The Birmingham City Council has approved a federal funding package aimed at expanding childcare access and workforce development in four city neighborhoods: North Birmingham, Northside, Pratt and Smithfield.
The Reinvest initiative is helping with the city’s Cradle to Career framework, which focuses on setting up children for success in Birmingham. The initiative is aimed at helping four of the city’s neighborhoods and focuses on affordable childcare as one of five components.
Childcare Resources is partnering with the city to strengthen the quality and availability of childcare in those areas. Joan Wright, executive director of Childcare Resources, said access to childcare is tied to workforce participation.
“One barrier to workforce participation is often childcare, ” Wright said.
Wright said improving childcare quality has broader benefits for families.
“When we can make childcare high quality, it increases the availability of childcare and gives families that peace of mind that their child is being attended to,” Wright said.
The Reinvest initiative will also fund training for childcare workers. The city is working with the YMCA to create a Childcare Center of Excellence in the Smithfield area, which will create 100 new childcare spots.
Wright said the Smithfield program will also serve as a hub for provider development.
“In the Smithfield area, we’re going to have a unique childcare program that’s also going to offer training and assistance opportunities right there on site for providers.” Wright explained. “So, not only will we be staffing that center but encouraging people to open other centers across the city.”
Archie Stewart, Reinvest Plan Officer for the City of Birmingham, said the grant covers five components, with childcare as one piece.
“The grant is actually 5-fold, it’s five different components, childcare just happens to be one piece of it. I just really really hope the residents know they are being heard,” Stewart said.
The other components of the Reinvest initiative include transportation, small business and workforce development.
