FarmSafe Podcast
S4E10 | Growing Safely, Part 3: Closing the Child Care Access Gap
Published April 23, 2025. Hosted by Libby Ritchie.
Episode Summary
While useful tools and educational programs are being developed to address child care needs and farm child safety, there are still many social, practical, and monetary challenges to overcome. Dr. Florence Becot joins us again to wrap up our three-part series. This time, we explore the broader impact of child care expenses on farm families’ ability to earn a living and the need for more extensive support initiatives in rural areas to mitigate some of these challenges. This episode highlights the need for comprehensive support that goes beyond simply addressing child care access and emphasizes the importance of stable farm income and affordable health insurance to enable farmers to successfully balance work and family responsibilities.
Episode Resources
A Roadmap for Delivering Child Care in Agricultural Communities, National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety & Migrant Clinicians Network, Workbook
Safe Play Posters, Cultivate Safety
Child Agricultural Safety Brochure, National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety [PDF]
Child/Youth Agricultural Safety Checklist, National Children’s Center for Rural and Agricultural Health and Safety [PDF]
If you are interested in learning more about and following the progress of the Whole Farm Planning for the 21st Century: Integrating childcare, healthcare, and health insurance into farm planning curriculum, led by Dr. Shoshanah Inwood and mentioned by Dr. Florence Becot in this episode, you can view the project overview on the SARE webpage by clicking here.
