The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services launched a new website on Tuesday that uses state data to help families find child care.
The new Iowa Child Care Connect website consists of three tools based on state data: an online child care search tool, a dashboard that shows child care vacancies in near real time, and a supply and demand dashboard that provides an overview of child care need and availability in the state.
The tools rely on data from the state’s child care provider management systems, a press release said.
The new website allows families to search for child care providers along their usual driving route and view supply and demand by county and child age. The Child Care Seats Dashboard lists openings by program type, age range, quality rating, and availability. The Supply and Demand Dashboard provides a snapshot of current child care seat availability, including data indicating shortages in specific areas or age groups.
The new tools are the result of a partnership between the Iowa Department of Public Health, Iowa State University and technology company Resultant. The new website is part of Iowa’s efforts to alleviate the statewide shortage of child care spaces. In Iowa, the child care shortage is costing the state’s economy an estimated $935 million.
“This new, innovative solution is just one way we are meeting the critical need for child care for working families in our state,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in a press release. “Iowa Child Care Connect is a game changer and I am so proud of the partnership and work that went into its creation.”
In 2021, Reynolds created a child care task force that recommended building a statewide child care management system and providing state funding to expand capacity. Reynolds approved $10 million in grants to expand child care facilities and build new centers.
