Parents in Wallback work to open Clay County’s only childcare center

Clay County now has its only childcare center after parents worked together to get a facility certified and opened. 

The rural county lost its only childcare center four months ago, leaving families with no local options. Some parents were forced to leave their jobs.

Allie Vaughan, who serves on the board for Trailblazer Learning Academy, had expected to send her infant son to the county’s previous center before its closure.

“It was really devastating to find out that our county wasn’t going to have a licensed daycare anymore, and we were kind of just scrambling. So, a bunch of parents came together to start Trailblazer Learning Academy,” Vaughan said. 

“Not having a childcare facility has really stunted where Clay County could go. It really sent us back,” she added.

Trailblazer Learning Academy in Wallback opened earlier this month and can serve 27 children. Those spots filled up quickly, and there is already a waitlist for care. 

“It’s definitely an urgent need,” said Carrie Osborne, director of Trailblazer Learning Academy. Her daughter attended the county’s previous childcare center before it closed.

“A lot of our parents work for the school board or in town here or in our county. It doesn’t make sense for them to have to drive an hour away to take their kids somewhere to drive an hour back to go to work,” Osborne said. 

More than 28,000 children currently lack access to care because West Virginia providers don’t have enough available slots. Rural counties across the state sometimes have just two providers.

The West Virginia Chamber of Commerce has linked the state’s lack of availability to the state’s abysmal workforce participation rate.

Families on average spend over $10,000 a year on childcare in West Virginia. The median household income in Clay County is around $42,300.

The majority of parents needing care in Clay County rely on the state’s childcare assistance program, Vaughn said. The state-run program provides financial assistance to eligible families who are working or enrolled in school; the funds are distributed to child care centers serving the eligible families. 

Vaughn said their team faced hurdles getting the center open since June, especially when it came to making sure the center could accept childcare subsidy payments from the state. She expects that they’ll be fully able to serve children enrolled in the childcare assistance program by the end of the week. 

Trailblazer Learning Academy staff are already hoping to expand, looking for a building or land in Clay County to serve additional children, especially older children and those in need of after- school care. 

Around 70% of families at the center use the state’s childcare assistance program, Vaughn said, but the state’s current subsidy rate doesn’t match the true cost of care. 

This could be a barrier to growth if not addressed, she said.

The child center is reliant on grants and the limited private-pay parents to make up the subsidy program’s reimbursement rate, according to Vaughn.

“It just makes it really difficult when you come from a small, low-income county, how we’re able to serve the county when we’re not raising rates to meet inflation,” Vaughn said. “I totally understand the struggles that our state has with income, but just looking at it from that lens, it impacts our center and how we’re able to expand.”

Along with typical childcare hours, Trailblazer Learning Academy offers drop-in care for people who do not need full-time care. This is helpful for grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, Osborne said.

“We have a lot of grandfamilies too in our county. So you know, if they need to go to a doctor’s appointment, that’s great for drop-in care,” she said.