STANTON, Iowa, Sept. 27, 2024 – U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development State Director in Iowa Theresa Greenfield today announced the completion of a new facility to help meet the childcare needs of families in the rural southwest Iowa community of Stanton. The Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Stanton is expected to help promote economic development and enable residents of this rural area of Montgomery County to seek more employment opportunities.

“Access to childcare is a critical need for many rural Iowa families,” said Director Greenfield. “Every day, USDA is championing rural America, listening to communities’ needs, fostering job growth through financing for small businesses, and generating outcomes that make rural Iowa a great place to live, work, and raise children.”

The childcare center held a ribbon-cutting and grand opening event to celebrate the project’s completion.

Theresa Greenfield, U.S. Department of Agriculture State Director in Iowa, and USDA staff approach the Lakin Foundation Child Development Center of Stanton to participate in the ribbon cutting for the facility also known as the Stanton Child Resource Center in the town of Stanton, Iowa, on September 27, 2024.

Background

The grant funding was made through the USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan and Grant program and was congressionally directed spending.

In November of 2022, USDA Rural Development invested $1 million in a grant to help the Stanton Child Resource Center Inc., a non-profit organization located in Stanton, Iowa, build a new facility. The building was designed and constructed to be over 11,000 square feet in size. It houses a sick room, a storm shelter, age-appropriate equipment, a covered drop-off and pick-up area, and larger classrooms than the old building. The new facility has a capacity for over 130 children and outdoor playgrounds. The center will help meet the needs of families and will promote economic development in rural Montgomery County.