When one family who ran a daycare suddenly lost their housing, a whole community was destabilized due to disruptions in childcare.

While parents struggle to maintain job security when childcare is disrupted, this kind of abrupt social displacement negatively impact their academic scores and social well being in kids.

Superior City Council recognized the importance of the issue and set aside $200,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for the Superior Child Care Relief program.

Jenny Van Sickle has been critical to recognizing the crisis and developing a solution. She worked with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, state treasurer Sarah Godlewski, the early child care program coordinator at Northwest Connection Family Resource Center in Hayward and members of the Wisconsin Education Care Access Network and providers to get the policy right.

The program acknowledges the rural needs for childcare and the grant area that encompasses all of Douglas County.

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