CLINTON, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) — A child care center created through a partnership between the City of Clinton, Clinton City Schools and the Boys and Girls Club is being recognized as a model for helping working parents remain in the workforce while addressing Tennessee’s ongoing child care challenges.
The Great Futures Early Learning Center is featured in a new report from Tennesseans for Quality Early Education (TQEE) titled The Child Care Advantage, which showcases employers and organizations across the state developing creative solutions to improve access to affordable and reliable child care.
The report was released during the Tennessee Child Care Solutions Summit in Nashville and highlights 26 employers and organizations that are working to address one of the biggest barriers facing Tennessee’s workforce.
A Solution for Working Parents
For parent and Clinton City Schools employee Caroline Wilson, the center has made it possible to continue her career while ensuring her children receive quality care.
Wilson, a school counselor and mother of two, brings her 4-year-old and 12-month-old children to the center.
“To know that our kids are being nurtured and cared for, to know that there’s an affordable option for us, where they’re able to grow and to learn, and also have a high-quality center where they can be themselves,” Wilson said.
Like many Tennessee parents, Wilson faced the difficult challenge of balancing career obligations with the rising cost and limited availability of child care.
Child Care Costs Impact Workforce
According to TQEE, Tennessee businesses lose nearly $500 million annually through reduced productivity, employee turnover and hiring challenges linked to child care issues.
Statewide, the organization estimates inadequate child care contributes to roughly $2.6 billion in annual economic losses, including lost wages for families and reduced tax revenue.
Clinton City Schools Director Kelly Johnson said the impact was becoming increasingly visible among teachers and staff.
“We were having level four and five teachers have babies and have to go to the house because one of two things,” Johnson said. “Either they couldn’t afford the child care, or the child care was not available.”
Johnson said child care costs in the area can average around $300 per week per child, creating a significant burden for families with multiple young children.
“If I have a teacher that has two children, they’re paying $600 a week in child care, which is just not affordable or reasonable for them to continue working,” she said.
Clinton City Manager Roger Houck said city employees were facing similar struggles.
“I had a court clerk that made $50,000 a year, and he was paying $600 a week for two children for child care,” Houck said. “We’re probably going to have to quit and stay home because it just wasn’t affordable for them to both be working.”
Former Armory Given New Purpose
In an effort to address the problem, city and school officials partnered to transform a former armory building that had sat vacant for years.
The renovated facility became the Great Futures Early Learning Center, with the Boys and Girls Club operating the center. Employees of both the city and school district receive discounted child care rates.
Officials say the partnership has helped retain workers, support families and create additional child care capacity within the community.
Statewide Strategies Identified
The TQEE report identifies six primary approaches Tennessee employers are using to support child care needs:
- Child care navigation services
- Backup or emergency care programs
- Guaranteed or priority child care slots
- Employer-operated child care centers
- Shared or consortium-operated centers
- Tuition assistance programs
Other organizations highlighted in the report include Dollywood, Truist, Ballad Health, SRM Concrete and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
The report also notes a multi-employer child care initiative connected to Ford’s BlueOval City development in West Tennessee.
Additional Resources on the Way
The report points employers toward several available funding opportunities, including the expanded federal 45F Employer-Provided Child Care Credit and Tennessee’s upcoming CareShareTN program, expected to launch in 2027.
Businesses interested in developing child care solutions can also request a free workforce assessment and recommendation report through TQEE’s Tennessee Business + Family Forum.
Johnson believes the Clinton model could be replicated in communities statewide.
“This is definitely a model that other cities and municipalities or even industries could model,” Johnson said. “It’s a definite partnership between a school system, a city, a private entity, a Boys and Girls Club, and we’ve just seen amazing results.”
