Like many parts of Pennsylvania, Carbon County is underserved when it comes to child care and preschool services.

The Center for American Progress deemed Carbon County a “Child Care Desert” in 2018, a designation given to any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots.

The Jim Thorpe Rotary Club is partnering with numerous local businesses and community organizations to spark a change. The nonprofit released a survey last week to determine the need for a full-service child care center and preschool in Jim Thorpe.

“It is something that’s been a challenge for a lot of families locally in the Jim Thorpe area and in Carbon County in general,” said Jeanne Miller, Rotary Club president. “We looked at the data from the early childhood groups from Pennsylvania and the data was evident that we need more preschools and we need quality and affordable child care. We brought in someone to speak from the Lehigh Valley Children’s Centers to talk about their programs and their history and about what quality child care looks like.”

The 2018 report analyzed the locations of licensed child care providers in 22 states, covering two-thirds of the United States population, and found that approximately half of Americans live in a child care desert.

In Pennsylvania, 57 percent of all residents live in a child care desert.

The survey, open until Feb. 23, is available at https://forms.gle/4o9vG166P8Wem2AYA.

Paper copies will also be available at the Dimmick Memorial Library in Jim Thorpe and the Carbon County Commissioners’ office.

It asks questions such as when people work, how many kids they have, what they do now for child care and what their needs are.

“We wanted to find out the barriers and what families are looking for,” Miller said. “So when it’s done, we’re going to sit down and sift through it and that’ll help us to figure out what direction we want to go.”

The Center for American Progress reported that, in the United States, it costs an average of $300 per week to send a child to a family care center, $340 per week to send a child to a child care or day care center, and $612 per week for a nanny.

Child care deserts have, on average, maternal labor force participation rates 3 percentage points lower than communities where there is adequate child care supply.

Miller said the child care crisis has only gotten worse in the wake of COVID-19.

A Care.com survey showed 72% of families said child care was more expensive in 2021 and 46% of families said child care was more difficult to find due to the pandemic.

“We just don’t have a full service child care center and preschool to the point we need it in Jim Thorpe,” Miller said. “And it’s surprising even in the county seat we don’t see it. We need to encourage a quality organization, a nonprofit, to come in and support the area with a full service child care center that services everyone, low income to high income.”

Partnering with the Rotary Club on the survey are the Lehigh Valley Children’s Center Inc., local businesses, Carbon County, the Carbon County Family Collaborative, Carbon County Community Foundation, St. Luke’s Health Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network, the Lehigh Carbon Community College SHINE program, Jim Thorpe Area School District, early childhood groups, and other community organizations.