The NEST, next to Vassar Brothers Medical Center, will offer childcare to nurses, hospital workers, and other community members whose work schedules don’t fit traditional daycare hours. Local officials and project partners celebrated the opening of one of two buildings on Young Street Monday.
Susan Browning, president of Vassar Brothers Medical Center, says she hopes the project will help the hospital attract and retain staff for the late-night hours.
“Many people in the community, they may look at it and say, ‘How does this fit into healthcare?’ It couldn’t fit in any more," says Browning.
Childcare — or rather, the lack thereof — is a big hurdle for those who work around the clock, especially women. And childcare is especially thin right now: a 2024 report by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress finds that the number of childcare centers in the region is dwindling, contributing to the rise in childcare costs. In Dutchess County specifically, the report shows that the number of childcare providers dropped more than 30 percent from 2007 to 2023.
The NEST is a collaboration between Vassar Brothers Medical Center, Hudson River Housing, NBT Bank, and DAY ONE Early Learning Community. DAY ONE co-founder Geraldine Laybourne says access to quality childcare is critical for a child’s early development.
“Kids' brain formation is the most robust between one and three," says Laybourne. "The last president who did anything good for kids was Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, when he started Head Start. And in 1971, the House and the Senate passed a bill for universal childcare in the United States of America, and the then-president vetoed it. So we are dead last, as a developed nation, in what we do for our little kids. And that’s what we’re here to right.”
The NEST will not only offer 24-hour child care, but bring two vacant residential properties back online in the heart of Poughkeepsie. Inside the home which was opened Monday, at 2 Young Street, a visitor will find a colorful playroom with children’s books, toys, tables, and a pretend kitchen set. An equally-colorful bathroom on the first floor is decorated with an “under the sea theme” with images of friendly turtles and whales. The renovation also includes a modern kitchen and a second-floor apartment, which will be rented by the daycare’s director, Danielle McClinton.
McClinton has been working to start her own daycare for years. She wanted to start her own daycare out of her prior home in Poughkeepsie, but found the building wouldn’t accommodate a small business.
That’s around when she found DAY ONE’s “Teacher Apprenticeship Pathway” program. TAP is a paid apprenticeship program that helps community members earn the credentials needed to own and operate their own daycares. McClinton graduated from its first cohort. For 11 weeks, she says they would work at a daycare in the morning, and get together for lessons in the afternoon.
Now, at long last, she’s thrilled to start her own business.
“This is why I’m here. This was my vision, this was my goal four years ago," says McClinton. "I didn’t stop, I kept going, I stuck it out with DAY ONE, and eventually it all came together. The TAP program is set up for support and success."
McClinton says her new business at 2 Young Street will serve 12 to 16 kids to start.
On Monday, officials announced an additional $100,000 grant from the Dutchess County-Poughkeepsie Land Bank to renovate the adjacent vacant home at 6 Young Street. Once both properties are open, McClinton says she and the other daycare director will work together to provide around-the-clock care, with one building open during daytime hours, and the other taking the overnight shift.
Poughkeepsie Mayor Yvonne Flowers says the partnership is a welcome one.
"[We're] coming together and doing things and collaborating on certain projects that can really serve a need — this is a perfect example of what greatness can come out of that," says Flowers. "And I’m glad it’s in the city of Poughkeepsie. Let’s continue that momentum.”
