Child care boosts Putnam economy

OTTAWA — Some key parts of Putnam County's economic development program are the sounds of children at play and quietly learning in child care and preschool. "Child care's been a big thing. It's so critical to your work force," said Putnam County Economic Development Director Amy Sealts. "We heard this over and over from our manufacturing community, that people need access to child care – and quality child care – in order to work and have good attendance. "We quickly realized that child care is a part of economic development because it's affecting our work force, which affects the economy," she said. "In the last year we have added about 130 child care spots in Putnam County in various communities." Hilty Faithful Foundation Preschool and Child Care accounts for a significant amount of that growth. Since April 2024 it has added over 90 children to its enrollment, bringing its total to 160 children. Most are from Putnam County, but Hilty also has several children whose parents work and reside in Hancock and Allen counties, Director Amanda Dettrow said. Welcome home The pandemic was a potential game changer for the economies of small towns, but they had to be ready, Sealts said. People found they could work remotely at home from their jobs. They realized they could leave the bigger city to move home, near family and lower-cost housing, she said. Putnam County leaders heard of the trend could be coming and worked to be ready. They tried to encourage more child care and housing offerings in the event that some Putnam County sons and daughters sought to return. "It actually did happen," Sealts said. "There were dozens upon dozens of families and people who came back because they could be closer to family and have those small-town opportunities and connections in their community that maybe they weren't finding in the bigger cities but they were able to keep their jobs and work here." At that critical juncture there almost came to be no child care at the Hilty site, and it would have been a missed opportunity for Putnam County's economy. In early 2024, Hilty Faithful Foundation's predecessor was planning to close. Labor of love As it happened, a couple of local families – Zach and Jenna Buckland and Evan and Molly Schroeder – had wanted to build a new child care center. But at the time it was cost prohibitive with inflationary increases in prices of construction materials. Then word got out that the former Hilty Preschool & Child Care Center was going to close. So Putnam County's economic development leaders helped connect the Schroeders and Bucklands, the owners of the former Hilty center, and Pandora village leaders and others. In the end, the parties struck a deal. The Bucklands and Schroeders became the owners of the Hilty property. "And (the child care center) never closed," Sealts said. "It closed at 6 o'clock one day as one business, and the next morning it opened at 6 a.m. as the other business" — Hilty Faithful Foundation. Jenna Buckland and Molly Schroeder own Hilty Faithful Foundation Preschool & Child Care. Besides being a boon to families and Putnam County's economy, Hilty Faithful Foundation is a labor of love and dream come true for the Bucklands and Schroeders. "When we took over we just wanted to make sure there would be a child care center in Putnam County that offered a high level of care. We wanted to be sure because we do have young kids. We both (the Schroeders and Bucklands) have three children," Jenna Buckland said. "So it was important for us that our children feel safe and nurtured in a Christian environment because that was a large idea for both of us. Just to make sure that they were being prepared for kindergarten." Expansions "We just wanted to make sure that our kiddos were taken care of appropriately and that we felt safe where they were at," she said. Initially Buckland and Schroeder ran the child care and preschool out of the existing space from their predecessor. But there were other parts of the building, formerly used by the old Hilty nursing home, which were unused. Walls were knocked down to create bigger, brighter spaces for children. In 16 months, Hilty Faithful Foundation has grown from three classrooms to seven. Buckland and Schroeder plan to continue to expand. They have space to grow to a total of 10 classrooms, Buckland said. Child care offerings are expanding elsewhere in Putnam County as well. Sealts cited Little Bulldogs Learning Center, in Columbus Grove. The former Rite Aid building on Main Street in Ottawa will become Little Titans Learning Center in 2026. In addition to the focus on child care, Putnam County villages, contractors economic development leaders and others are cooperating to add more housing. Tax-related incentives have been implemented for developers to invest in the expensive roads and water and sewer lines needed for housing subdivisions. As of this week, 181 lots are under development in Putnam County for new homes, Sealts said.