While lawmakers are continuing to meet in the Iowa Capitol, one topic that is being discussed involves changes to childcare throughout the state.

Iowa House Representative for District 19 Carter Nordman says childcare has continued to be a priority by lawmakers and he feels if there isn’t a good childcare system in the State of Iowa it can contribute to workforce issues. Nordman talks about one of the proposed changes that has been brought up this session.

“One of the bills that we did was a bill that would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to supervise school age children. Now, this is not a requirement for childcare facilities but just another tool in their bag that they can use. These 16 and 17-year-old students are more than capable of performing these duties.”

The bill, House File 2198, was passed out of the Iowa House is continuing throughout its legislative process. Nordman says not only would this bill help with the workforce issues in Iowa it would also create candidates with childcare experience.

“We want these kind of students to go on and continue to be in either healthcare or childcare in the future. 

To get a full look at the bill you can go here