CLC asks town/county for $441k to keep childcare slots (and screenings) open

If your family is in the yearly scramble for infant care, a spot for a preschooler, or early screening when something feels “off,” this one matters. The Children’s Learning Center (CLC) says it provides nearly 40% of Teton County’s childcare slots and is the only local provider offering free developmental screenings and early intervention services valley-wide.

In its FY27 application, summarized in this staff report, CLC is asking for $290,030 from Teton County and $151,291 from the Town of Jackson (about 6% of its $7.66M budget). Most of the request is tagged as “childcare” ($243,625 county / $127,084 town), with an additional “other” amount ($46,405 county / $24,207 town) that CLC says would support early intervention services for kids with disabilities (about 16% of the combined town/county funding). See: Children's Learning Center Funding Request Staff Report.

CLC’s pitch is straightforward: without public support and donated help, full-cost tuition would be out of reach for many working families in a county where it estimates the average family pays 35% of income for childcare. The report also highlights that CLC served about 475 children last year across programs, offered roughly $226,000 in tuition assistance/discounts, and relies on non-cash government support too—use of buildings at Mercill and Rafter J that it estimates would cost about $566,460 a year in rent.

The practical question for parents: does the town/county keep backing this level of capacity (including infant care and special-needs inclusion staff), or does more of the cost shift to tuition—meaning fewer affordable slots and longer waits. The funding decision will land through the Town of Jackson and Teton County FY27 human-services budgeting process.