BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - On a usual weekday at Super Kids Jr. Academy in south Bismarck, groups of kids can be seen running around the playground. But on a recent Monday morning, about six kids were scooping snow around the area’s swings and slides.
“They’re excited to come outside,” owner Tammy Anderson said as she watched them.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, the day care center would have about 90 children attending the day care. But attendance has dropped by about half as families choose to keep children home.
The COVID-19 outbreak in North Dakota has caused many day cares to shut down. Day cares choosing to remain open have experienced a large decrease in attendance, but North Dakota is working to keep the programs afloat through a grant program.
As of April 6, there were 1,572 licensed child care programs in North Dakota, according to the state Department of Human Services. About 11% have reported they closed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in the state, The Bismarck Tribune reported.
In Burleigh County, there are about 175 licensed child care programs, according to the department. As of April 13, 13 self-reported to Human Services that they had closed.
Many of the open child care programs are conducting health screenings and are limiting group sizes to nine children per staff member to comply with an executive order Gov. Doug Burgum signed on April 10.
In return for following the practices, along with agreeing to prioritize serving children of first responders and allowing families not attending day cares to hold a spot for up to $50 per month, programs became eligible for the department’s “childcare emergency operating grant,” which has been providing funds based on the size of a facility and licensed capacity.
In a conference call with hundreds of child care providers last month, Burgum touted the child care grants as “one of the most proactive” in the country “in supporting its child care institutions.”
Granny Annie’s Childcare received the grant earlier this month. The child care center used the funds to “keep our doors open and building operational,” said Tom Bry, a business manager with the day care. The grant has helped Granny Annie’s Childcare financially as it limits its fees for children absent from the day care.
“Typically, if a parent decides not to bring their child for whatever reason, that family is still obligated to pay for their spot, and until (the Department of Human Services practices) were announced on the 27th, that was kind of our plan in April to keep our doors open,” Bry said. “Child care centers don’t have a very large profit margin to begin with. Basically, what you bring in is what you pay out. It’s not really a business where people are sitting on lots of money and savings.”
Granny Annie’s Childcare closed after Burgum ordered the shutdown of schools. The day care reopened a week later when the governor extended the school shutdown.
“If we had to shut down completely and to not take any children, there would have been no way that we could’ve opened our doors back up,” Bry said.
To follow the Department of Human Services’ requirements, Granny Annie’s Childcare is checking kids’ temperatures “more regularly than we normally would,” including if a child has a runny nose. Before allowing kids into the facility, day care staff ask parents Human Services-mandated screening questions, which include whether they or their children have exhibited coronavirus symptoms, been in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus or traveled outside of the country.
New Song Kids Care also closed after Burgum’s executive order shutting down schools but then reopened two weeks later. The day care used to average about 50 children a day in the facility, but average attendance numbers have dropped about 70%. In order to follow the state’s requirements, the day care has had to segregate classrooms, with each group assigned a different bathroom.
“I think a few of them are enjoying the one-on-one spoiling that’s going on,” said Sara Johnson, a supervisor at New Song Kids Care.
Like at Granny Annie’s Childcare, parents who bring their children to New Song Kids Care are asked not to enter the building. Children are told by staff to wash their hands before entering classrooms.
Some New Song Kids Care staff have volunteered to stay home without pay due to the day care’s drop in attendance, Johnson said, while others have self-quarantined.
For now, though, a lot of parents with kids enrolled at New Song Kids Care have opted to keep their children home until COVID-19 subsides.
“The ones that we do have are essential workers, and so we are here to provide a safe and healthy environment for those families and that’s our goal,” Johnson said.
Super Kids Jr. Academy has remained open throughout the outbreak in North Dakota. Parents are allowed in its facility, but not until they are asked the Human Services screening questions.
Previously, the day care staff sent children home if they had a temperature of 101 degrees. The day care now sends children to their families if they show a temperature of 100.4 degrees.
The grant Super Kids Jr. Academy received has enabled the day care not to lay off any of its staff, Anderson said. Staff are working different schedules, which was encouraged under Burgum’s executive order.
“I know that at some point we’re going to get back to, even if it’s a new normal, we will get back to some type of normal, and our kids will be coming back, and we will move forward from there,” Anderson said. “But right at this point, we are just plugging along and trying to do business as usual.”
On that recent Monday, Beckham Wetsch, 6, could be seen shoveling snow next to a tire swing on the Super Kids Jr. Academy play area. “It sticks really good,” he said about the snow.
Beckham said he doesn’t miss going to school. He sends his friends video messages to keep in touch, though.
“I’m going to show them my dance moves,” he said.
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