Community Child Care Capacity Building Cohort

For short, “The Cohort” is a program led by Zero to Five Montana’s Child Care Business Connect and is a year long process to help communities identify gaps, strengthen child care systems and build cross-sector solutions

Click here for an article from Zero to Five article about the launch of the Cohort.

Local child care is in crisis: families, employers and providers all face challenges. Even if you do not currently use child care, it impacts the community and the ability for individuals to engage in our community.

This cohort will help bring together community partners and collect and share data about our local child care needs.

We want to build a shared responsibility around child care in our community.

• Timeline:

  • March - May 2025: Team formation & initial trainings

  • Summer/Fall 2025: Data collection through surveys

  • Fall 2025–Spring 2026: Ongoing trainings, community meetings, and action planning

• Take the Survey: Parents, child care providers, and businesses can share input. Click here.

• Community Conversations: Dates & locations are TBD.

• Join the Effort: Interested in being part of the local team? Reach out to Maureen at mbjerke@sphealth.org or 406-461-4449

• Identify top focus areas for improving child care locally

• Build a realistic action plan informed by community voices

• Share findings openly. Reports will be posted on this page for transparency.

• Establishment of an early childhood coalition

• Opening or expansion of a child care facility

• Creation of a child care provider network

• Media campaign around the child care workforce needs and opportunities

• Comprehensive data reports on the needs of families, providers, and employees

• Early childhood landscape navigation resources

• Early care and education policy and advocacy initiatives

• So much more!