Jackson County Child Care Network Receives Community and Economic Development Award

Friday, September 30th, 2022 -- 9:01 AM

The Wisconsin Economic Development Association announced the four winners of its annual Community and Economic Development Awards.

The CEDA Awards were established by WEDA to recognize and celebrate businesses, projects, and organizations that are making significant contributions to Wisconsin’s economy.

Winners were unveiled and celebrated at the 2022 CEDA Awards Ceremony, which was held on September 29th as part of WEDA’s Fall Best Practices Conference in La Crosse.

Earlier this month, three outstanding economic development projects were nominated in each of the four following CEDA categories:

• Business Retention and Expansion;
• Economic Development Initiative;
• Real Estate Redevelopment and Reuse;
• And Talent Attraction, Development, and Retention.

In the Economic Development Initiative, this award honors innovative community and economic development efforts that successfully promote growth and prosperity in Wisconsin communities.

The winner in this category is the Jackson County Child Care Network. The lack of quality childcare in Jackson County was a growing concern, creating a significant barrier to employment and negatively impacting economic growth in the region.

Families were struggling to find quality care, often being placed on multiple year waiting lists, and employers were faced with over $2.5 million in lost productivity. To address this problem, the Jackson County Childcare Network was formed in 2019 as a 501c3 business-led organization dedicated increasing the availability of quality childcare in the county.

Using local American Recovery Plan Act funds, the Network offers childcare provider retention bonuses, and plans are being developed to create 500 additional childcare slots in the community.

In Talent Attraction, Development, and Retention, this award honors initiatives or programs that have driven successful talent development efforts to strengthen the Wisconsin workforce. The winner in this category was Chippewa Valley Technical College’s RESTORE Program.

Recognizing the need to assist local employers struggling to hire qualified manufacturing workers, the Chippewa Valley Technical College, Chippewa Economic Development Corporation, and other local organizations collaborated to develop the Restoring Employment through Support, Training, Outreach, Recruitment, and Education project.

The RESTORE project uses a multi-pronged approach to address the continuing need for skilled workers across the Chippewa Valley’s manufacturing sector by focusing on outreach, short-term training, and contextualized and work-based learning opportunities.

The program has secured financial support from over 20 manufacturing companies and was awarded a $10 million Workforce Innovation Grant. Site work has begun on a 20,000 square foot facility that will house the RESTORE program, with construction slated to be completed by February 2023.

2022 CEDA nominated projects were screened and the winners selected by an impartial panel of judges comprised of WEDA members and partners. 2022 CEDA Award sponsors included:

• Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC);
• Xcel Energy;
• Madison Gas & Electric;
• U.S. Bank;
• Dairyland Power Cooperative;
• First-Ring Industrial Redevelopment Enterprise (FIRE);
• WE Energies;
• And Wisconsin Public Service.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.