Minnesota Communities Celebrate Success Through FCF Rural Program

An important part of hard work is celebrating success when the work is done or nearing the finish line. On September 25, First Children’s Finance spent a day celebrating with communities that had successfully found solutions to child care and staffing issues through the help of the Rural Child Care Innovation Program (RCCIP)), Child Care Strategic Supply Plan, and other community consultation. 

Nearly 100 community, county and state leaders gathered to hear success stories from across the state that highlighted innovative child care centers, family child care and staffing models. 

Presentations included successful Special Family Child Care models (also known as PODs) in Stevens County, Hills and New Ulm – to the city of Warroad, which opened a community child care center that partnered with a skilled nursing facility – to Luverne, which is building a child care center to attract and retain an employment base for its community. One of the state’s early drop-in child care centers in Virginia was also showcased. 

Other counties, communities and education providers presented programs and plans aimed at building local workforces to support the child care Industry.  

The theme running throughout many of the presentations and the projects that they represented was work done through RCCIP, a community engagement process unique to First Children’s Finance designed to increase the supply of high quality affordable child care in rural communities. 

The purpose of RCCIP is to guide communities in identifying the scope and size of their child care challenges, and to empower and support communities to develop solutions to address these challenges. 

RCCIP addresses the challenges of rural child care through the lens of economic development. It uses a community engagement process designed to identify right-sized solutions to increase the supply of high quality affordable child care in rural communities and empowers the creation of community-based solutions. 

RCCIP is based on the fundamental idea that rural communities are greater than their size in numbers and greater than their current challenges. By mobilizing and empowering rural communities, the landscape of early care and education is changing in rural America. 

For more information on RCCIP in Minnesota, email FCF’s Minnesota team at InfoMN@firstchildrensfinance.org or visit https://www.firstchildrensfinance.org/for-communities/rural-child-care-innovation-program/