Flowers Early Learning battles for childcare needs

BERRIEN COUNTY, Mich. -- Families with over 3200 children, from birth to five years old, across Berrien, Van Buren, and Cass Counties are struggling to access childcare which is why Flowers Early Learning wants to expand their services to help combat the issue.

Flowers Early Learning, formerly known as Tri-county Head Start, operates over 41 classrooms across 17 sites to create accessible and affordable childcare options for families in need.

They are searching for facilities that are not leased spaces so that staff can further their education on-site and lower the cost for families.

Flowers Early Learning has a waitlist sitting at 200 kids currently and by the end of the year it is expected to surpass 500 students, and this is only for income-based households.

Chanda Hillman, the CEO and Executive Director for Flowers Early Learning, is dedicated to expanding to combat this issue which would allow them to provide for at least 150 more students.

“There are often eight to nine infants or toddlers per available seat, and they are waiting lists that are a year-long to get your infant or toddler in so you almost have to put your name on the list before you even have a child," said Hillman.

It's important to make this work because they have a training hub alongside apprenticeships to be able to invest and develop educators who are eager to help fill these classrooms.

They will hire the right candidate to develop their education and provide hands-on training experience where staff will mentor future educators to give them a look into their career before entering the classroom.

If you are interested in taking advantage of these programs, upon certification you can leave without student loans.

You can apply to start your career as an educator and help open doors on their website.