Families need help finding child care, and our Parent Aware web, phone, and chat services provide free, personalized help. However, employers, job training programs, educational institutions, and many others also need child care for their employees, clients, and students. This is where Child Care Information Outreach Coordinator Deb Spaeth comes in.

Deb describes her job as connecting with everyone in a family’s ecosystem to learn from those partners and provide information about Child Care Aware of Minnesota’s services. “I always walk away from every conversation learning something new or forming new connections,” says Deb. “There is always an opportunity to learn more and serve more.”

Deb spends a lot of her time connecting with businesses and their employees. “They need their employees to be at work, but they can’t find child care programs with openings or that can provide care during nonstandard hours. We can help them help their employees explore more options and find help paying for care, and we can encourage businesses to become more involved in efforts to expand child care in their communities.”

Deb is excited by new partnerships she sees developing at the state agency level, especially with the Departments of Health, Education, and DEED (Department of Employment and Economic Development). She notes that more people understand that child care is connected to the other issues they are working on, and Deb can leverage their networks to reach parents who could benefit from Child Care Aware assistance.

“I love the idea that I don’t know exactly what’s next…and I can’t wait to get there!” says Deb. “Working together, we can build up the child care field and better support families.”