ND’s oil country faces shortage of day cares

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) _ Community leaders in northwest North Dakota say the state’s oil country doesn’t have enough day cares to host the children of the thousands of workers who have arrived to the area.

The leaders say the shortage has forced some parents to quit their jobs.

Kathleen Molland with Williams County Social Services says the lack of facilities to care for children is a “huge” economic problem.

The Williston Herald (http://bit.ly/1dIkW38 ) reports that a state board in 2012 allocated $500,000 for a pilot program to open more day cares in oil-producing counties. Williston could apply for matching grants to cover some of the costs of a facility.

Thousands of people, many of whom have children, have flocked to the region in recent years in search of jobs associated with the oil boom.