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Whatcom County day care faces uncertainty despite emergency funds

An effort to save a major child care provider in Whatcom County is moving ahead, but there is much work to be done.

BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Naptime came Tuesday at Bellingham's Kids' World Daycare, but as the children gently closed their eyes there would be no rest for at least one person roaming the halls.

"This is an all-hands-on-deck, all-the-time proposition to make sure this can happen," said Heather Powell, who runs the Boys & Girls Clubs of Whatcom County, as she met with staff members.

The organization is working to buy Kids' World's four Whatcom locations and preserve hundreds of child care slots.

A hike in the minimum wage and the state's inability to properly pay for subsidized care is forcing Kids' World's owners to sell after 30 years, putting 532 critically needed day care slots at risk of disappearing. Kids' World provides 15% of Whatcom County's child care slots. 

An estimated 4,000 children across the county don't have access to licensed child care.

"We don't want that for families," Powell said. "We don't believe that creates a positive environment. We want to do our part to make sure kids have a safe place to go."

RELATED: Study ranks Washington as 6th for least affordable child care in US

That means taking over Kids' World, folding it into the Boys & Girls Clubs and doing in 10 weeks what would usually take at least 10 months.  

Powell secured $100,000 from the City of Bellingham for early operating expenses and has a commitment from the state to expedite the licensing process.

She needs to raise an additional $200,000 to keep the doors open through next March. She also has to screen and hire 110 workers.

All this while figuring out how to stop the day care from losing hundreds of thousands of dollars every year.

"There are definitely times where I come out of a meeting and think, 'Wow, that's three or four more hurdles I wasn't anticipating that I now have to figure out,'" Powell said.

Powell said she will look for ways to make the day care more efficient by "eliminating overlap" and having the four campuses operate as one unit. 

"We've never done licensed care before, so we don't know how many positions are necessary," Powell said.

RELATED: Most young Washington kids not in preschool, report finds

Powell said a rate increase is being considered, but if that were to happen families would be given 90 days' notice.

Powell wants Kids' World families to know they can rest assured she is doing her best to keep the centers open because, in her mind, there is no other option.

"Families need us to do this," she said. "Kids need to have a place where they can be nurtured. It's up to us to make this happen."

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