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By Hola Nebraska
Several Nebraska communities are working to launch a regional substitute network for child care providers as staffing shortages continue to affect programs, families and local employers across the state.
The pilot would connect child care providers with qualified substitutes through an app, giving centers another option when teachers or staff members are sick, taking time off or completing training during the workday.
Organizers are still looking for four more communities to join the pilot before the project moves forward. Part of the work is funded through a grant, with additional funding coming from communities that buy into the program.
The effort includes local early childhood advocates and organizations such as Lincoln Littles and Communities for Kids Lincoln County. It comes as providers continue to report staffing pressure, burnout and limited capacity for families seeking care.
Substitutes could help centers stay open
Child care providers often have fewer options than K-12 schools when a staff member is out. Without enough coverage, a classroom can lose capacity, directors may have to step in, or a center may have to close for part of the day.
Tracy Gordon, executive director of the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children, told Nebraska Public Media that staffing shortages affect child care programs, parents, employers and the broader community.
The proposed substitute network would create a pool of qualified workers who could be matched with providers. People who sign up to become substitutes would work with a coordinator through the Nebraska Association for the Education of Young Children for background checks, training and other requirements.
Some details are still unresolved, including how the model could scale statewide, how it would reach non-English-speaking substitutes and families, and how substitutes would identify themselves when arriving at a provider for the day.
Lincoln and Lincoln County show different parts of the need
Val Hyde, community coordinator for Communities for Kids Lincoln County, said the pilot could help workers in child care take more breaks and reduce burnout.
In Lincoln County, Hyde said there is a gap of 288 children who could qualify for care but do not have a spot.
The substitute pool could also give people a way to try child care work before deciding whether to pursue it as a profession. Hyde said that matters in areas where in-home providers are retiring and communities are looking for ways to show child care as a possible career path.
In Lincoln, Suzanne Schneider, associate director of Lincoln Littles, said the city has about 19,000 children ages 0 to 5 and capacity for about 14,000.
Staffing shortages can reduce a center’s actual capacity even when the licensed number is higher. Schneider said a program licensed for 100 children may only be able to enroll 80 if it does not have enough staff.
Training time is part of the staffing challenge
The substitute network could also give child care staff time to complete training during daytime hours instead of evenings or weekends.
Sara Voss, tuition assistance and quality program manager for Lincoln Littles, said the substitute pool could help elevate early childhood work and give providers support similar to what public school teachers have when they need time away.
The issue is not only about filling classrooms for one day. Supporters say reliable substitute coverage could help providers stay in the field, reduce pressure on directors and give families more stability when programs face staffing gaps.
Background check changes could affect the process
Nebraska lawmakers have approved several changes in recent years related to child care background checks and substitute pools.
State child care licensing language shows that a prospective child care staff member can begin supervised work for a child care provider, staffing agency or substitute child care staff pool operator after receiving qualifying results from either a federal fingerprint check or a state fingerprint-based criminal registry check.
The same licensing language says documentation of eligibility for employment in child care can be portable between child care providers, child care staff members, prospective staff members, staffing agencies and substitute child care staff pool operators.
Those provisions are listed with an operative date of July 18, 2026.
Mitchell Clark, policy adviser at First Five Nebraska, told Nebraska Public Media that the changes may not reduce the full time it takes to complete all checks, but they could allow someone to begin sooner under supervision while the rest of the process clears.
In-home providers still face barriers
The substitute pool may be easier for some centers to use than for in-home child care providers.
Erin Branch, owner and operator of Branch Ranch Childcare in Lincoln, told Nebraska Public Media that, as an in-home provider, she would have to run the substitute’s background checks and fingerprints and amend her license to include that person.
Branch said those requirements remain a barrier for family child care providers that want to use a substitute pool.
Hailey Phelps, child care director at Christ Lutheran in Columbus, said her program already uses its own substitutes, including retired teachers from the church’s congregation. She said delays in the background check process can cause potential workers to accept other jobs before they are cleared to begin child care work.
Before building a substitute list, Phelps said the center sometimes had to close when teachers were sick. The program still closes for one professional day each month.
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