Empowering Families, Strengthening Workforce

Innovative, collaborative initiatives in Dubuque County are expanding child care access and removing barriers to workforce participation.

Child Care in Dubuque County

Addressing a Critical Workforce Challenge

Greater Dubuque Development Corporation conducts over 250 executive interviews annually to assess regional workforce needs. A recurring theme? Child care availability and affordability are major barriers to workforce participation.

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From Analysis to Action

2024 Expansions to Dubuque County's Child Care Capacity

A 2022 Child Care Analysis commissioned by Greater Dubuque Development confirmed that inadequate child care capacity was limiting workforce participation, with long wait lists, high costs, and a lack of care for infants. Recognizing that child care is a quality of life and workforce issue, Greater Dubuque Development and its partners took action to increase child care capacity throughout Dubuque County.

Bright Minds Campus: Phase I

Dubuque Initiatives in partnership with Greater Dubuque Development and others,through the Dubuque Childcare Collaborative (DCC), secured a $2,154,800 Child Care Business Incentive Grant from the State of Iowa to develop Bright Minds Campus, a multi-employer-supported child care center located in the Dubuque Industrial Center West.
Opened in January 2024, Bright Minds initially offered 119 child care slots.
Co-located with Dubuque Community School District’s Seedlings Preschool, enhancing early learning access, leveraging shared staffing, and providing wrap-around care.

Business Champions for Child Care Fund Established
Greater Dubuque Development and Dubuque Initiatives launched the Business Champions for Child Care in December 2023, securing $560,000 in additional state funding and leveraging $819,000 in local investment. Fourteen of the region’s top employers stepped up to launch this multi-year fund to invest in Dubuque County's child care ecosystem, supporting workforce stability and economic growth.

Child care centers assisted in 2024, covering 60% of the Dubuque County’s child care capacity

$829K

Direct investment in child care centers across Dubuque County to support workforce creation and retention in 2024

223

New child care slots created in 2024

Newly trained and hired child care professionals in 2024

Investing in Our Future

Building Momentum in 2025

Additional state funding paired with multi-year employer pledges continue to add new child care slots and fuel opportunities that train and attract new child care professionals, laying the foundation for sustainable solutions across Dubuque County.

Bright Minds Campus: Phase II

Due to overwhelming demand, an additional $845,200 has been secured from the State of Iowa to invest in Phase II of the Bright Minds Campus build out.
This dedicated funding will create 100 new child care slots and establish a childcare training center, set to open by end of October 2025.

Business Champions for Child Care: Future Growth

As we move into year two, the Business Champions for Child Care program has aligned operations to focus on child care workforce attraction to increase child care capacity. By focusing investments in attraction activities, we will recruit more qualified professionals into the field, expand the number of children served, and ensure sustainable growth in our community’s child care infrastructure.

Continued private investment from regional employers is crucial to grow and sustain this effort.

By becoming a Business Champion for Child Care today with your multi-year pledge, we can continue to bolster child care capacity throughout Dubuque County for years to come.

Child care centers in Dubuque County assisted with 2025 grant funding

$214K

Direct investment in child care centers across Dubuque County in 2025, supporting workforce attraction

412

Estimated new child care slots to be created by the end of 2025

184

Estimated new child care professionals to be trained and hired by end of 2025