• Launch of Childcare Connect Montana will connect trained substitute staff with child care programs
• Applications are now open to become a substitute child care staff
• Substitutes set their own wage and hours while giving back to their community through caring for and educating Montana’s children
Havre, MT - Childcare Connect Montana is looking for applicants to become substitute child care staff. The new service links qualified, fully trained staff with nearby child care programs on an easy to use online platform. Substitutes have the freedom to set their own wage and hours while giving back to their community by addressing the child care staffing shortage in the state.
“Every family deserves a care provider who is devoted to providing the highest quality of care for their child, having qualified substitute care available to allow full time caregivers to take time to care for themselves enables them to provide that high quality care!” Tammy Phelps, Region 6 STARS Consultant & Professional Development Specialist, Family Connections.
Childcare Connect Montana seeks to recruit individuals who are passionate about providing child care and education while setting their own schedule and wage. The substitute service is a great option no matter if you are a student, retiree, teacher, caregiver with a child in care or school, former child care professional or anyone who wants to work with children and have flexible hours. Substitutes do not need any prior experience in child care and will receive a $300 sign-on bonus as compensation for all required training hours.
A May 2021 report from Kids Count Montana, revealed that statewide there are only enough child care slots available for one in three children. The Early Childhood Workforce Index 2020 showcased that the 4,380 individuals in Montana’s early childhood workforce are tasked with caring for and educating Montana’s 74,016 children ages zero to five. Substitute staff will become a vital part of addressing the state’s child care capacity and staffing needs. Childcare Connect Montana is a program of Family Connections and Raise Montana with the goal of addressing the staffing and child care capacity shortages of the state. The idea for this project originally came from a group of child care providers participating in learning communities in Havre and Glendive in 2019.
“Staffing was also a topic that affected all of us in different ways whether we were family, group, or center based providers,” Misty Dinardi, owner of Pumpkin Patch Day Care in Glendive.
Montana’s children, families and child care programs need to be supported through a substitute staffing service in order to continue the vital work of caring for and educating Montana’s future. Individuals interested in becoming a substitute child care staff are invited to text “sub” to 59925 or visit raisemt.org to apply and for more information.
Established in 1986, Family Connections is a regional child care resource and referral agency serving 23 counties in northcentral and northeast Montana. The non-profit utilizes the strength of community to support exceptional early childhood experiences through supporting families and child care providers. Since 1996, Raise Montana, formerly named the MT Child Care Resource & Referral Network, has been dedicated to uniting Montana’s Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies and coordinating efforts to build a high quality, accessible early childhood care and education system that supports young children, parents, early childhood professionals, and member organizations.
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