With the coronavirus pandemic causing schools to be closed a lot of parents are getting to spend some extra time at home with their kids. But there's also a lot of people finding themselves in situations they've never faced when it comes to childcare. Not everyone is able to work from home and be there with the kiddos. Finding a daycare or even an individual to provide childcare is proving to be a tough task for those forced to continue working.

A couple factors are causing the need for childcare to surge; a suddenly high number of kids needing care at once, and parents that don't want to risk watching additional kids because of the virus concerns.

Here's some good news for some parents in need as the Missoula YMCA opens additional childcare for essential service workers (first responders and medical workers.)

The Missoula YMCA press release is below.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Missoula YMCA and Boys & Girls Club of Missoula Open Additional Emergency Childcare Sites

MISSOULA, Mont. – The Missoula Family YMCA and the Boys & Girls Club of Missoula are opening additional emergency childcare sites this week.

“Our goal is to support our neighbors who are on the frontlines of this crisis,” said YMCA CEO Heather Foster. “By adding additional sites, we are able to accept children of essential service workers as defined by Governor Bullock’s shelter-in-place directive.”

The sites have received support from local donors, including the Dennis & Phyllis Washington Foundation. The financial support also allows the Missoula Y and Boys & Girls Club of Missoula to reduce program registration fees.

“While we’re encouraging all families to stay home, we recognize that many of our caregivers are on the frontlines, working to protect our community,” said BGCM CEO Katie Moore. “We are grateful to be able to give these caregivers peace of mind that their child is in a safe, healthy place while they are work.”

The Missoula Y currently operates an emergency childcare site at C.M. Russell School that serves children of first responders and medical workers. The two new sites will be located at the YMCA and the Clubhouse at the City Life Center. Combined, the three sites have the capacity to serve up to 98 children with opportunity to expand if needed. The Russell and YMCA sites accept Missoula County Public Schools students, while the City Life site accept students outside of MCPS.

The new sites open Tuesday, March 31. Registration for YMCA sites is available at ymcamissoula.org/emergency-childcare-services. Registration for BGCM sites is available at bgcmissoula.org/register-for-emergency-care. Registration is by the week and costs $169 per child.

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