Child Care in Our Community

Child Care in Our Community: A Conversation with a Local Director and Founder of Big Wonder Child Care, Celeste Finn.

By Audrey Clark

Child care is one of the most pressing concerns facing families in Summit-University and across the nation. To better understand local challenges, recent safety and financial disruptions, and what our community can do about them, we reached out to Celeste Finn, founder and director of Big Wonder Child Care, a nonprofit child care center. Celeste shared her insights and perspectives, touching on everything from the daily realities of running a child care center to the broader policy fights shaping the future of early childhood education in Minnesota.

1. To start, can you tell us a little about yourself and your work as a child care director here in Saint Paul? What was your motivation or “Why”?

I founded Big Wonder Child Care because I believe that education is the most effective catalyst for societal change and that early childhood education is the most critical foundation from which all aspects of human development are developed. I believe anti-bias values are best practice in every classroom, and I am working with my team of teachers and fellow educators to create innovative and practical frameworks to nurture anti-bias, collaborative, thriving early childhood communities that respect the unique rights of children, teachers, and families.

2. How would you describe the current state of child care availability and accessibility in Saint Paul?

Child care is in a crisis in Saint Paul and across the nation. It is a failed market system- families cannot afford the true cost of care, and profit margins are only 1% nationally. Child care centers are folding left and right, and too often, what remains standing is little more than a warehouse for children. Like health care, early care and education is social infrastructure that is critical to the well-being of families. Child care has enabled women to achieve financial independence, which has been pivotal to advancing gender equity. Moreover, 90% of the brain is developed by the time a child is 5 years old. The importance of high-quality child care cannot be overstated. But meeting the social, emotional, and cognitive needs of groups of children is expensive; it requires experienced, educated, and capable professionals, as well as well-equipped classrooms and outdoor spaces. It is expensive. Big Wonder is a non-profit organization, and we must charge far more than most families in Saint Paul can afford. Families that are low to middle-income are squeezed out of quality child care options, to the detriment of the financial stability of families and the well-being of children. There are plenty of great child care options in Saint Paul if you qualify for child care assistance (are living in poverty and can navigate getting county assistance) or are in the top 20% of incomes. Racially and economically, there are incredible equity gaps in early childhood education in Saint Paul. Contributing to the giant achievement gaps we see in our high schools.

3. Affordability, accessibility, and quality care are huge concerns for many families. Are there policies or regulations that help address these concerns? Are they effective, or do you believe they need improvements?

We need to invest in child care like the public good that it is. The ROI of child care investments is 1:17 when invested in high-quality care and education. Child care is the work behind the workforce; local and state economies depend on it. When we invest in child care, we can reduce our investment in prison development down the line. Right now, we treat child care as an individual family burden, at the cost of a thriving economy and community life. As I mentioned before, child care is expensive, and the investment we need to make to make quality child care affordable and accessible to all Minnesotans is 2-3 billion a year. The good news is that Minnesota is a thriving State and financially healthy. This is an investment we can afford if there is the political will to do so.

4. Child care assistance programs and subsidies have seen significant instability recently. From your perspective, what has that uncertainty meant for Saint Paul families and child care centers?

Last Tuesday, HSI conducted raids of child care centers with the FBI. HSI is the investigative arm of ICE. They did this in collaboration with the MN Department of Children, Youth and Families. The collaboration between agencies to violently investigate fraud in child care is a spectacle of cruelty designed to be viral clickbait and to erode public trust in a public investment in child care. We cannot condone acts of racial violence and lack of due process– there are established avenues of fraud prevention, and this is not one of them.

ICE occupied Minnesota in response to Nick Shirley's viral video that spread misinformation about fraud in child care (with the encouragement of MN Representative Demuth). Moreover, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families sent the Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions to countless child care centers to investigate fraud over the past 4 months (they said they found none). This was illegal and trampled on the civic liberty of child care providers. All of this on top of needing to have neighbors stand outside our centers to protect our children from federal agents and rogue individuals harassing child care centers in response to Nick Shirley’s video. The stress and burnout we are feeling right now is unbelievable. With the State and much of the public against us or ambiguous to the battle we are fighting to protect and serve vulnerable children and families, the road ahead feels impossible. The federal government is waging a war against Minnesota child care providers, and the State and local governments are doing NOTHING to assist us. This is all while we attempt to survive in a failed market system, in a highly litigious field, with incredible risks baked in (working with groups of very young children, who willingly fling themselves from high places and actively try to eat anything they can reach, is risky to operate a child care center and takes a lot of vigilance and care to do correctly). You can expect more centers to close and more centers to stop accepting families who pay with child care assistance, because the risks are too great and the burden unbearable.

