In West Virginia, Gorman said some child-care providers have lost clients when parents became unemployed. However, there's still a need for providers in the Eastern Panhandle. Morgan County has the biggest shortage of providers, according to MountainHeart. There are five child-care providers in the county.
Berkeley County has about 80 providers and Jefferson County has about 22, according to MountainHeart.
Gorman said about a third of their clients cannot find a provider.
Once a parent calls MountainHeart to find child care, the client has 13 days to find child care before the case is closed, Gorman said. After the case is closed, the parents can reapply for a subsidy once they find child care.
Agencies such as APPLES, MountainHeart and SCCAP can provide phone numbers of area providers. Often parents have to call back for more numbers.
As they do, they might end up calling providers farther and farther out of their way, child-care officials said.
