Mason County Childcare Coalition Builds Strategic Path Forward at January Meeting
From left to right: Mychal Walls, Dan Cooley, and Sergio Garcia
Mason County, WA – January 21, 2026 – The Mason County Childcare Coalition reconvened in January with a full room of partners and a clear shift in focus from identifying challenges to building strategies for action. After pausing meetings in December, the coalition returned with strong momentum and continued alignment around improving childcare access as a foundation for a stronger local workforce and economy.
Building on work completed in October and November, coalition facilitator Julie Knott, Executive Director of Mason Matters, recapped the themes that surfaced through earlier discussions and the SWOT analysis. The group confirmed four shared priority areas that will guide the countywide childcare strategic plan: expanding access to affordable, high-quality childcare, strengthening the childcare workforce, securing sustainable and coordinated funding, and increasing public awareness of childcare as a public good and shared community responsibility. From there, partners began teasing out practical action steps within each priority area, with ideas ranging from shared or collaborative facilities and employer-supported childcare to stronger support for providers navigating licensing requirements and training pathways.
A major theme throughout the meeting was the need to strengthen the childcare workforce in ways that reflect the realities of rural communities. Partners discussed the importance of mentorship and business support for home-based and small providers, as well as the barriers many providers face when training is inaccessible, overly time-consuming, or difficult to complete while actively providing care. The conversation also highlighted the importance of creating early learning career pathways for students, including interest in school-based opportunities and partnerships that could build long-term talent pipelines while expanding local childcare capacity.
Julie Knott leads the discussion on actionable next steps
The second half of the meeting featured a workforce development panel that connected childcare challenges to broader systems work and employer needs. Panelists included Dan Cooling of Pacific Mountian Workforce Development Council (PacMtn), Sergio Garcia of the South Sound YMCA, and Mychal Walz of Olympic College. Together, they discussed how childcare directly affects recruitment, retention, training participation, and family stability across Mason County and the region. PacMtn shared how workforce development organizations can help convene employers, support short-term training and credentialing, and elevate local barriers to decision-makers at the state and federal level. The YMCA offered on-the-ground perspective as a childcare provider and employer, emphasizing the need for better preparation and support for staff, particularly as programs increasingly serve children with complex needs. Olympic College highlighted available early childhood education programs and the importance of continuing to remove barriers for working parents and rural students, including the need for more flexible course options and stronger community collaboration as campus planning moves forward.
Across the discussion, partners returned to a shared message: childcare is not simply an individual family issue. It is essential economic infrastructure that impacts employers, providers, and the health of communities as a whole. The coalition also emphasized the value of connecting with existing statewide advocacy efforts and elevating consistent messaging around the investments needed to sustain and grow the childcare system in rural areas like Mason County.
The Mason County Childcare Coalition will continue meeting through the spring as partners refine strategies, identify measurable action steps, and develop a countywide childcare strategic plan that strengthens access for families, supports providers, and helps Mason County employers build and retain the workforce they need.
