The Seward Prevention Coalition has received about $381,500 through the Rural Health Transformation Program to open a child care center for children from birth to age three; a group with few care options in Seward.

Katie Cornwell of the coalition said there are about eight child care slots in Seward for children under three. At times, the number available may be closer to six, depending on the ages of children already enrolled and what providers can accommodate under licensing rules.

The proposed center could add around eight slots, Cornwell said. The coalition’s award would help pay for a center’s first year of staff, along with equipment and renovations needed to open.

It would be a substantial increase for families seeking infant and toddler care, but it would not eliminate the shortage. Cornwell estimated that about 40 children are born in Seward each year.

Most of the grant would pay for four staff positions during the center’s first year. That support would give the program time to open and enroll children before it can count on steady tuition revenue. The rest would pay for equipment and minor renovations required for licensed care.

“Furnishing a space for babies is expensive,” Cornwell said. “You can’t just buy any crib, or use a secondhand one; it has to meet specific standards.”

Alissa Holcomb shares her experience about finding daycare for her child. Video by HYPER.

A location has not been finalized. The coalition has discussed using a room at Seward’s new community center, which Cornwell said appears well suited to child care and would need relatively little work. Backup locations are possible, though they could require more of the grant to be spent on renovations.

The coalition had explored a partnership with Chugachmiut’s Head Start program before applying for the grant. Cornwell said that arrangement will not move forward. The Seward Prevention Coalition received the award and is developing another approach to operating the center.

The grant builds on the coalition’s existing work through HYPER, or Happy Youth Programs and Educational Resources. HYPER grew out of the coalition’s home-visiting program, where director Casie Warner heard from families who wanted to return to work, pursue education or improve their finances but could not find affordable, available child care.

“It became clear that this wasn’t just an individual family problem,” Warner said. “It was a community problem.”

The coalition held a town hall, surveyed residents and brought people together to consider solutions. Through HYPER, it now works with community partners, supports child care providers and looks for ways to help programs open and remain in operation.

Warner said Seward’s licensed child care capacity grew from approximately 16 spaces in 2021 to 54 in 2025. Many of those spaces serve children ages three to five. Cornwell said preschool-age children still face waitlists, but families seeking care for younger children have fewer choices.

Caring for infants and toddlers is particularly expensive. Licensing rules require more staff for fewer children, and caregivers must be able to carry children out of a building in an emergency. Those requirements protect children, but they also limit how much tuition a provider can collect relative to staffing costs.

For parents, the shortage can shape decisions about whether they work at all. Warner said staying home with a child is a choice some families want and can afford to make. Others need two incomes, or have only one parent to provide for the household.

“There is a significant difference between choosing to stay home with your children and being forced out of the workforce because you cannot find affordable child care,” she said.

The coalition’s grant could help get a center open. Paying to keep it open after the first year remains unresolved. Cornwell said charging enough tuition to cover the full cost of infant and toddler care would put it beyond the reach of many Seward families.

“We don’t want to open a child care center, run it for a year and then close it,” she said. “The community would lose a resource it had come to rely on.”

The Rural Health Transformation Program has a second year, and the coalition may seek more funding through it. Long-term support would likely have to come from several sources, including the City of Seward, employers, local businesses and parents, as well as grants.

Cornwell said the coalition has proposed that the city consider supporting care for children under three through a mill rate or a portion of a seasonal sales tax. Warner said employers also have a stake: when parents cannot find care, businesses can struggle to hire and retain workers.

“We have created a system where parents cannot afford to pay more, but providers cannot afford to charge less,” Warner said.

Grant recipients must spend their awards by September 2027 or risk losing the money. For the Seward Prevention Coalition, that means securing a location, hiring staff and opening the center while working on the broader funding plan needed to keep care available for Seward’s youngest children.

Alaska received $272.2 million in the program’s first year, with nearly $12 million going to 18 projects touching the Kenai Peninsula. The federal Rural Health Transformation Program supports work in six areas, including early childhood services.