News Photo by Julie Riddle Alivia Roznowski, 3, left, chats with a friend at the full-to-capacity Alpena Childcare and Development Center on Wednesday.

ALPENA — With nearly a quarter of Northeast Michigan licensed child care centers closed, many parents have to rely on family or friends for child care if they want to get a job.

Data recently released by the Michigan League for Public Policy shows only 78% of the Alpena area’s 67 licensed providers were open for business as of January.

Many providers statewide have not reopened after coronavirus pandemic-related shutdowns, and others are operating at partial capacity, the league said.

Even if all licensed providers’ doors were open, two of five don’t accept infants, presenting another obstacle to parents hoping for help caring for children not yet of school age.

The Alpena Childcare and Development Center in Alpena, licensed to care for 100 children, has been at full capacity for years and currently has 150 children on its waiting list, said director Kelli Witter.

She gets nearly a dozen calls a day from parents hoping she has room for their child.

Without someone to care for their children, many parents can’t accept a job, no matter how high the incentive from a potential employer, Witter said.

Logen Sobeck, classroom assistant at the center, considers herself lucky to have her 3-year-old daughter enrolled at the center.

A stay-at-home mom at one time, she wanted to reenter the workforce and was able to take her daughter, Alivia Roznowski, with her when she accepted a job at the center.

Not all parents are that lucky, Sobeck knows.

Friends tell her they’ve tried to sign their kids up with licensed child care providers but have found no available spots. They have to hope friends and family have time to provide child care, she said.

Of the 36 licensed child care centers, group homes, and family homes in Alpena County, 30 were open as of January, according to Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

In January, 11 of Presque Isle County’s 15 licensed providers were open. About a third of licensed providers in Montmorency and Alcona county providers were closed.

Those numbers may be lower by now, as Witter has heard that some area licensed family homes have closed recently, their owners retiring from the business.

Legislation passed in June will allow some home-based child care providers to care for more children and established networks to provide technical assistance and support to home-based businesses.

On Tuesday, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the expansion of a financial aid program making more Michiganders — up to 40% of Michigan’s working families with children younger than 12 — eligible for free or low-cost child care.

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MLPP Child Care Reports – Northeast Michigan by Julie Riddle on Scribd

That will only help parents who can find someone able to take their child, however.

Witter, at the Alpena Childcare and Development Center, said turnover at the center — one of only three in Alpena County — happens slowly, with many children entering as infants and staying with the center for years.

She’d like to be able to help more Alpena families take care of their children, but she can’t, Witter said.

In Northeast Michigan, parents and caregivers of the region’s 3,079 children aged 0 to 5, as of 2019, can seek child care from 52 open licensed providers.

Julie Riddle can be reached at 989-358-5693 or jriddle@thealpenanews.com. Follow her on Twitter @jriddleX.