Karl Bickel proposes a regional childcare partnership to help Frederick County recruit, retain, and support the essential workers who keep our community safe and healthy.
By Karl Bickel
When a sheriff’s deputy begins a shift before sunrise, a firefighter is held for mandatory overtime, a 911 dispatcher is called in during severe weather, or an emergency room nurse works through the night, ordinary childcare arrangements may not work.
Most childcare centers are designed around conventional business hours. Public safety and healthcare do not operate on conventional schedules.
That leaves many essential workers facing an impossible choice between caring for their families and continuing in careers that Frederick County depends upon.
We can do better.
I am proposing that Frederick County explore the creation of a regional Public Safety and Healthcare Child Development Center. This shared facility would be designed specifically for the families of deputies, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, correctional officers, 911 dispatchers, emergency healthcare workers, and other eligible shift-working employees.
A Growing County Needs a Stronger Support System
Frederick County is growing rapidly, but our childcare capacity has not kept pace.
County childcare studies have identified serious shortages across Frederick County. In some areas, there are more than three children for every licensed childcare slot. Families spend an average of nearly 19 percent of their household income on childcare, far above the federal affordability benchmark of 7 percent.
For public safety and healthcare families, however, the challenge is not simply cost or availability. It is also scheduling.
A childcare center that opens at 6:30 a.m. cannot help a deputy who must report at 5:30 a.m. A facility that closes at 6:00 p.m. does not meet the needs of a nurse finishing a 12-hour shift, a firefighter responding to an emergency, or a dispatcher required to remain on duty.
Snow days, school holidays, emergency call-backs, rotating shifts, weekends, and mandatory overtime make an already difficult childcare market even harder for these families to navigate.
The Proposed Center
The proposed Public Safety and Healthcare Child Development Center would be a licensed, centrally located facility built around the realities of shift work.
The initial concept includes:
- Operating approximately 5:00 a.m. to midnight, seven days a week and 365 days a year
- Serving children from approximately six weeks through 12 years of age
- Providing infant and toddler care, preschool care, and before-school and after-school programs
- Offering full-day coverage during school holidays, teacher workdays, and weather-related school closures
- Establishing a carefully controlled emergency overnight-care protocol for mandatory overtime, declared emergencies, disasters, and critical incidents
- Prioritizing families facing the greatest scheduling hardships if initial demand exceeds capacity
- Setting tuition below prevailing market rates through a shared funding partnership
The planning proposal models an initial capacity of approximately 100 children, with the possibility of future expansion if verified demand supports it.
Supporting Families Strengthens Public Safety
This proposal is not simply an employee benefit. It is an investment in workforce readiness and public safety.
Recruiting and training a new deputy or police officer can cost well over $100,000 before that person reaches independent duty. Replacing an experienced nurse can cost approximately $61,000. Vacancies also create additional overtime, increase pressure on remaining employees, and can weaken morale.
When an experienced employee leaves because childcare is unavailable or incompatible with the job, taxpayers lose that employee’s knowledge, experience, and training investment.
The planning analysis estimates that preventing only four or five departures per year across all participating agencies could offset the projected net annual operating subsidy for the center. Preventing additional departures could produce even greater savings before accounting for reduced overtime, fewer missed shifts, and shorter hiring cycles.
Reliable childcare would also give Frederick County a powerful recruitment advantage. When qualified candidates compare employers, access to childcare that accommodates public safety schedules could be the deciding factor.
A Partnership, Not Another Silo
No single agency should have to build this alone.
The proposal calls for a partnership involving Frederick County Government, the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, the Frederick Police Department, Frederick County Fire and Rescue Services, the Maryland State Police, and Frederick Health.
Frederick County would serve as the lead coordinating agency, with each partner represented in the governance structure. Costs and enrollment opportunities could be allocated according to verified employee demand and actual use.
The County should also examine state grants, philanthropic support, public-private partnerships, and cost-sharing arrangements that reduce the financial burden on taxpayers and participating families.
Similar approaches are already being used elsewhere. Programs in Tucson, San Diego, Kansas City, and Michigan demonstrate that dedicated childcare for first responders and other shift workers can improve employee retention, reduce family costs, and strengthen participating agencies.
Frederick County does not need to reinvent the wheel, but we should build a model that meets our community’s specific needs.
Responsible Planning Comes First
This proposal is a starting point, not a blank check.
Before committing public money to construction or operations, Frederick County should conduct a formal feasibility study, survey eligible employees, evaluate possible sites, verify anticipated enrollment, examine licensing requirements, and replace national planning estimates with actual local staffing and financial data.
The County Executive, County Council, and participating agencies should also establish a clear interagency agreement governing costs, eligibility, accountability, and performance measurement.
We should know how many families need the service, what hours they require, what it will cost, and how the investment will affect recruitment, retention, overtime, and vacancies.
That is responsible government.
Taking Care of Those Who Take Care of Frederick County
Our deputies, firefighters, police officers, dispatchers, correctional officers, paramedics, and healthcare professionals are expected to be there whenever Frederick County needs them.
Their children still need safe, reliable care while they serve us.
Treating childcare as essential workforce infrastructure would help Frederick County retain experienced employees, recruit the next generation of public servants, reduce avoidable staffing costs, and support the families behind the people who protect and care for our community.
As Sheriff, I will advocate for serious, practical collaboration that supports our deputies and strengthens public safety.
It is time to bring the County, public safety agencies, healthcare leaders, employees, and childcare professionals together to determine how we can make this proposal work.
Because supporting the people who serve Frederick County also means supporting their families.
Karl Bickel Puts Frederick First.
Read the full white paper: Public Safety and Healthcare Child Development Center — Planning and Discussion Document (PDF)
Karl Bickel
Candidate for Frederick County Sheriff
The Public Safety and Healthcare Child Development Center white paper was prepared as a planning and discussion document. All capacity, construction, operating-cost, and savings figures are preliminary estimates that must be independently verified through a formal feasibility study.
