NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Metro Nashville Police are considering a new benefit to recruit and retain law enforcement — building a daycare.
According to state data, the average childcare cost is $8,000 a year. Speaking at a budget hearing this week for Metro Council, Chief John Drake said a daycare is vital for his rank and file to balance their professional and personal lives.
“We had people who were thinking about leaving the police department because they were on-call, they were single – whether male or female – and they didn’t have childcare. In the police department, being called in at 2 or 3 A.M. and not having someone to watch your child is very, very difficult.”
Drake said the discussion is in the early stages, but his department is looking into the possibility of converting an existing facility into a childcare center for the children of law enforcement officers.
In recent years, Metro Nashville has taken steps to be more family-friendly and recruit more women into the force. They opened lactation rooms for new moms, dropped military standards for recruits, and, signed on to the 30 x 30 initiative, a national effort to have 30% of recruits be women by 2030.
As a young officer, Drake said he experienced his own challenges balancing parenthood and a career.
“When I first started as a police officer and a single-parent, I was working midnights. And can you imagine trying to find someone to keep your kid overnight every night five days a week. And then maybe when you go to court the next day. So, it’s very difficult, and I understand it. And, hopefully, we can make that happen.”
According to Tennessee’s recent State of the Child Report, the average cost for a toddler to go to a daycare center is $8,372 a year. For a single mom, that would be 27% of her income.
There’s also a nationwide push to ease this burden. The Providing Child Care for Police Officers Act of 2024 would give $24 million in federal money over five years for police departments to open childcare centers.
In Washington, the bill is in committee. But here at home, Drake said he’s on board. “We had a major city chiefs meeting, and we talked about this around the country as vital to any organization.”
A metro police spokesperson told News 2, opening a childcare center is in the very early stages. A site has not been selected.
