Targeting ‘child care deserts’ Group aims to improve child care access, affordability, worker pay

Article By C.S. Hagen, The Fargo Forum

May 12, 2022

"Describing areas of North Dakota as “child care deserts,” the North Dakota Child Care Action Alliance began their yearlong campaign last week to resolve what they described as a statewide crisis. Statistics taken from North Dakota KIDS COUNT, a statewide resource for data on the well-being of children, show that the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the problems associated with child care, said Zach Packineau, director of outreach and programming for North Dakota Voices Network, a nonprofit civil rights group. The main issues include the affordability of child care, the worker shortage with low pay of about $11 an hour and the lack of availability for child care centers, Packineau said."

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