Nebraska communities aim to launch substitute network for childcare as staffing shortages continue

In an effort to address staffing shortages in childcare, several communities hope to start a regional substitute network in Nebraska.

Tracy Gordon, executive director of the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children, said having access to substitutes will help childcare programs stay open when providers need time off.

“The current childcare staffing shortages that we see everywhere affect not only the childcare programs, but the parents that they serve, the employers of the parents, and the community,” Gordon said.

Once the network launches, there will be an app to connect providers with qualified substitutes. Those who sign up to become subs will work with a coordinator through the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children for a background check and to make sure they have all the needed training and requirements.

Gordon said there will still be some questions to work out, including scaling the project statewide, reaching non-English speaking substitutes and families, and identification for subs when they arrive at a provider for the day.

Organizers are still looking for four more communities to join the pilot before moving forward with the project. Part of the pilot is funded through a grant, with the other funds are from the communities buying in.

Val Hyde, community coordinator for Communities for Kids Lincoln County, said he was quick to join the pilot project. He saw several benefits to the substitute pool, including helping those currently in childcare have the freedom to take more breaks.

“There's a lot of burnout. That's because a lot of people feel like, ‘If I take a day off, then my director has to come into this classroom,’ or ‘She has to take more on,’” Hyde said. “I think that'll give people more of an ability to say I do have time to take off, and I can take care of myself.”

Hyde added the substitute pool could also give people a chance to try out a childcare job and see if they want to make it their profession. In Lincoln County, there are several in-home providers retiring, so Hyde said they are trying to find ways to show people that childcare is a possible profession for them. In his area, there is a gap of 288 children who don’t have a childcare spot who could qualify for it.

Suzanne Schneider, associate director of Lincoln Littles based in Lincoln, said there’s about 19,000 kids ages 0 to 5, and a capacity for 14,000 kids.

“They might be licensed for, say, 100 children, but if they're short with staffing, they can now only enroll 80 children,” Schneider said. “Families are not only up against the high cost of childcare, but they're also up against the capacity issues in getting their children in a high-quality, safe educational learning opportunity.”

In addition to helping with those shortages, Schneider said substitutes can allow staff the time to train during the day rather than training in the evenings or during weekends after working all day or week.

“They can do that during daytime hours instead of having to do it in the evenings and weekends, and so I think that could help take off some of the stress with the staff,” Schneider said.

Sara Voss, Lincoln Littles tuition assistance and quality program manager, said the substitute pool would be one way to elevate the early childhood profession and help those educators see how valuable their work is.

“When we look at a public school, those teachers are able to take a day off or go to an appointment. We need to have that same level of coverage for early childhood providers because they're working all day as well,” Voss said. “If this is a way that we can support providers and just help them see themselves as professionals, it's a great thing to participate in.”

Recent laws streamline the background check process

During the past few years, the Nebraska Legislature approved several laws related to background checks and substitute pools for childcare.

The latest bill that passed earlier this year clarified who was able to keep working without needing prior authorization before switching jobs or childcare centers. It also allowed a childcare employee to start working under supervision as long as they’ve cleared either a federal fingerprint check or state fingerprint check. They still need to wait for the rest of the checks to clear to work without supervision.

“What's important to note with this legislation is that it may not necessarily reduce the amount of time that those checks take to clear, but get you started sooner while the rest of the process is clearing, so essentially it's a fast track,” Mitchell Clark, policy advisor at First Five Nebraska, said.

While that law passed, it doesn’t go into effect until July 18. Clark added that the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services will still have to interpret those changes and provide guidance on what is and is not allowed under the new law.

Clark said substitute pools can operate now because the health and human services department allows those sub pool operators to run background checks. The centers using a substitute would just need the documentation showing that person is cleared to work in childcare.

“It's still fairly new in terms of previous practice,” Clark said. “There are lots of things to figure out in terms of getting more substitute pool operators to run those background checks and those trainings.”

Hailey Phelps, childcare director at Christ Lutheran in Columbus, said she isn’t familiar with the substitute pool process, but she does have her own substitutes for her program that are retired teachers from the church’s congregation.

Phelps said the background check process can be intimidating for those looking to teach in childcare, especially when the process isn’t as intense for K-12 teachers.

“I had to plan a day for some of these ladies to ride together, carpool together, to go get their fingerprints done together, because it was such an intimidating process to them,” Phelps said. “They are like, ‘We were teachers at a school for a bazillion years. We have to go get fingerprinted? I have 12 grandchildren,’ and I'm like, ‘Yes, I know. We just want to make sure, the state of Nebraska just wants to make sure, that our children are safe.”

Phelps said she believes the fingerprint process needs to be streamlined. She’s seen delays in that process cause people to find a new job rather than waiting for those checks to clear to work in childcare. That means the centers have put money into training and background checks for someone who leaves before even starting.

“Not only does it become a budget constraint, it becomes a staffing constraint,” Phelps said. “Then, for the employee themselves, it becomes a financial constraint. Many times we're finding that they can't wait, and they will accept positions elsewhere.”

She said before building up her own substitute pool, she would have to close when there were sick teachers. Even now, they will close for one professional day a month. Phelps said her families help each other out on those days.

“Truly and honestly they rely on us so heavily, not only for that, but it's interesting the things that we provide to them beyond just quality care and education,” Phelps said. “Some of the relationships that we've built, some of the referrals that we've done, and just being a part of children's growth and families’ milestones.”

While centers can start trying out substitute pools, there are still some questions and barriers for in-home providers.

Erin Branch, owner and operator of Branch Ranch Childcare in Lincoln, said in order for her to use a substitute as an in-home provider, she would have to run that person’s background checks and fingerprints. Then, she would have to amend her license to include that person.

“That's one of the barriers that we're running into with family childcare is that we would like to be able to utilize a substitute pool, but we need to get some things changed on a regulations level,” Branch said.

Although Branch can’t utilize a substitute pool currently, she said she’s excited about the progress happening in Nebraska.

“Childcare is one of the base things that we need in every community within our states, within our country,” Branch said. “I'm very happy that it's coming more to the forefront. I really think that we're making progress. We still have a ways to go, but I'm happy with where we're going.”

Any communities interested in joining the substitute pool pilot can email Jonathan Jank, who's one of the organizers for the project, at jmjank@nppd.com.