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Partnership Parke County, Early Childhood Education Coalition

A Small County with a Big Focus on Improving Child Care

Parke County in west central Indiana has quaint small towns, scenic state parks and reservoirs, and enough covered bridges to earn the distinction of ‘covered bridge capital of the world’. The county has a small population but is making big strides in improving early childhood education, thanks to the Parke County Early Care and Education Coalition.

The coalition has grown and garnered support since its creation in late 2021, with individuals and organizations from all aspects of early care and education – school corporations, child care providers, economic development corporation and community foundation staff, elected officials, healthcare providers and more – represented and involved.

“Keeping that group of people engaged in continuing the conversations within our community has been wonderful,” said Cyndi Todd, executive director of Partnership Parke County. Todd points toward the importance of having an economic development office like Partnership Parke County or a similar group that can push initiatives forward. “Even with a strong coalition, you do need an entity that has access to resources to take the lead to ensure progress,” Todd said.

One major goal of the coalition was to hire a coordinator to focus on child care efforts. With the support of the United Way and the Parke County Community Foundation, the coalition secured a part-time coordinator, Marci Graves, and provided a stipend and funding for events and resources. Graves has been instrumental in launching several initiatives and keeping child care at the forefront of community conversations.

The coalition held a kickoff meeting with local leaders to share strategic plan findings and solidify support from interested parties, a positive experience that helped the coalition clarify and refine its priorities. “It’s important to be able to define what you need when you step into a room and ask people for their support,” said Todd.

One tangible success that started in that session was a plan to partner with a county Head Start program, utilize unused classrooms and tap into grant funding to add 32 child care seats ranging from infant to preschool. Parke County Community Foundation and county commissioners contributed matching funds to support the project. Although separate from the Head Start program, the co-housed location allows shared resources with kitchen staff and transportation and additional employment opportunities for educators. CAP (Children at Play) Early Learning Center, operated by Community Action of Western Indiana, is currently enrolling students and is slated to open June 1. “The classrooms are amazing,” said Todd, adding that a strong relationship with United Way meant that the coalition was top of mind when United Way had an opportunity to donate infant and toddler equipment to furnish the new space. “It’s one of those fantastic projects and opportunities that just seemed to come together,” said Todd.

Parke County has a population just under 17,000 and currently has five licensed child care providers. But when the ECE coalition coordinator hosted a networking event in February, more than 30 people showed up, many from neighboring counties. Speakers shared information on grant opportunities, small business development resources and other helpful topics. “Our community foundation was there, the CCRR team, our United Way Success by 6 – we’ve learned folks will show up if you ask them,” said Todd.

The coalition is also working to better understand the challenges that may prevent a caregiver from becoming a licensed provider and quantifying the number of children in those environments. Data shows that while close to 50% of young children need child care in Parke County, only 14% of the children who need care are enrolled in a high-quality rated program. Many other children are being cared for by friends or family members or in unlicensed child care settings. “That’s one of our big challenges, because the data can certainly look skewed if we can’t account for children in those types of child care arrangements,” Todd said. “If we can connect with those families, we can help provide resources and support to level up their care and provide some structure to the learning environment.”

As hard as the coalition works, there’s time for fun too. The coalition recently hosted an Early Care and Education Expo, a free community event for families with young children that offered more than 20 vendors, a variety of child-friendly activities and the chance to interact with child care providers and school staff. The expo also featured resources and information for those interested in opening a child care program or pursuing a career in