people looking to start their own child care businesses. 

Deming estimates that the state is providing nearly $1 million toward child care programs between the DEED grant and other sources.  The money represents a significant financial investment, but more providers will be needed to achieve the county’s goals.

“I think the core issue for all of us is we don’t have enough providers to be able to do some of these great ideas that we have,” Deming said.

WTIP’s Josh Hinke spoke to Nancie Deming about the DEED grant, Cooperation Station, and other child care challenges.  The audio of that interview is below.

Josh Hinke March 18, 2025