[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-582826-105":59,"doc-detail-582826-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","rural-child-care-solutions-from-the-ground-up","Rural Child Care Solutions: From the Ground Up","","Rural Child Care Solutions: From the Ground Up examines the causes behind two decades of declining child care capacity in Greater Minnesota and how the shortage deepens the worker gap. It attributes the primary driver to family child care providers leaving faster than new entrants can replace them, while centers fail to expand enough capacity. Using an unscientific fall 2021 survey of local stakeholders, it highlights ongoing initiatives, their rationale, and lessons for communities acting on the problem.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/rural-child-care-solutions-from-the-ground-up/582826/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/rural-child-care-solutions-from-the-ground-up/582826.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Rhys","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-30","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":24},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"What is the main cause of the child care shortage in Greater Minnesota?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"Family child care providers, who supply most child care in rural regions, are leaving the field much faster than people entering it.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"How did the child care crunch vary across regions?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Because dependence on family child care capacity differs by region, the shortage affects regions differently, with northern and central Minnesota hit especially hard.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"Why was a local initiative scan conducted in the report?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"To identify a sample of projects currently underway, explain what is being tried and why, and share what other communities can learn from those experiences.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},582826,1792188953,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":24,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":46,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":31,"preview_page_count":4},687207024643,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_3d24733baf745e90a7e4bdd5f77d97b2","P.O. Box 3185 Mankato, MN 56002-3185  \n(507)934-7700  \n[www.ruralmn.org](www.ruralmn.org)  \nRural Child Care Solutions: From the Ground Up  \nBy Marnie Werner  \nVice President, Research & Operations  \nChild care has been in a downward spiral for twenty years and is a main factor exacerbating the growing worker shortage. New attention before and financial aid during the pandemic perhaps slowed the spiral, but it hasn’t reversed it. The primary cause of the shortage in Greater Minnesota is simple: family child care providers, who supply the bulk of child care in rural regions, are leaving the field at a much faster rate than people entering it. The reason appears to be a complex combination of factors that push each provider to a personal tipping point. Atthe same time, women who may have considered entering the child care field are noticing rising wages in other workplaces. At the same time, centers are not increasing capacity in Greater Minnesota enough to make up the difference.  \nAs the shortage intensifies, local decision makers are becoming increasingly aware of childcare’s importance to local employers and communities’ economic well-being, pushing them toward action and—hopefully—solutions.  \nThe bulk of child care policy is set at the federal and state level, but to better understand what is happening at the local level, CRPD conducted an unscientific survey of economic development officials, local leaders, and other stakeholders around the state in the fall of 2021.  \nHaving a scan of these initiatives is important. First, they show that at the local level, residents are no longer willing to wait for solutions to trickle down from higher up.  \nSecond, sharing a list and descriptions of these projects can provide valuable information and inspiration to other communities just starting to tackle their child care issues.  \nThird, understanding where local leaders are putting their resources gives an indication of what they believe the particular problems are in their unique communities and what may be effective.  \nThe purpose of this report is to identify a sample of projects in progress right now, which will hopefully provide important information on what’s being tried, why, and what we can learn from these experiences.  \nA little history of the child care shortage in MN  \nChild care capacity in Greater Minnesota has been on a steady trajectory downward since the early 2000s, when family child care providers began leaving the industry at a steady rate. While total child care center capacity has been on an upward trend statewide, that growth has only been consistent in the state’s most populated counties. Figure 1 shows that since 2000, total capacity has really only been maintained in the entirely urban group of counties, demonstrating that the lower the population density of a region, the lower its ability to sustain child care centers. Growth in center capacity in the entirely rural group of counties has been volatile at best over the last twenty years, with much of the growth happening in a few population centers. (Click here for an explanation of Rural-Urban Commuting Areas and how we group counties by “rurality.”)  \n\n| Child care capacity\u003Cbr>Total child care capacity in rural areas driven by family based care |  |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- | --- |\n| 4,000\u003Cbr>2,000\u003Cbr>0\u003Cbr>40,000\u003Cbr>30,000\u003Cbr>20,000\u003Cbr>10,000\u003Cbr>0\u003Cbr>-10,000 | \u003Cbr>2000 2010 2020\u003Cbr>2005 2015\u003Cbr>Town/rural mix \u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>2000 2010 2020\u003Cbr>2005 2015 | 150,000\u003Cbr>100,000\u003Cbr>50,000\u003Cbr>0\u003Cbr>40,000\u003Cbr>20,000\u003Cbr>0 | \u003Cbr>2000 2010 2020\u003Cbr>2005 2015\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>2000 2010 2020\u003Cbr>2005 2015 |\n| Change in total child care capacity since 2000  Care capacity  CFdilyCarCheilCdeCnaterer |  |  |  |\n\nFigure 1: The change in total child care capacity has depended quite a bit on population density. The entirely urban counties were able to maintain their total capacity through growth in centers while the other three groups were not. Data: MN Department of Human Services.  \nCenter for","cbCaigqmXgPfzGKs","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaigqmXgPfzGKs","pdf",744565,"English","# Child care shortage overview\n## Long-term decline in capacity in Greater Minnesota\n## Family child care capacity trends\n## Local economic development context\n# Local initiative scan\n## Purpose and value of reviewing projects\n## Survey approach and stakeholders","[{\"question\":\"What is the main cause of the child care shortage in Greater Minnesota?\",\"answer\":\"Family child care providers, who supply most child care in rural regions, are leaving the field much faster than people entering it.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the child care crunch vary across regions?\",\"answer\":\"Because dependence on family child care capacity differs by region, the shortage affects regions differently, with northern and central Minnesota hit especially hard.\"},{\"question\":\"Why was a local initiative scan conducted in the report?\",\"answer\":\"To identify a sample of projects currently underway, explain what is being tried and why, and share what other communities can learn from those experiences.\"}]","Rural Child Care Solutions: From the Ground Up | PDF",1792044598]