Three years ago, securing infant child care in Dubuque County often meant a waitlist of nine months or longer. Today, child care providers are reporting available infant slots. That shift has real consequences for employers. It reduces hiring friction for relocating talent, helps retain working parents, and stabilizes attendance and productivity across the workforce.
Greater Dubuque Development Corporation helped launch Business Champions for Child Care in partnership with Dubuque Initiatives in late 2023 in direct response to employer feedback. Businesses told us plainly that child care access was becoming a workforce constraint. In response, the initiative secured $560,000 in state pilot funding and leveraged $819,000 in local employer investment to support child care centers with strategies tied directly to workforce attraction, retention, and stabilization.
The results are tangible and measurable. Since 2022:
These outcomes directly support employer needs by strengthening the stability, availability, and quality of child care across the region.
In 2025, the fund transitioned to the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque for long-term stewardship. This move was intentional. The initiative was built with employers, and the Community Foundation provides the structure needed to sustain and grow the effort over time.
To support transparency and share outcomes from this work, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque recently released its 2025 Dubuque County Child Care Solutions Fund Impact Report, which outlines investments, outcomes, and measurable workforce impacts to date. The report provides a deeper look at how employer support has strengthened child care access and workforce stability across Dubuque County.
Looking ahead, the 2026 program focus will continue to support attraction, retention, and development of the child care workforce, with a stronger emphasis on sustaining availability while continuing to improve quality of care.
This year’s grant awards have now been announced to child care centers that applied for funding. Award funds support practical workforce solutions, including:
These investments help centers build and retain the workforce needed to serve Dubuque’s families. Agreements are currently being finalized with recipients, and the 2026 awards will soon be announced publicly by the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque.
This is the last year of dedicated funding currently in place. Protecting the progress already made—and continuing to expand access and quality for working families—will require renewed employer support.
Thank You to Our Business Champions for Child Care
We extend our sincere thanks to the employers who have invested in this work:
John Deere Foundation • Alliant Energy • City of Dubuque • Dubuque Bank & Trust, a division of UMB Bank, n.a. • Diamond Jo Casino • Dupaco Community Credit Union • HODGE • Medline Industries, Inc. • Progressive Processing/Hormel Foods • Q Casino + Resort • Rite-Hite • Theisen Supply Inc. • UnityPoint Health–Finley Hospital • Woodward Communications, Inc. • Anonymous Corporate Donor
Employers interested in renewing or joining as a Business Champion for Child Care are encouraged to contact Mary Jo Jean-Francois, Vice President of Impact at the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, at 563-588-2700 or maryjoj@dbqfoundation.org.