The Sensory Playroom has made a remarkable impact on a young boy named Andy. Diagnosed with Spina Bifida, Andy has attended Physical Therapy sessions in the playroom for nearly two years. The equipment available there has given him access to developmentally appropriate tools that support movement, exploration, and learning through play.

When he started, Andy couldn’t crawl and was barely able to sit up on his own. His family faced considerable uncertainty about his future progress, as his physicians had encouraged them to keep their expectations modest.

Since then, he’s progressed from army crawling to crawling on hands and knees, then to pulling to stand, cruising, and walking with a walker. Today, he can walk hundreds of feet with no assistive device at all. The playroom’s calming, engaging atmosphere has kept Andy motivated throughout, and his physical therapist credits it as a key factor in his remarkable progress

Affordable child care isn’t just a family issue — it’s a community and workforce issue. When parents struggle to find reliable care, businesses face higher turnover, more absences, and declining productivity. Child Care Works that tackles the problem head-on through public-private partnerships, sharing costs between the state, employers, and families. The program strengthens both households and local businesses by making quality care accessible and keeping employees in the workforce. Two Phelps County businesses have committed to the program so far, with growing interest from other employers across the community.