As child care becomes an important issue in NE Iowa, Sunflower Child Care Center asks for governmental help to meet its budget

Sunflower Child Care Center on Highway 9 in Decorah is serving 100 area families and their 135 children.  But the child care center has a waiting list for another 130 children.

At a time when the demand for child care is high, the economics of operating a day care center are also challenging.  That's why Sunflower representatives met Monday with Winneshiek County Supervisors to ask for financial help.

Sunflower Financial Officer Merlene Brown, who has worked at Sunflower for 13 years, says the facility gets 91 percent of its $700,000 budget from fees charged to families.  But it also struggles to attract staff because of the pay levels it can afford to offer.

Brown told supervisors "we are feeling all of that," referring to the high demand for services on the one hand, but the difficult financial constraints on the other hand.

Supervisors listened attentively to Brown's presentation on Monday, but they made no promises.