To experts in the field, Webster County is a child care desert. This desert has nothing to do with sand, however.
Just as a desert is an open and empty space, Webster County is open and empty when it comes to available positions in programs for children who need care while their parents are at work.
The latest figures from the group Linking Families and Communities are stark. The group has found that there are 1,743 spaces in child care programs in Webster County. That actually sounds impressive until you learn that there are 4,673 kids in the county who need child care.
A child care desert has been defined as a place where there are three or more children for every space in a child care program. Webster County fits that description.
That’s why it is a good thing that the City Council is moving to support Childcare Discovery Center as it seeks to build a new facility.