The problem is that there are 1,601 year round child care spaces available.

That leaves a deficit of and estimated1,638 spaces.

The study, conducted by First Children’s Finance, of Des Moines, was shared Thursday during a public meeting at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center. The study was commissioned by Linking Families and Communities Early Childhood Iowa.

Dawn Larson, economic development specialist with the city of Fort Dodge, introduced the study.

-Messenger photo by Hans Madsen Fort Dodge Community School District Superintendent Doug Van Zyl was among those who came to hear about the results of a recent child care study Thursday morning at UnityPoint — Trinity Regional Medical Center.

“Child care is in short supply,” Larson said. “Now more than ever. It’s been in decline in our community for the past five years.”

Elizabeth Stanek, executive director of Linking Families & Communities, said that much of the decline in available child care spaces is due to changes in regulations on the federal level that also influence state regulations.

Child care providers have seen an increase in the rules they have to comply with and an increase in inspections and other standards.

“We feared a great loss of providers due to these regulations,” she said.

She said that just in December 2016, 53 spaces were lost in Fort Dodge. Most of those were with providers in homes.

“That says we don’t want the regulations,” she said.

Dawn Siebken, of Fort Dodge, has experienced the pitfalls of child care shortages with her granddaughter, Rhayauna.

That includes both a poorly run child care and the dilemma faced when it’s not there one day — such as during a recent closure due to ice.

“She went to a daycare home at first,” Siebken said. “I didn’t want her to stay there. It was in a garage. I wanted her to go to a daycare center. In that daycare home, she only had one other child to play with during the day.”

During the ice storm, her granddaughter’s current daycare center was closed.

“Grandma is the backup,” she said. “I’m always the backup.”

The lack of child care can have a negative impact on not just families, but also employers, educators and even parents seeking to further their own education

Jennifer Lane, director of communications for the Fort Dodge Community School District, was among the panelists who discussed the study during the meeting.

Lack of child care is a concern for the district, she said.

“We serve kids,” she said. “It’s important to know that the kids we serve all day long are being served when they’re not with us.”

She said the district tries to help parents with their situation as much as possible. That includes requests for students to attend a school close to their child care.

“A lot of parents rely on daycare to either transport the child to school or be close enough to where that student can walk to school,” she said. “We try to meet their needs as best as we can.”

Sarah Esper, coordinator of human resources at UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center, said that problems with child care can create staffing issues.

“One of the challenges we have is being able to fill a position or even fill a shift,” she said.

Kimberly Whitmore, director of human resources at Iowa Central Community College, said she sees the result of the child care shortage on campus, both among staff and students.

“We’ve had a baby boom,” she said. “As a mom myself, I get a lot in my office asking me where do I go, what do I do?”

Jodi Gibbs, a recruiter for Buena Vista University, was in the audience Thursday.

She sees a lack of child care affecting students, many of whom are nontraditional.

“There’s a lot of people that want to further their education, but they can’t,” she said. “We do lose students because of that situation.”

Stanek said that she’s hoping to meet with groups and individuals in the future to attempt to find solutions to the problem.

She said that it’s going to require a serious and concentrated effort from the community.

“One center isn’t going to meet the need,” she said.