Heather McMurtry's older son spent the first year of his life bouncing from one Casper child care center to another, as his mother struggled to find a provider she could both trust and afford.

One provider spent too much time on the phone and left the boy in his car seat, McMurtry said. Another's husband smoked. And a big center was too expensive.

"It's very hard to find a good day care that's reasonably priced," said McMurtry, who works in a physician's office.

Parents across Wyoming are struggling to find high-quality, affordable child care, child advocates say.

Parents, providers and local business owners are invited to comment at a series of public meetings, including one at 6:30 p.m. today at the Natrona County Public Library.

They can listen to and discuss a proposal to increase child care availability with subsidies, to train providers and to rate providers for quality.

McMurtry's luck improved three years ago. Since then she has happily left her child with a home-based provider, Sandra Stewart, who watches both McMurtry's sons for less than $700 a month, compared with probably $1,000 for two children at a big center.

"We came and visited and the kids loved her," McMurtry said. She was also impressed by how clean the house was. "You could eat off her floor."

But many more families are still struggling. And the issue affects more than just parents; it's a problem for economic development.

"We've got businesses all across the state who are having a hard time finding employees," said Kathy Emmons, director of the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services.

"We've got people who need to go to work and they can't find child care," she said.

NewsTracker

Last we knew: The 2006 Legislature called for a study on how the state could create a high-quality child care system to rate and support child care services.

The latest: A group studied the issue this summer and will ask parents and providers to comment at meetings, including one at 6:30 tonight at the Natrona County Public Library in Casper.

What's next: The group will take a final report to an oversight committee in November and then to the full Joint Labor, Health and Social Services Committee, which may turn the report's recommendations into a bill for the full Legislature to consider.