By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — LaunchPad, the Kosciusko County Child Care & Early Learning Coalition, is partnering with a white paper group from KLA, to invite parents in search of child care options on Thursday in Warsaw.
The event at Kosciusko Community YMCA at 1305 Mariners Drive will be from 4-6 p.m. and is an opportunity for parents with young children to meet with 16 Kosciusko County early learning programs to learn more about their offerings.
A free coffee from The River Coffeehouse at the YMCA will be available to parents who can take their children to the onsite Lilypad Play Café for a free hour of play while they look further into childcare options.
Sherry Searles, director of LaunchPad for Kosciusko County, said they’ve never held such an event, but that the local child care situation has worsened after the number of vouchers available to parents to help cover some of the costs was significantly reduced.
“There was a lot of funding during COVID so they were giving out a lot of vouchers and now the funding has gone and since the cost of child care has gone up, the dollars don’t stretch as far,” Searles said.
The lack of vouchers, combined with the rising cost of childcare, has led to an increased number of seats available through child care providers.
The change is putting more financial strain on providers, she said.
“There is a long list of families waiting to get a voucher,” she said.
Whether parents are looking for a half-day preschool for the 2026-2027 school year or full-time care to begin immediately, program directors will be on hand to support families, answer questions, and enroll interested families.
