Client Story

Grant County, Indiana faces persistent child care challenges that directly affect families, employers, and the broader county economy. Nearly three-quarters of children under age six in Grant county need care because all parents work, which is a higher rate than the state average.

Simultaneously, the county lacks sufficient supply, with a gap of nearly 1,700 child care seats needed to meet the high demand. Affordability compounds the issue as families who are earning the median income already spend approximately 11% of their income on child care services.

For employers, these conditions translate into measurable workforce impacts. Child care-related absences and turnover rates cost Grant county employers an estimated $17.4 million annually. This affects productivity, recruitment, and retention across the county’s key industries.

While Grant county benefits from a strong collaborative culture and existing early childhood efforts, leaders lacked a coordinated, data-informed, actionable roadmap to align employers, providers, and community partners around shared priorities and sustainable action.

To address these challenges, the Greater Grant County Chamber of Commerce (GGC) initiated a project with Transform Consulting Group (TCG) to conduct a comprehensive county-wide child care analysis and develop a multi-year Child Care Strategic Action Plan, supported by an Employer-Sponsored Child Care grant.

• The project began with a detailed assessment of child care supply, demand, affordability, quality, and workforce conditions.
• Our work drew on community data, surveys, and direct input from families, employers, providers, and community partners.
• Key findings were translated into clear, accessible materials including a county fact sheet and public-facing summaries to build a shared understanding of the issue and its economic implications.

Guided by a local steering committee, the planning process pulled the analysis into action. Through facilitated discussions, three priority goals were confirmed:

• Strengthening the local early childhood coalition
• Increasing employer engagement in child care solutions
• Enhancing high-quality, innovative, and accessible child care options

These goals and complementary strategies were formalized in a comprehensive strategic action plan with an implementation roadmap designed to move work forward across multiple years.

TCG served as the research, facilitation, and strategic planning partner for this project. Our role included leading the data collection and analysis, designing and facilitating stakeholder feedback engagements, supporting coalition and employer alignment, and developing a practical action plan rooted in both local realities and proven models from aspirational communities. Working alongside the Greater Grant County Chamber of Commerce and a local steering committee,

TCG gathered input from more than 100 parents, employers, child care providers, K-12 administrators, and higher education leaders. We facilitated consensus-building retreats that moved partners from shared data to three agreed-upon priorities. TCG also translated the findings into public-facing tools, including a county data fact sheet, press release, and community unveiling presentation, and built a detailed five-year implementation roadmap with success metrics to track progress.