26,000 West Virginia kids lack access to childcare, including in a top lawmaker’s backyard

26K WV kids lack childcare access; some Clay County parents want answers from lawmakers

In a Clay County where more than 90% of kids lack access to formal childcare, and in the home district of House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, one of West Virginia’s most powerful lawmakers, parents are either stuck on waitlists or have to travel to other counties for care.

26,000 W.Va. kids lack child care access

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26,000 West Virginia kids lack access to childcare, including in a top lawmaker’s backyard

WALLBACK — When her husband worked in another state, Autumn Mays had to give up her job at the nearby Family Dollar. There was no one to watch their son, Oliver, and nowhere in Clay County to take him.  Now, instead of clocking in at the store, she spends her mornings helping kids at the Taylor Tots Daycare Center trace letters, shout out their favorite colors and finger paint under-the-sea animals.  Oliver finally made it off the center’s month…