Overview

The Portland Foundation is renovating the former Judge Haynes Elementary School building in Portland into the Jay County Early Learning Center. The Center will serve approximately 125 children aged 0-5. Jay County is a childcare desert. According to Early Learning Indiana’s August 2022 Closing the Gap report there are twenty-one (21) licensed and unlicensed programs with a capacity of 254 to serve 1,026 children who may need care. Data from The Child Care Resource Network shows ten (10) of the twenty-one (21) programs are state regulated. Two of the ten are preschool programs run by the Jay School Corporation. Of the remaining eight programs, only three are deemed to be high-quality as defined by being a Paths to QUALITY™ Level 3 or 4 program. There is a capacity of forty-four (44) children in these three programs. A building feasibility study was conducted in November 2022 which led to the development of a conceptual design and cost estimate. The construction of the project will begin in June 2023 and is expected to be completed by August 2024. READI funds ($291,000) will be used to pay for new and renovated restrooms. This work will be procured through a public bid process in accordance with local, state, and federal guidelines.