OMAHA, Neb.—A new research brief released today estimates there are potentially 4,454 children in the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area who need child care but whose families can’t easily access it. Child care shortages could result in long-term economic losses of $221 million to $335 million, due to reduced labor participation, lower productivity, tax losses, and more.
The brief, from the Buffett Early Childhood Institute at the University of Nebraska, provides new data on the child care landscape in the City of Omaha and the surrounding counties in Nebraska and Iowa, including the number of children who potentially need care, the number of legally operating child care providers, and the gap between the two.
The findings are derived from a new distance-based methodology that quantifies the child care gap by factoring in the actual distance between existing child care spots and the homes of the children and families who need care.
Among the findings:
- The child care gap in the Omaha Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is 7.9%, which translates to 4,454 children.
- Broken down by region, the gap is:
- 5.4%, or 1,459 children, in the City of Omaha
- 7.5%, or 1,711 children, on the Nebraska side surrounding Omaha (Douglas, Sarpy, Washington, Cass, and Saunders Counties)
- 20.1%, or 1,284 children, on the Iowa side of the MSA (Pottawattamie, Harrison, and Mills Counties)
- In the Omaha metro, the potential need for child care spaces is 56,106, but the actual number of spots available within reasonable driving distance is 51,745, with concentrated need in North Omaha, South Omaha, Bellevue, and Council Bluffs.
- The data shows the need for child care is spread across the Omaha-Council Bluffs metro area, not concentrated in any one city or local community. While most of the child care supply in the Omaha metro is located in the City of Omaha proper, that capacity cannot support the overall needs of families in neighboring towns and cities.
Last month, the Omaha findings were shared with the City of Omaha as part of Omaha Mayor John Ewing’s Early Childhood Working Group—a group tasked with helping to implement the City’s Poverty Elimination Action Plan (PEAP).
Last month, the Omaha findings were shared with the City of Omaha as part of Omaha Mayor John Ewing’s Early Childhood Working Group—a group tasked with helping to implement the City’s Poverty Elimination Action Plan (PEAP).
“We were pleased to share this new data with Mayor Ewing and his team as they make progress on the Poverty Elimination Action Plan (PEAP),” said Walter Gilliam, the executive director of the Buffett Early Childhood Institute. "It is clear from our conversations that increasing the child care supply in the Omaha metro will require a regional approach. Families cross city and state lines every day for work and care, and our infrastructure needs to reflect that reality.”
Mayor Ewing reiterated the importance of the role of quality child care for the region.
“Strengthening child care access and affordability is a key part of our work to create a long-term plan that reduces poverty throughout the City of Omaha,” said Mayor John Ewing. “The Buffett Institute research makes clear that accessible child care is a key economic driver for our city and its families.”
The brief builds on the local exchanges and outlines strategies for local leaders looking to increase the availability of child care and better support working families, including:
- Address child care planning as a regional issue, similar to initiatives that support long-term housing and transportation planning.
- Build data systems that track child care supply and utilization.
- Gain a greater understanding of family proximity and mobility in the Omaha metro area and families’ specific child care needs through geospatial mapping and other tools.
- Study solutions adopted by peer cities and metro areas, such as the Tri-Share financing model in Rapid City, South Dakota.