Buffalo County Leads the Way in Creating Additional Licensed Childcare Providers

Earlier this month, the first high-quality child care provider was licensed by the State and is open for business due to a collaborative regional approach to creating new child care openings.

A local Buffalo County model to seek, train, and license new child care providers in Buffalo County was expanded to 25 counties in central Nebraska earlier this year.

Melissa Trejo, of Grand Island, obtained her family home child care license within four months of applying with the mentoring support of Child Care Champion Lacey Ahrens. “Thank you so much for this opportunity! Lacey has helped me so much, and without her, I wouldn’t be where I am,” said Trejo. As a part of this grant-funded program, Trejo also received a $2,500 stipend to support the startup costs of her new family home child care.

In January, Buffalo County Community Partners contracted six child care champions to seek, train, and support residents of the region in the process of becoming licensed by the State of Nebraska as high-quality child care providers. Since 2022, this model in Buffalo County has licensed 12 new high-quality child care providers, opening 126 new child care opportunities in family home child care centers.

“Ms. Trejo is our first provider to complete the requirements! We celebrate her and the 25 others who will quickly follow,” states Denise Zwiener, CEO of Buffalo County Community Partners. “Last year, we were contacted by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development (NDED), the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, Communities for Kids, ESU10, and other cross-sector representatives in the service area of Central Community College, because they had heard of the successful Buffalo County Child Care Champion model. It was an honor to replicate this program over a region.”

The 6 Regions, One Nebraska program was launched by NDED and Governor Jim Pillen to support priorities emerging in six regions across Nebraska. The central region partners prioritized child care; however, they continue to host conversations around housing and workforce. Governor Pillen awarded $200,000 to this work in the central region of One Nebraska.

“We are thrilled to celebrate our first licensed child care provider through the Central Region Child Care Champions Project. This milestone reflects the hard work and collaboration of our Central Child Care Action Team, which spans the Central Community College region. It’s just the beginning of what we hope will be a wave of new, high-quality, licensed child care options across the Central Region. A special thanks to the Buffalo County Community Partners for their assistance in making this Program a reality.” Jim Ediger, Central 6 Regions, One Nebraska Co-Chair and Legal Counsel, Hamilton Telecommunications.

Dena Beck, Central Regional Navigator for 6 Regions, One Nebraska, emphasized the collaborative spirit of the initiative, stating, “When the entire Central Region met in October and overwhelmingly supported the Central Child Care Champions project for the Governor’s ARPA grant, there was no holding them back. Their goal of 300 new, high-quality, licensed Family Home Child Care spots in the Central region by September 2026 is a step closer today!”

“6 Regions, One Nebraska encourages area partnerships to address shared needs, such as child care shortages,” said DED Director K.C. Belitz. “Congratulations to the Central Region on having achieved licensure of the first provider through the Child Care Champion Program! It’s exciting to see the fruit of regional leaders’ collaboration!”

For more information about the 6 Regions, One Nebraska, and the Child Care Champion Program, please contact Dena Beck at (308) 832-7810 or dbeck@NEChamber.com

Buffalo County Community Partners is a non-profit organization that aligns cross-sector partners to identify emerging issues, collect and evaluate data, and facilitate conversations to bring innovative solutions to local issues. They are uniquely positioned to do this work because they invest time in understanding issues and align partners around shared outcomes. Find more at www.bcchp.org or contact us at (308)865-2284 or info@bcchp.org

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