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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

DMACC Newton Campus Rises to Child Care Challenges

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Monday, May 22, 2017   

DES MOINES, Iowa – Iowa's economy is bouncing back, creating an increased demand for qualified child care providers.

And a central Iowa college is rising to meet the challenge.

Some child care providers had to close shop after Maytag left Newton in 2007 and jobs were lost. But a decade later, industry is picking back up with Trinity Structural Towers and TPI Composites among businesses increasing their workforce.

To help meet the needs of local families, Joe DeHart, provost of Des Moines Area Community College Newton Campus, says a new Early Childhood Education certificate program will be offered this fall.

"So we just want to be on top of that so that we make sure that whether it's first shift, second shift or third shift, our child care providers then are properly trained and they have the opportunity to get that training locally," he states.

DeHart says the one semester program is tailored for people interested in working in a preschool or day care setting, but unable to pursue a two-year degree. But course work may be applied to the Early Childhood Education Associate program.

While the certificate prepares students for an entry-level position, DeHart notes it also can help others who already are working in child care.

"It's going to improve employability,” he says. “It would improve viability if they are looking to do in-home child care.

“It will also improve the working status if they are already employed that they can come in and be eligible for raises because they've invested in their training."

In Iowa, child care workers earn on average more than $18,000, and up to nearly $24,000 a year.





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