65% of Kentucky counties are considered a child care desert, according to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services.

That means those communities don't have enough child care options to meet the demands and needs of parents and caregivers, who often have to choose between working or caring for their children.

One nonprofit is trying to boost our child care workforce numbers by helping people get their Child Development Associates credential.

Our Mackenzie Spence tells us more about the program and how it benefits rural communities in need of child care.

A Child Development Associate's credential, or CDA, is the most widely recognized early childhood education certification in the country.

A CDA is not always required to work in child care, but it significantly broadens the employment field for those looking to enter the child care workforce.

It is important.

It's critical for children to get a great start on life.

We also know that it's important that these teachers and those involved in these child development centers are educated and have the tools and the resources that they need in their back pocket to be able to provide high quality education to the students that are enrolled in their centers.

In 2020, Save the Children Kentucky began to financially support those in rural areas looking to earn their CDA or other early childhood education degree.

Jasmine Daniels is a teacher at the Rockcastle Regional Hospital.

Child Development Center, currently earning her CDA through this pathway.

She says she wanted to be more equipped to serve the children at the center.

At first, I was kind of hesitant to start it, but then I was like, well, maybe it'll help me with my kids.

Only a few months into the year long training, Daniels says.

She's already learned practical skills.

Articles on like ADHD and like if they need like O.T.

and stuff like that has helped tremendously.

The director of the Child Development Center says having CDA certified employees makes a significant difference.

The folks that have gotten their CDA, you see more improvement in their rooms with behaviors.

You see more cooperation when they learn I learned something.

Those folks are seems to be the ones that they get excited about it and they're like, oh, I know I had it.

I had a class on this.

Let me show you.

It truly does help the overall approach to the center as far as when it comes to even call ins.

They're professional.

This center serves the children of the Rock Castle Regional Hospital employees, providing early education to over 65 children.

A day from across six different counties.

While the children receive high quality care and skills to build kindergarten readiness, the center was started to attract and retain employees at this rural hospital.

We have, a lot of a lot of folks that keep using us and, that stay with the hospital that do travel and, share with us on numerous occasions that that's the reason that they stay here at Rockcastle Regional is because they can bring their children to work.

They can come down and nurse them during the day.

They can come check them out, take them for lunch at Taco Bell, take them to the park, if they want to go to the library for story hour, they can do that.

And that's primarily the reason we were developed.

Save the children says its primary goal in providing the kDa and other higher education pathways is to support existing childcare centers like this one, and to reduce barriers for more centers to open in the future.

Since 2020, over 200 people have earned their kDa through Save the Children Kentucky and 90 more have earned an associate or bachelor's degree in early education.

For Kentucky edition, I'm McKenzie Spink.

Thank you.

McKenzie.

According to the governor's office, over 70,000 Kentucky adults were not able to work in 2024 because of a lack of childcare.