WEST VIRGINIA — Save the Children received an $8 million Appalachian Regional Initiative for Stronger Economies grant in 2024 to expand West Virginia's rural child care and early education workforce. The effort is expected to help nearly 400 people over five years and will also guide workforce development in Tennessee and Kentucky.

The majority of West Virginia households face barriers to child care access, and there are not enough child care providers in the state to meet demand. West Virginia lawmakers passed child care reforms through House Bill 4191, shifting from attendance-based to enrollment-based subsidy payments to help stabilize providers.

"Providers don't have enough available slots, creating long wait lists for some parents," said Brooke Smith, West Virginia assistant state director for Save the Children. "Some of our rural counties in West Virginia have as few as one provider available for the entire county, and we even have one or two that have zero providers available," she said.

Since 2020, Save the Children's early childhood education career pathways initiative has helped more than 700 people pursue a Child Development Associate Credential or a higher education degree in early childhood education. The program offers full or partial paid tuition, along with stipends. The 2024 grant builds on that initiative by funding workforce expansion across the region.

"We want to be able to provide some cash so that individuals can use that towards childcare, they can use it towards transportation, they can use it towards technology needs, whatever they might need individually," said Karen Harrison, lead adviser of workforce development for Save the Children.