Survey: Parents stressed over childcare needs

Local parents often find themselves stressed about balancing work and family responsibilities, according to survey data from the University of Georgia Archway Partnership.

Access to quality, affordable childcare has been named a top priority by local officials as area leaders work to bolster Laurens County’s workforce and economic development initiatives. The Archway Partnership, a UGA program that pairs mainly rural cities and communities with university resources, and the Dublin-Laurens County Chamber Community Foundation surveyed parents, teachers, employers and other members of the community to begin to paint a picture of how childcare, or lack of, affected daily life. 

More than 330 people, mostly parents, responded to Child Care Needs Assessment of Dublin-Laurens County, organized by UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education, with the results released at a recent event. Of 338 respondents, 237 of them were parents, primarily mothers. 

Less than 20 of the survey takers reported never being concerned with balancing work and dealing with family responsibilities, while nearly 50 respondents said they were stressed daily. The rest reported varying levels of stress juggling the duties of parenting and work. 

Parents are turning to a variety of sources when it comes to local childcare. The data showed that majority of the parents relied on friends, family and neighbors to care for their children. Licensed care centers was the second most popular form of childcare. Only about 30 respondents reported a parent staying home with children, but about a third of survey takers listed stay-at-home parenting as their preferred method of childcare. 

“A lot of parents want to stay home with their child, but for whatever reason they couldn’t do that,” said Erin Hamel, a UGA professor who assisted with the survey. 

Employers, making up just 27 of the survey responders, were split on reporting if their workers had unmet childcare needs, with 11 saying yes, 10 no and six reporting they didn’t know. Only 30 percent of the employers reported childcare accessibility affected their ability to attract and retain employees. 

Increasing access to childcare has become a top priority for the Dublin-Laurens County Chamber of Commerce and its non-profit wing the Chamber Community Foundation. The business advocate group is working with local childcare centers to help improve state quality ratings and fund improvements. 

Data shows that Laurens County has a deficit of seats in licensed childcare facilities. There are over 3,000 children under 5 years old in Laurens County and just over 1,000 available seats, with less than 900 taken. And those seats can cost parents over $6,000 a year per child. 

The University of Georgia is continuing to study area childcare needs and is now conducting in person interviews with parents. The results will be released later.