Dubuque County Secures Over $1.9 Million from State Child Care Business Incentive Grant Program

Continued fforts to address child care shortages in Dubuque County have received another significant boost, with the Bright Minds Campus securing $845,000 through the Child Care Business Incentives funding program, bringing the initiative’s total support from this state program to $3,000,000. The phase 2 funds will add 100 new child care slots to the already innovative workforce child care facility, further enhancing support for area families and regional employers. Greater Dubuque Development staff, namely Dave Lyons, Strategic Initiatives Consultant, and Nic Hockenberry, Director of Workforce Programming, took the lead role in preparing the grant application and worked with state officials to advocate for funding to support Dubuque County’s efforts broadly. 

Opened in early 2024, Bright Minds Campus has been widely recognized as a groundbreaking solution for child care in the region. Housing both the Dubuque Community Y Early Learning Center and the Dubuque Community School District’s Seedlings Preschool Center, the facility provides seamless wrap-around care and comprehensive early learning services for the community’s youngest residents.

The new grant will allow Bright Minds to expand its capacity and offer even more robust services by renovating additional space in the building. This builds on recent efforts to address the need for more child care slots, with a focus on increasing infant care, as identified by a 2022 study commissioned by Greater Dubuque Development Corporation that found a lack of child care options was a key factor keeping parents out of the workforce.

The Bright Minds Campus isn’t the only facility benefiting from the latest round of state grants. Two additional projects in Dubuque County have also received funding, thanks in part to application assistance from Greater Dubuque Development, to expand child care availability:

• Area Residential Care (ARC), Dubuque: Awarded $395,326, this project will create 35 new child care slots through the repurposing of an onsite location. The facility will also feature a nature-inspired play space, with services offered in partnership with St. Mark Early Childhood.
• Dyersville Industries, Inc., Dyersville: Received $675,000 to add 25 new child care slots to its the Michael & Jean Knepper Child Care Center, which already serves 131 children. The funding will also support outdoor improvements, including fencing and trails for play areas.

These grants are part of the state’s Child Care Business Incentives program, which aims to tackle Iowa’s child care challenges by increasing accessibility and affordability.

The expansion of child care in Dubuque County highlights the power of collaboration. Bright Minds Campus and Business Champions for Child Care are made possible through a partnership betwen Dubuque Initiatives, Business Champions, and Greater Dubuque Development. This serves as another model for how public-private philanthropic partnerships can address complex challenges.

For more information on our child care expansion efforts, contact Nic Hockenberry, Director of Workforce Programming, at 563-557-9049 or nicolash@greaterdubuque.org.