Judy Olson

When I moved to the Fox Valley in the early 1980s, one of the first things I encountered was a lack of childcare for infants and toddlers. Most of the programs in the area at that time were for children preschool age and up. With an infant son at home, I decided to do something to make it easier for myself and other families to find regulated childcare programs in the Fox Valley.

A childcare training session

As a result, I launched the Fox Valley branch of Child Care Resource & Referral in 1987 as part of a statewide initiative through the Department of Children and Families.

CCR&R’s initial mission was to help families searching for childcare. Now, it serves eight Wisconsin counties for childcare referrals and five counties for technical assistance and training of childcare providers. CCR&R also advocates for improvements in the quality of childcare in local communities. After serving as executive director for this vital organization for 36 years, I retired and passed the reigns to new Executive Director Candy Hall.

Judy Olson and her successor, Candy Hall

In the early years at CCR&R, I worked with local employers to find solutions for the labor shortage. Thirty-six years later, we are in the same situation: how do you sustain and recruit a workforce who needs childcare so they can go to work?

The childcare landscape has changed over the years, but some things remain the same. It has been a long journey in the early childcare field. Childcare staff wages have improved slightly, but childcare wages are still the lowest in the Fox Cities, and program directors are struggling to recruit and retain staff.

I have been fortunate that my passion for early childhood education, leadership and advocacy has been recognized by multiple organizations over the years, including the Thomas G. Scullen Leadership Award from the Appleton Education Foundation in 2018. I also worked to increase agency revenue to more than $2 million so CCR&R can offer more early childhood initiatives.

My successor, Candy Hall, began her career at CCR&R as an intern. She was hired as a Youngstar Technical Consultant and Trainer in 2020 and established herself as an advocate for the childcare community.

“Judy created an incredible amount of support for early childhood education in the communities which CCR&R serves and across the state of Wisconsin,” Candy says. “She taught me many lessons about the importance of advocating for what you believe in and finding your voice. I wish her all the best in her retirement and hope she finds things she is as passionate about as her love for early childhood education.”

As I enter retirement, I hope childcare staff compensation will improve and families will no longer struggle to find childcare.