Decatur County (IA) Works with FCF to Address Child Care Shortage

Sitting along the southern edge of Iowa, Decatur County and its 7,500 residents faced a struggle common to many rural areas: lack of accessible child care. 

“The child care landscape in rural areas is a struggle,” says Shannon Erb, chief operating officer of Decatur County Hospital. “Not only was there a lack of available child care, but it’s expensive to provide, and parents often are not in jobs that can pay for high-cost child care.” 

Community leaders knew that something needed to change to improve the child care landscape, but they needed more information and data. 

In 2024, Erb and Cierra Fountain, Executive Director of Decatur County Development Corporation, contacted Angie Duncan, FCF Iowa’s Business Development Manager, about conducting a market analysis and creating a Strategic Plan for Child Care. 

FCF’s research estimated 512 children in the county were from families that would choose a state-regulated child care space; there were 213 total regulated child care spaces in the county. 

Based upon the market analysis findings, the first goal of the strategic plan was “Establish an Iowa Department of Health and Human Services licensed child care center in Leon for children ages 0 to 12.” 

“We took a county-wide focus that intended to serve all of Decatur County,” Erb says. “Leon and Lamoni both have child care available, but there were simply not enough spaces to meet needs.” 

While the gap between need and availability was readily apparent, hours of availability were also a problem. Many parents didn’t work 8-5 jobs and couldn’t find care that aligned with their schedules. 

“At the hospital, we were seeing more employees having kids and not coming back to work because they couldn’t find child care or were not confident that they could find quality child care,” Erb said. “They weren’t able to find slots even when they were willing to pay. We were losing employees and needed to find a solution.” 

The county created a steering committee that included the hospital, local economic development staff, the school superintendent, other employers, parents, home-care providers, and representatives of the child care center in Lamoni. 

“We tried to cover all the bases,” Erb says. “We didn’t want to disrupt current providers but knew we had to build more child care.” 

Decatur County Hospital contributed about $1.4M to the project and applied for and received a matching Iowa Workforce Development grant for nearly $1.5M in January 2025 to construct a child care center in Leon, the county seat that has a population of approximately 1,800. 

In August 2025, the county broke ground on a child care center that will enroll 60 children, depending on state licensing.  

“We will open in June 2026 at 50 percent capacity and will ramp up to full capacity over three years,” Erb says. “We will serve infants through school-age. We are fundraising for operations funds, have hired a director, and are interviewing staff.” 

Erb says that FCF was a key player in the project. “Working with FCF was fantastic. They guided us from start to finish. They talked us through all the steps starting with the steering committee, did a family survey, compiled results, and helped the steering committee set goals. 

“We could have gone a million different directions, but we needed to determine what was feasible, who would lead it, etc.”  

Erb adds that while the hospital understands opening and running a business – regulations, life safety code, background checks, training – the expertise that FCF brought from a child care perspective was key. 

“I have stayed in touch with Angie and (Business Development Specialist) Dana Miller  to talk about staffing ratios, etc., on a consulting basis. They have been very helpful as we work to make income projections more closely meet expenses.” 

Erb is proud of the way that the county businesses and residents worked together to make this happen. 

“As a community member who is greatly invested in the continued growth and sustainability of Decatur County, I was honored to be a part of a project that will serve that goal for years to come. By investing in families, I hope this project will cultivate young minds and allow parents to participate in the community in whatever way fits them best,” Erb says. 

“I want everyone who chooses to live in Decatur County to have the same opportunities (or more) than they would elsewhere. We live here because we love it, and this project is just another addition that will allow families to call Decatur County ‘home’ for decades to come.”