New Hamilton County dashboard highlights child care gap

Posted by: IBJ

Hamilton County has 124 licensed child care programs that offer a combined 14,594 seats. Yet 3,216 more spots are still needed.

In early May, Invest Hamilton County, the county’s central economic development organization, launched a Childcare Action Dashboard, which tracks the current state of child care in the county.

Even with 1,592 more slots created since 2024, demand has continued to grow. By 2034, unless the county grows its capacity, projections say it will not have spots for about 8,000 children in need of care.

While many counties across Indiana don’t have enough child care spots to meet demand, Hamilton County is facing the challenge of meeting the changing needs of a growing community, said Mike Thibideau, president and CEO of Invest Hamilton County.

“We have so many young families move here so frequently. … There are thousands of seats here,” Thibideau said. “However, when the community continues to grow, there is a natural challenge that occurs along with that, and it’s the same type of challenge that we’ve traditionally seen with our school corporations and with other types of entities coming into the county.”