Leon County Sheriff Supports High-Quality, Affordable Child Care

As you can imagine, balancing raising three children while pursuing a career in law enforcement was no easy task. For my children, it was paramount that I build a foundation for them built on learned skills, faith, and self-identity to help them navigate the challenges I knew the world would bring to their front door. Though we set the standard in the home first, I sought a quality child care center to reinforce and build on that foundation, while also providing a safe and nurturing environment so that I didn’t have to worry about their welfare while working to protect the Leon County community. Eventually, I found the center that was right for my family, allowing me to focus on making a living and keeping my community safe.

Back then, I was not as financially stable as I am today but was lucky to still find high-quality, affordable child care that met my family’s needs. However, I understand that many working parents don’t have the means to access high-quality child care to adequately support their children’s development. That lack of access and affordability concerns me as a law enforcement leader since children not getting the cognitive, social, and emotional development they need as early as possible can result in them getting behind, never being able to catch up, and eventually ending up in my jails.

Children shouldn’t be kept from their potential because their parents can’t afford quality child care. It is for this reason that I support more access to high-quality child care, so every child has a chance to reach their potential.