Encompass to expand into Oconto Falls

Child care provider has seven existing facilities in Green Bay, Pulaski
By: 
Warren Bluhm
Editor-in-chief

The Oconto County Board approved a $250,000 grant that will help Encompass of Green Bay bring more child care availability into the county.

The funds, approved unanimously Jan. 23, are to come out of an American Rescue Plan Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery allocation of about $460,000 for Health and Human Services projects.

Encompass was the larger of two child care providers that responded to a request for applications sent out during the fourth quarter of 2022, Health and Human Services Director Scott Shackelford told the county board.

Facilities located in Oconto County currently have a capacity of 270 child care slots for a population of 1,800 children younger than 5, Shackelford said.

“Those are four facilities that are larger that range from 40 to up to 70 children in one place, and then there are eight smaller facilities that have about an eight-child capacity,” he said. “As kids start to get into our schools, we want to make sure that they have a good, solid foundation.”

The availability of child care also is helpful in attracting employees to live and work in the county, Shackelford said.

Encompass Early Education and Care Inc. has a history of providing child care since 1919, and it has a five-star rating from the state of Wisconsin. The nonprofit organization has six locations in the Green Bay area and also opened a center in Pulaski not long ago.

Its board of directors recently voted unanimously to make an offer to purchase the former Kaempfer and Associates building at 650 E. Jackson St. in Oconto Falls. The county grant will pay half the purchase price, and Encompass has allocated the other half.

Shackelford said the organization plans to modify the interior to provide classroom space and functionality, resurface the parking lot and install playground and program equipment. In addition to the county’s use of the federal funds, Encompass has a $1 million capital campaign in progress, has earmarked another $1 million and plans to apply for a Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. community development grant to get the new center up and running, he said.

The organization would also like to partner with other businesses, school systems and other funding entities, Shackelford said.

The center is expected to have a staff of more than 25, including a director and assistant director, with 140 available child care slots — more than half again the county’s existing capacity, he said.

In response to a question from Supervisor Guy Gooding, County Administrator Erik Pritzl said the ARPA funding is separate from a general allocation of more than $7 million that also was provided for Oconto County government.

Health and Human Services followed the same funding guidelines that the county has used in developing projects through the larger allocation, Pritzl said.

County Board Chairman Alan Sleeter called the Encompass grant an excellent use of the ARPA funds.

“I think one of the statements I heard was that we are a ‘day care desert’ in this county,” Sleeter said. “Hopefully this will improve that and appeal to more people to raise a family and work here in Oconto County.”

Supervisor Tracy Ondik asked if the county’s existing child care centers knew the money was available. Shackelford said all the day care centers as well as all the family centers were sent the request for applications.

“Everybody was eligible to apply,” he said.

The other center that responded is a small, home-based facility in the Gillett area that is currently licensed for three slots, Shackelford said. That operation, which wants to double its capacity to serve six children, is currently getting estimates for its application.