Photo / Courtesy Bath Iron Works
Charles Krugh, BIW’s president gives a thumbs up after adding his handprints to the cement slab that will become part of the child care center’s bicycle rack.
December 17, 2024
Bath Iron Works and YMCA launch project to improve child care options
Photo / Courtesy Bath Iron Works
AnnieColaluca, executive director of early learning and family services for the Bath Area Family YMCA, joins children of BIW shipbuilders as they press handprints into a cement slab to be used for the childcare center’s bicycle rack. She is joined, from left, by Sophia, 4, and her mother Ellen McIver, a senior specialist strategic planner at BIW, and Emilie, 3, and her father Brandon Glazier, BIW’s manufacturing director.
Considered an essential piece of the puzzle in recruiting and retaining General Dynamics Bath Iron Works employees, a new child care center began renovations Monday in a partnership between the shipbuilder and the Bath Area Family YMCA.
The center, at 6 Farley Road near Cooks Corner in Brunswick, is scheduled to open Sept. 3 with 120 child care slots set aside for the children of shipyard workers and additional availability for the broader community.
“This public-private partnership is successfully tackling one of Maine’s toughest challenges — the critical need for child care as a precursor to expanded workforce participation,” said Charles Krugh, BIW’s president. “The benefits of this child care center will extend far into the future. We’re not just building ships, we are sustaining families and building future shipbuilders.”
A ceremonial event took place at the site of the project and was attended by representatives from Maine’s Congressional delegation, representatives from the U.S. Navy, state officials, staff and board members from the YMCA and shipbuilders from Bath Iron Works.
“Having access to quality, affordable childcare is critical for the long-term prosperity of families in our community and I’m proud of the part our YMCA is playing in offering solutions to this important issue,” said Rob Gray, the Y’s president and CEO.
Children of BIW shipbuilders and others pressed their handprints into a slab of cement that will be incorporated into the facility’s bicycle rack.
The YMCA will operate the facility. The building will be configured into 10 up-to-date classrooms customized for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, according to a news release.
Photo / Courtesy Bath Iron Works
Rob Gray, Bath Area Family YMCA’s president and CEO, welcomes guests to the start of renovations for the childcare center at 6 Farley Road in Brunswick.
“Gov. Janet Mills has made expanding child care options for Maine’s working families one of her administration’s top priorities,” said Heather Johnson, commissioner of the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.
Johnson noted that the partnership between BIW and the YMCA provides “a great model of how businesses and child care providers can work together to benefit Maine kids and Maine parents and strengthen our economy.”
The YMCA owns the property, which was previously owned by Martin’s Point Health Care. The project is a significant expansion of the Y’s child care program.
Rendering / Courtesy Bath Area Family YMCA
The childcare center is considered an essential piece of the puzzle in recruiting and retaining Bath Iron Works employees.
The $13 million childcare facility expansion is being carried out in collaboration with the U.S. Navy as well.
In order to fund the facility, which aligns with the Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti’s Quality of Service priorities, the Navy contributed half of the project’s funds to support the workforce who construct the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, according to a separate news release.
The investment also aligns with the Fiscal Year 2023 National Defense Authorization Act language, emphasizing investment in labor and capital necessary for achieving cost and schedule improvements.
“The Navy’s investment in this childcare expansion is instrumental in supporting the critical workforce that build these highly capable ships and ensure fleet readiness in perilous times for our country,” said Capt. Seth Miller, DDG 51 Arleigh Burke-class program manager, Program Executive Office, Ships. “By addressing the needs of BIW’s shipbuilders, the program helps ensure the long-term success of the DDG 51 shipbuilding program.
Access to child care has become a major barrier to attracting and retaining workers for the shipyard, Maine’s largest manufacturer. The U.S. Navy has identified bolstering the nation’s shipbuilding industrial base as a national defense priority and the 2023 Defense Appropriations bill includes funding for this project and others aimed at helping to attract and retain the defense industry workforce.
The Bath Area Family YMCA is one of the few nationally accredited child care programs in the area and has been in operation for nearly 20 years. Currently, the program operates six classrooms at the organization’s Bath location, providing care to 92 children ages 18 months to 5 years old as well as public preK during the school year for two local school districts. Nearly a quarter of the children currently enrolled in the program are the children of BIW employees.
Spaces will initially be filled with eligible dependents of shipyard workers, the Y said in a separate press release. Those not used by children of BIW employees will be made available to the community on a first-come, first-served basis. Creating additional childcare capacity should also reduce pressure on existing facilities, which routinely have to turn families away because of inadequate space, leading to long waiting lists.
Collectively the 15 YMCAs in Maine are the largest child care provider in the state, with childhood education programs, before and afterschool programs and summer camps.
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