The Business Record’s 2018 Leaders Survey asked readers their opinions on a number of topics, including childcare — a topic that matters to working parents and guardians. You can find results from the Nov. 30 issue here.

Agree or disagree: Greater Des Moines has adequate child care/enough affordable child care options.

Agree: 16%
Disagree: 44%
I’m not sure: 40%

Jessica Dunker, president/CEO, Iowa Restaurant Association
Disagree. I would love to see more incentives in place to help people start quality in-home daycare — perhaps an association of care providers that help with collective purchase of benefits such as healthcare or a relief for sick time. It’s good for the kids to be with a consistent person and good to encourage at-home caregiver/entrepreneurs.

Kevin Pokorny, owner and consultant, Pokorny Consulting
Disagree. Ask anyone who is looking for child care and they will tell you there are not enough options and the cost is sky high.

Cliff Hanks, director of digital marketing | sales, Saltech Systems
Disagree. Not that affordable for average family. If my wife went to work it would only pay for the daycare.

John Dawley, president, Stover Controls
Agree. Parents need to accept responsibility for their children and not make child care someone else’s problem.

Josh Maurer, CFO, Cemen Tech Inc.
Agree. I don’t see any (reputable) child care as affordable but that is a sacrifice my family is willing to make to support two working parents.

Earl Kelly, CEO, EK Consulting
Disagree. It’s too expensive for parents.

Chantelle Cadek, account manager, ZLR Ignition
Disagree. We need to fix the childcare cost cliff. Some people have to deny raises at work because that raise would push them over the income threshold for receiving childcare assistance from the state. At the point they lose the assistance, the raise gets wiped out by having to pay more for childcare leaving them at a worse point than they were before. Many of these people cannot afford this.

Jackie Rees Ulmer, associate dean for undergraduate programs, Iowa State University
Disagree. [There’s a] huge problem in Ames for infant care.

Pat Steele, director, Central Iowa Works
Disagree. This is a major weakness of Central Iowa and an area in which local and state government have failed to step up and address the issue.

Emily Westergaard, CEO, By Degrees Foundation
Agree. Childcare is often the largest expense that families have each month, and yet child-care workers are often paid less than $10/hour with high turnover rates and limited or no benefits. Many of the for-profit child care centers don’t accept families who would qualify for income-based childcare reimbursement, which limits options for many families.

Mark Imerman, senior consultant, Regional Strategic
Disagree. I have served on the board of Ames Community Preschool Centers and as a trustee for Children and Families of Iowa. The endemic problems people – particularly people at risk have in obtaining adequate child care are simply too great to ignore. It keeps people out of the workforce (and we all hear about workforce shortages), it keeps them on public assistance (and we all hear that Iowa can not afford its public assistance burden). One of the cheapest improvements Iowa could make to its labor-force shortage and public service challenge would be to more adequately fund child care assistance – particularly as part of an employment assistance initiative.

Tony Dickinson, vice president, strategy and business development, NCMIC
I’m not sure. We have some wonderful child care options. But do we have enough and are they affordable? Since 1997 childcare costs have increased by over 125 percent across the U.S. … My wife and I pay more for daycare than we do our mortgage.

Cathy Besh, assistant director – client services, Principal
Agree. It seems there are a lot more child care centers than 20 or 30 years ago.

Melissa Burdick, executive director, Brenton Arboretum
Disagree. It doesn’t, especially in the far western and northern suburbs (Waukee, Adel, Dallas Center, Grimes).