Just last year, 5 of the oldest and best child care centers in Saint Paul closed, and that was before ICE, Nick Shirly, and the Department of Child Youth and Families turned against us.

I’ll be frank: it feels like we just emerged from battle and are walking on quicksand, attempting to meet the needs of children and serve as a pillar of our community, and there is no one in leadership, at the state or local level, who cares that we are drowning. I do not know how the industry will survive or how we will continue ot meet the needs of children without great public support.

5. How has the instability in federal funding affected your program and others like it? Has it changed how you operate or plan for the future?

When ICE said they were staying in Minnesota to investigate child care fraud, I hired a lawyer to protect my school. I have been vocal and active during the surge and can't risk retribution. I have hired an administrative assistant to make sure all of our Child Care Assistant paperwork is in perfect order. These are expensive investments, and will cut the scholarship assistance that Big Wonder has historically been able to offer families.

6. What are the most common challenges you hear from parents who are navigating the child care system — whether it's finding a spot, affording it, or understanding what assistance is available to them?

The most common challenge I hear from families is affordability. Families send their child to Big Wonder often at the expense of their savings and retirement contributions. Moreover, finding quality child care that meets the needs of children who are neurodivergent or have higher sensory needs is nearly impossible. Many children who come to Big Wonder have had traumatic or distressing experiences at previous child care centers, and they have much higher levels of behaviors and anxiety because of it. Because of a lack of responsive care parents can trust, and because it is often wildly out of budget, many families are experiencing financial and emotional distress regarding child care.

7. For families who may be eligible for child care assistance but don't know where to start, what resources or programs would you recommend?

Ramsey County provides financial assistance through the Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) to parents who can’t afford child care. Apply for child care assistance online at mnbenefits.mn.gov

8. You are a strong advocate on these issues. What do you see as the most urgent policy changes or community investments needed to stabilize and improve state and/or local child care?

We need greater awareness of the needs of children and families. Like any civic movement, it will require the public to tell their representatives what they demand. Child care is a pivotal component of our state and local communities, and funding public goods is the reason we all pay taxes.

I met with Mayor Her during Operation Metro Surge, begging for assistance for child care (countless children were in hiding and couldn't pay tuition). She said that the city had no money or support to give. A few weeks later, Mayor Her announced that the city was making a $162 million investment in the Grand Casino Arena (and last year the Minnesota Wild paid NO RENT to occupy the Arena).

We have the money needed to fund child care, but lack the political will to do so. It is up to the public to demand that our lawmakers have the willpower to invest in what the public needs. We are organizing for investment in child care at the State level. I believe this investment would be the most critical and important policy in the history of Minnesota- reducing the achievement gap, leading to greater financial liberty and wellness for families and children, and an incredible boost for our economy.

9. For Summit-University residents who want to take action — whether as parents, neighbors, or community members — what are the most meaningful ways to get involved and advocate for improvements?

We have the money needed to fund child care, but lack the political will to do so. It is up to the public to demand that our lawmakers find the willpower. We are organizing for investment in child care at the State level.

Sign this petition to encourage public funding of child care: https://www.childcareforallmn.com

We are also holding the Department of Children, Families and Youth accountable for their contribution towards the violent raids of child care centers and for sending the BCA illegally to child care centers. Sign this petition to encourage DCYF to form healthy partnerships with child care providers and to follow due process to prevent fraud: http://bit.ly/4tUC1E6

You can get involved with Neighbors Protecting Neighbors at the city level, or with Kids Count on Us to help us organize at the State level. Together, we will make the investments needed to stabilize the child care sector and allow all children and families to thrive in Minnesota. Contact me if you wish to get involved: celeste@bigwonder.org.