Brian Powell / Courtesy of Right Steps Child Development Center
Tammey Lindblom is the director of Right Steps Child Development Center, and oversees seven child care centers in the Lafayette area. Since the pandemic began, every day presents a challenge they’ve never encountered before.
“I was actually on the phone with a director,” she said. “A grandma was exposed to her grandchildren, who work in the center. What do we do? So it s like, OK, let s think about this one.”
Lindblom counts herself lucky for avoiding permanent closure for any facilities. Since the start of the pandemic, she’s had to temporarily close one center due to COVID-19 exposure just two times. After those closures, she and her staff improved social distancing measures by restricting teachers and students to certain classrooms. Now if someone is exposed, they’re able to quarantine a single classroom instead of a whole center.