Childcare was in a crisis before the pandemic. Too many kids. Too few spots. Many people who wanted to work were forced to stay home and care for young children and this burden impacted females much more so than males. Not much has changed since. In fact, it may have gotten worse. Many of the grants and subsidies offered during the pandemic are no longer available.  Autumn Zellner runs STARS Early Learning Academy. She gets multiple calls each day from parents desperate to work and desperate to find a safe place to leave their children during the day. Autumn turns them all away. She wants to grow but the costs of building a new center and finding qualified labor prevents her from taking that step. It's a crisis, and Autumn offers some ideas. This episode is this month's Business Alabama Magazine collaboration.  Show Sponsors: Mason Hills Farms - True Farm to Table Meats E3 Termite & Pest Control Roy Lewis Construction Trey Langus - Transworld Business Advisors Allison Horner - State Farm Agent Angelo DePaola - The Coastal Connection Realty Persons Services Corp Seth Cherniak - Jeffrey Matthews Financial Bill-E's Bacon Find Cam Marston's book - What Works: The Ten Best Ideas from the First Two-Hundred Episodes on Amazon.com.