child care

The YMCA of Greater Michiana details how its planned downtown child care center will serve families, set tuition and train staff.

The city is funding a new childcare center at the downtown YMCA to help working parents and improve access to licensed care in the city’s core.

YMCA CEO Mark Weber says their child care center serving St. Joseph and Benton Harbor is full, and he says downtown South Bend lacks a high-quality child care option for downtown workers.

The state stopped issuing new vouchers last December, and nearly 31,000 children were on the waitlist as of September.

As the Indiana Governor Mike Braun administration has cut funding for child care, a St. Joseph County group plans to ask local employers to invest in a fund to help child care providers with equipment, supplies and furniture.

United Way of St. Joseph County President and CEO Mark Herriman says the Trump and Braun administration cuts are short-sighted because studies show a 7-to-1 return on investment from public funding for quality early childhood care and education.

Families in Indiana often don’t have access to quality child care and early-learning education.

Families in Indiana are struggling to afford diapers. Advocates say efforts to make diapers more affordable and accessible haven’t gone far enough.

Current pay for juries in Indiana are equivalent to less than the minimum wage, court officials say, making it hard to get enough jurors. Indiana is close to creating a law that would double juror compensation, making them some of the highest paid in the nation.

Fathers could be ordered by Indiana courts to pay for more expenses related to childbirth than before under legislation headed to the Senate.