11/4/2024“Helena This Week” is reported and written By JoVonne Wagner. Send your Helena news and tips to [email protected] non-profit aims to lessen childcare shortage through education, supportA Helena non-profit is taking action to address the state’s childcare shortage by offering education and support to existing and new providers. After recent state funding changes and Helena childcare provider Bloom Montessori School’s announcement last week that it was closing, many families have been left to quickly find replacement care for their children. Bloom cared for up to 132 children under the age of 6, and parents have taken to social media in hopes of finding local providers.Child Care Connections is a nonprofit that advocates for families and childcare providers in Lewis and Clark and surrounding counties. CCC provider services supervisor Brandi Thomas told Montana Free Press that the issue isn’t so much the availability of slots for children but the lack of childcare businesses, something that Helena-based organization Zero to Five Montana has been trying to address.Zero to Five Montana began focusing on business education within the childcare industry in 2022 after it received a contract through the Department of Public Health and Human Services for the Montana Child Care Business Connect Program.“We just kind of have a vision around what we could do in our state to address this gap because previous to this, having business supports or training or technical assistance just wasn’t really a service that a lot of that childcare providers could access,” Zero to Five Montana Executive Director Caitlin Jensen told MTFP.Jensen said the program helps established providers with financing, one-on-one technical assistance and sustainable business planning but also targets members in the community who want to join the industry or who’ve been providing care informally.“We pair either experienced childcare providers or other industry leaders with someone who wants to start a childcare business and really work alongside each other through a supported process to then build out a childcare program,” Jensen said.Zero to Five has seen a high success rate in the mentorship program. Almost everyone who has participated in the program has either started their own childcare business or is expanding an existing business, Jensen said.  One participant from the mentorship program’s first cohort was able to start its own childcare in Helena, Larch Early Childhood Care, and is now working on opening a second location, according to Jensen. Since Zero to Five’s inception, the program has supported businesses that provide more than 400 licensed childcare slots in the Helena region, which includes Helena, East Helena, Boulder and Townsend. This is about 18% of the region’s total capacity, according to Jason Nitschke, the nonprofit’s senior childcare business advisor.Larch and other local providers, Jensen said, play a key role in communities and when one childcare facility closes, it has a ripple effect on children, parents, employers and other providers.“It’s always a little scary when you hear about closures because it happens,” Jensen said. “But we’re, in our organization, really actively working on how we can support sustainability and innovation and that stability and being able to run an operative program is just really important.”Jensen said the DPHHS grant ended in September, but the nonprofit recently received a notice that it had received another state grant to continue the work for the next five years. Public Notice City offices closed: The city administration offices, municipal court and transfer station will be closed on Tuesday, Nov. 5, for Election Day. Capital Transit buses will be in operation, but its office will also be closed. For questions, contact the city at 406-447-8000 or the transfer station at 406-447-8086.   East Helena info session: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Montana Environmental Trust Group will host a community informational session about the East Helena ASARCO Smelter Site on Wednesday, Nov. 6. Hosts will provide an update on clean-up efforts, water quality and area redevelopment. The session will be at the METG office, 324 Manlove Ave., and virtually from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.  5 Things to Know in Helena County secures funds for rural health: Lewis and Clark County commissioners formally accepted a $1.2 million federal grant last week from the Health Resources and Services Administration to continue implementing the Rural Health Development Program. The program furthers the county’s work providing health care accessibility in rural communities for the next three years, including, through a partnership with PureView Health Care, a van fitted as a mobile clinic. This grant is the second from HRSA, which awarded the county $300,000 last year. County detention center still understaffed: Last week, county commissioners approved a memorandum of agreement with the Sheriff’s Employees’ Association during a county meeting. The agreement allows for the officer in charge to operate night shifts at the county detention center with six officers rather than nine when the jail is fully staffed. Jail commander Troy Christensen told MTFP the center is having difficulty retaining officers as they move up in the ranks within the sheriff’s department. Christensen said the center currently is staffed with 36 officers but needs 15 more. The center also faces overpopulation, fluctuating between 160 to 200 inmates over weekends with 166 beds. Mini Malfunction Junction update: City workers last week replaced the temporary stop signs with semi-permanent signs at the five-point intersection downtown on Last Chance Gulch and the intersection at 11th Avenue and Cruse Street. Traffic maintenance workers also removed traffic lights to help prevent further confusion. According to city staff, these changes will act as an interim solution while city officials work toward roundabout designs and implementation plans.   Public art recommendations: Amanda Reese, the chairperson for the city’s public art committee, presented the committee’s annual report to the city commission last week and listed several recommendations for the upcoming fiscal year. Recommendations included future murals for downtown, the walking mall and the Law and Justice Center and creating an ordinance that would allocate some funding for public art in city projects. The ordinance, the Percent for Public Art Funding Ordinance, would set aside 1% of the costs of city construction projects for future capital improvements. Commissioners expressed interest in the ordinance and will continue the discussion at a later meeting. Fall Art Walk: Downtown Helena will hold the Annual Fall Art Walk, put on by Omerta Arts, on Friday, Nov. 8, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Businesses along Last Chance Gulch will host local artists who will promote their work. For more information about participating artists and businesses, contact Omerta Arts at [email protected] votesElection day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and Helena residents can cast or drop off ballots at the City-County Building, 316 N. Park Ave., or at designated polling locations until 8 p.m. Here are some Election Day information and links to help prepare voters. Helena polling locations: Residents have designated polling locations based on their precincts. Visit the county website to search your address and find the corresponding precinct. Notice: The county announced Precinct 22 polling location has moved to the Helena Valley Community Center at 3553 Tizer Rd. Registration status: The Secretary of State’s website allows you to check the status of your registration and voter information. Not registered? Residents can visit the Lewis and Clark Elections office on the first floor, room 168, for same-day voter registration. Absentee ballots: Absentee ballot holders must turn in their ballots at the elections office or polling locations by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Contact the Elections Office at 406-447-8339 for additional information or questions. By The NumbersThe percentage of absentee ballots returned in Lewis and Clark County as of Oct. 31, according to the Montana Secretary of State’s website. Of the 37,788 mailed to county voters, 26,249 had been returned.Helena HistoryA view of what is now the pedestrian walking mall in downtown Helena, taken in 1954, before the urban renewal era of the 1960s and 70s. Credit: “Helena As She Was” The post Addressing Helena’s childcare issues appeared first on Montana Free Press.