The Sonshine Center in Casselton recently completed a 5,400-square-foot daycare and preschool facility with the capacity to accommodate up to 88 children ages 6 weeks to 12 years of age. USDA Rural Development partnered on the project by providing more than 80 percent of the construction financing.
“The challenges of finding child care is a struggle for families across the state. We see that in numerous studies and it comes up in nearly every community conversation with local leaders," said Ryan Taylor, USDA Rural Development state director. “We're proud to provide this new center the affordable financing they needed to help alleviate daycare shortages in Casselton, and we look forward to assisting more communities in our state. Accessible child care is an economic workforce issue, a community need and a quality of life improvement for North Dakota families. There's a lot of common good in this project and these efforts.”
The need for child care services in Casselton is evident by the growing waiting list at the Sonshine Center. According to data collected in 2015 by Child Care Aware of North Dakota, licensed child care providers are only meeting about 36 percent of the state’s potential demand for services. To help fill that child care gap, the new Center increased capacity by almost 30 children and has begun hiring additional staff members.
Sonshine’s previous facility served 60 children from two separate locations, leased space from a local motel and the other a school-owned facility. The separation created logistical issues for families when picking up and dropping off multiple children. It also made it difficult to provide meals to both locations.
The new facility solves all of those issues by bringing the children and amenities under one roof for convenience and improved efficiency. The Center also has a 5,000-square-foot outdoor play area with equipment.
USDA Rural Development approved a $969,300 Community Facilities loan to build the Sonshine Center. Additional financing was provided by an $187,500 grant from the North Dakota Department of Commerce. The new daycare facility has been open since late May and is located at 52 8th Avenue North in Casselton. For more information on USDA programs, please call (701) 530-2037 or visit http://www.rd.usda.gov/nd.