United Way of the Coalfield

Amount Appropriated?

$6.2M

FFID tracks stages 1–2 — stages 3–5 vary by agency, assistance type, and earmark structure.

Project Description

Hopkins and Muhlenberg Counties in rural western Kentucky are in the heart of the Western Kentucky Coalfield, which was once the most productive coal mining region in the United States. However, coal production and related industries, such as electrical generation, peaked in the region around the 1980\u2019s. As the economics of the coal industry led to a steady decline in mining, the economy of Western Kentucky has become more and more stressed over time. The dual impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the tornado of December 10, 2021, only added to the economic strain.\n\nThe cost and availability of childcare has been an issue for many years for families, and particularly for lower-income families and single parents. One of the most significant factors for working-age parents who have not re-entered the workforce is the lack of childcare options. \nA key to increasing the number of prime-working-age people, particularly women, in the workforce is increasing the availability of affordable childcare. An expanded workforce will decrease the difficulties of local employers in finding workers and will allow for the maintenance or even expansion of economic activity in rural areas where, according to U.S. Census data, the overall populations are declining and aging.