Cherokee Nation puts $50 million into childcare, calling it the key to jobs and growth

L2Who’s affected

Cherokee working parents and their children. Human Services Executive Director Brittany Denny-Davis said building centers near health clinics will "bring more opportunity for our women to go to work." Of the extra 30 minutes at each end of the day: "that's huge, especially when you're an hourly employee that (has) to be clocked in at 8 o'clock."

L3Why it’s quiet

Analysis · OVERLOOKED Tribal government spending decisions rarely reach outlets beyond tribal media and local TV.

L4Deeper impact

The breakdown: $20 million each for new centers in Tahlequah, at the tribe's main health campus, and in Vinita, near the Vinita Health Center; $10 million to remodel and expand the existing center near the W.W. Keeler Tribal Complex in Tahlequah. Each year it adds $3.5 million for childcare subsidies, $1.25 million in start-up and expansion grants for Cherokee Nation citizen entrepreneurs, and $4.1 million for longer hours at child development centers and Head Start facilities (Anadisgoi, Cherokee Phoenix).

L5Full context

Hoskin and Deputy Chief Bryan Warner had asked Secretary of State Shella Bowlin and Human Services to look for childcare gaps; an Aug. 31 report identified Vinita and Tahlequah among the priorities (Anadisgoi). The administration previously built centers in Pryor, Sallisaw and Catoosa and replaced all its Head Start facilities across seven communities. At the same special session, the council raised the cost of a planned district courthouse from $10 million to $13 million, through an amendment to the Cherokee Nation USA Trust Settlement Investment; the related legislation puts the net settlement at about $60 million (Cherokee Phoenix).

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