RICHFIELD, Idaho — Working parents in Lincoln County now have a new childcare option after the Lincoln County Youth Center began offering certified childcare for the first time, expanding opportunities for families in a community where such services have been scarce.
The county-run program provides full-time childcare for children ages 2 to 5 at $450 per month, significantly less than neighboring areas where costs can reach $600 in Twin Falls County and about $1,000 in the Boise area.
"A lot of times you have a parent that's having to not go to work because they have to take care of their child," said Heather Huffman, who now works at the Lincoln County Youth Center.
TAKE A PEEK INSIDE THE NEW LINCOLN COUNTY CHILDCARE OPTION
Before joining the youth center staff, Huffman commuted to Twin Falls for work, creating challenges for caring for her children while earning a living.
"I was gone 10 to 12 hours a day, but I'm missing out on all of this time with my kiddos," Huffman said. "I didn't have the means to take care of them the way that I was wanting to as their mom because I had to work."
The need for local childcare has grown as Lincoln County has become what County Commissioner Rebecca Wood describes as "a bedroom community."
"We are a kind of a bedroom community now in Lincoln County, and 70% of our people drive out of the county to work," Wood said. "That means really long days."
The Lincoln County Youth Center opened four and a half years ago to provide after-school programming and a safe place for children until parents returned from work. Offering childcare for younger children was always part of the long-term vision, according to Wood.
"Other than a really small Headstart that's income limited, there is no licensed childcare other than us were the first one that's open enrollment," Wood said.
The program became possible through grant funding from the Idaho Workforce Development Council. Lincoln County had not had licensed childcare services since at least 2020. Wood said there are no county taxes involved in the Youth Center's programs.
"It feels like a huge accomplishment, I mean, I looked at people who couldn't work, and there were teachers and engineers, and people who had stayed home in our community," Wood said. "They couldn't go to work because they had nowhere to take their kids."
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