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HONORING JACQUE HOWELL AS IOWAN OF THE WEEK
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HON. CYNTHIA AXNE
of iowa
in the house of representatives
Monday, May 17, 2021
Mrs. AXNE. Madam Speaker, in honor of Child Care Provider Appreciation Day, I would like to recognize Jacque Howell, director of Red Oak Child Development Center. Jacque has led the way in expanding childcare options in her rural community of Red Oak, Iowa.
Childcare is an especially scarce resource in Iowa. In 2018, 41 percent of our cities had children but no known childcare and 48 percent have some childcare but fewer slots than there are children. As you might imagine, this has a significant impact on our workforce and economy as many families struggle to balance parenthood and employment. In Montgomery County where Jacque and her family live, there were 1,183 children under the age of 9 but only 435 available spaces in existing licensed childcare facilities.
In 2019, Jacque attended a meeting with the Iowa Women's Foundation and was faced with many of these same statistics and was blown away by the lack of available quality care in Iowa. That's when she sprang into action and gathered others to start the Red Oak Child Development Center. Jacque was hired as director of the center in January 2020 and raised an impressive $1.2 million in funds to bring this dream to reality.
Red Oak Child Development Center is a special organization as they partner with their local school district to make the care more accessible. They have also opted to offer infant care, a service that isn't provided by other care facilities in their community. The center is currently working on expanding its location to house two additional infant care rooms. Currently, they have 100 children enrolled in their care and they see an average of 70 to 75 of those children daily. They were baffled by how quickly they were able to fill their spots and continue to receive enrollment applications daily. Red Oak Child Development Center aims to provide quality, affordable childcare to their community. They accept childcare assistance with just over a quarter of their children receiving that support. It's clear that they are filling a significant need as some families drive up to 30 minutes one-way just to take their children to care.
Jacque says that educating the next generation of lowan's is something that has been a lifelong passion of hers. She understands that children are truly our future and she endeavors to provide children with support, love, and encouragement. As the director of the Red Oak Child Development Center, she's been able to help build an organization that believes in quality over quantity, supports the social, emotional, and cognitive development of all children. Jacque also recognizes the importance of her amazing staff members and their ever-supportive community as they work together to continue to build what is already an incredible child development center.
Jacque's dedication to the children in her community is not only vital to the development of the children but also empowers families to reengage in their local economy as they are able to get back to work and rest easy knowing their kids are in good care. Because of that, it is my honor to recognize Jacque Howell as our Iowan of the Week.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 85
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