New Richland Childcare Center Has Soft Opening

RICHLAND – The Jerry B. Robinson Childcare Center in Richland held a soft opening on Dec. 9, bringing the end to the years-long quest to establish a licensed childcare center in Keokuk County. In 2022, it was reported by the Des Moines Register that Keokuk County was a “childcare desert,” meaning it had more than three times as many children under the age of five to spots at licensed childcare facilities. In that shocking report, there were five counties listed as childcare deserts. The county with the second worst ratio, Calhoun, had a child/space ratio of 3.63. Keokuk County was the absolute worst in the state, with a staggering 26.87 child/space ratio. This report spurred Richland residents to form the Richland Area Childcare Organization and work tirelessly and fundraise the money needed for a childcare center.

The new childcare center, named after a philanthropist who grew up in Richland who donated substantially to the project, is located across from Trinity Friends Church, where the Richland school once stood. The old school building sat abandoned for more than 20 years before being torn down in 2021. Ground was broken for the new building in June of 2023, with the project completing in June of 2024. RACCO originally planned to fundraise 1.5 million dollars to complete and furnish the building, as well as fund staffing as the childcare center opened, managing to raise $1.4 million thanks to countless donations and grants from community members or local organizations. The childcare center has a capacity of 65 spots.

“The Des Moines Register ran two pretty significantly large articles about Keokuk County being a childcare desert. So I feel that this is just a wonderful opportunity to be able to have an additional 65 slots,” said Tammy Wetjen-Kesterson of Early Childhood Iowa, who managed the project. “We did a market analysis, through some of the work we’ve been doing, and Keokuk County as a whole was short 755 slots. So, I mean, 65 is wonderful, but we still have much more work to do. This is a giant impact in being able to help families and kids.”

Wetjen-Kesterson hopes the Richland childcare center will be a catalyst for other childcare projects around the county. Early Childhood Iowa also helps the Keota School District find funding for its afterschool program and is working with the Keokuk County Childcare Network to plan additional projects in the county, potentially including daycares in Keota and Sigourney.

“(Things at the childcare center) have been going really well,” said Tabitha Unternahrer, the childcare center’s director. “We’ve had some amazing parents who have been coming in that we’ve been working with...The families that have enrolled have been wonderful, it’s just been great getting started and being able to interact with the kids and the staff. You know, learning and practicing. There are things that we’ll be going into that have been going really nice and smoothly. It’s been a pretty great soft opening.”

The center takes children from two-weeks-old to 13-years-old and is open from six a.m. to six p.m. on weekdays. The center still has plenty of openings. Applications are still coming in for both children and staff. Unternahrer stated there are enough staff members for the current number of children enrolled and that there are applications on file for when enrollment grows. The center is also looking for volunteers.

“I think it’s an exciting venture for Richland and the community we’re surrounding and just the staff and the kids,” said Unternahrer. “I think it’s a great service for the community and the family. I think it’s exciting all around for what it’s going to provide for families, the community, the children and early childhood and families in general.”

Caption: Photo Credit Katie Phillips