Lawrence childcare providers agreed Tuesday that the closure of Hilltop was a shock to childcare in town, and it revealed deeper business model issues that exist across the country.
Parents, providers and community members gathered to lament the closure of Hilltop Child Development Center and brainstorm ways to address a growing childcare shortage in town. Some ideas discussed included ways to raise money, how KU could help fund solutions, and a vision to open a new childcare center.
The meeting was hosted by Joe Reitz, the founder of Family Promise of Lawrence. He said he isn’t an expert in childcare, but knows it is critical and that there is power in bringing people who care about an issue together.
The closure, which the Hilltop board announced Sept. 22, comes after more than a year of turmoil at the center. The center that has served generations of families in Lawrence previously had yearslong waitlists, but enrollment has dropped significantly as parents have voiced numerous concerns about the center’s administration.
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Hilltop is set to close permanently later this month, leaving many families and staff members scrambling.
Judy Bencivengo was Hilltop’s first director. She remembered what Hilltop has offered families and urged those in attendance to work to find new childcare solutions.
“Lawrence has always been very resourceful, very able to think of creating deep solutions to deep problems,” Bencivengo said.
“After this evening, I kind of feel like if the intensity of the shock or the disappointment of an institution of higher learning saying we aren’t interested in human beings at the most important part of your life, once that wears off, I think a different emotion will take hold, and you will rise up and be powerful, and turn your faces to the sun, and make things happen like we always have here,” she continued.
Childcare providers from around town shared what they are seeing in the industry.
Deb Danielson works for Child Care Aware of Eastern Kansas, a nonprofit that works to support childcare centers. She said a decrease in available childcare spots doesn’t just make it harder for those who need childcare, it also makes it harder for families to find the center that best fits their needs.
“Families should not only have availability, you know, accessibility to care, but they should also be able to pick out a place that works for them, a place that works best for their family, the right fit for their child,” she said.
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Erin Lawrence, who works at the Community Children’s Center, said other providers mobilized quickly to support families affected by the Hilltop closure. But they needed to move from the reactive state of helping families to a proactive state of finding deeper solutions.
Marie Taylor, the director of Positive Bright Start, said the way Hilltop closed was not good for anyone, and it left her with questions about how people could think outside the box for ways to fill childcare gaps.
The meeting Tuesday also brought together representatives from local churches who wanted to find ways to help with the childcare shortage in town.
Deidre Anderson-Barbee is a part of Victory Bible Church but also used to lead the Missouri Office of Childhood.
She said Lawrence was one of many places facing similar issues caused by the larger, systemic business model challenges faced by early childcare centers.
“The thing that I would really love is for this community to come together across sectors and differences on behalf of children,” Anderson-Barbee said. “… And what if Lawrence becomes the voice that then gets other communities to pay attention?”
Meghan Davidson, a parent of children at Hilltop Child Development Center and KU faculty member, said it’s been “time-consuming and emotionally draining to have to rush” to find new childcare.
A childcare center offers more than just someone to take care of your child, she said, but it is a place where a family can build an entire community. That is what Davidson’s family had at Hilltop.
“We’re all pretty tired at this point,” she said. “Spent a lot of time and energy and emotion the last couple of weeks, and even before that, parents and teachers have been fighting for a while.”
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Cuyler Dunn (he/him), staff reporter, has worked with The Lawrence Times since April 2022. He can be reached at [email protected].
Read his complete bio at this link. Read more of his work for the Times at this link.
More coverage of Hilltop Child Development Center:
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence Times
Cuyler Dunn/Lawrence TimesLawrence childcare providers say Hilltop closure highlights need for systemic change in industry
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