U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly visited the Imagination Station Child Development Center, 1200 East Coolspring Ave., Thursday morning to mark The Month of the Young Child, which brings attention to early childhood issues.

Donnelly, D-Granger, toured the facility, interacted with children and met with board president Jan Katz and executive director Deborah Chubb. Chubb said the center and its staff wanted Donnelly to be aware of what a high-quality early child learning center looks like, and let him know how additional federal funding could make a difference in serving child care needs for the entire community.

Imagination Station is the only nationally accredited, licensed child care facility in LaPorte County, Chubb said. It has the capacity to serve 123 children from 6 weeks to 6 years old. The center offers a full-day kindergarten and provides breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks.

Katz emphasized to Donnelly the importance of the federal Child Care and Development Fund that provides vouchers to cover the cost of care for children from lower income families. The vouchers make the difference in what they can pay staff, Katz said.

She told Donnelly she would like to see a “tiered compensation system” adopted that would provide more funding for quality improvement programs and for pay that will attract and retain an educated professional staff.

Imagination Station supplements its operating budget with private foundation grants and United Way funds. About 40 percent of the children who attend Imagination Station qualify for free or reduced meals based on their family incomes. Chubb said the need for vouchers exceeds the available funding.

“LaPorte County always has a waiting list of 150 families who are eligible for vouchers but there are no funds,” Chubb said.