New report finds Iowa pilot program increased childcare availability,

A report published Tuesday found that Iowa’s “Childcare Solutions Fund” pilot program has increased the availability of childcare resources by expanding the childcare workforce. The Common Sense Institute Iowa, released the report in collaboration with the Iowa Women’s Leadership Project. The report studied the impact of the CSF pilot program, launched in November 2023, that provided participating communities with funding to increase childcare provider wages. A program Dubuque participated in. The report found that communities involved in the pilot program saw an expansion in both childcare workers joining the labor force, as well as an increase in available childcare slots. From the seven communities included in the report, a total of 233 childcare workers were added or retained at 105 local childcare providers. Additionally, 275 new childcare slots were added in these Iowa localities — an estimated 21.5 new childcare slots per 1,000 children in the state.