“Child care: Missing in Maryland?” is the brainchild of Khushboo Rathore, a student at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism who graduated in May. Rathore utilized the Maryland Public Information Act to retrieve several years worth of state data that traced the drop in the number of child care providers and slots in most Maryland counties.
Jerry Zremski, director of the Local News Network at the University of Maryland, coordinated the project and served as its lead editor. Other editors on the project were Capital News Service Director Marty Kaiser, Merrill College Communications Director Josh Land and Kaitlyn Wilson, assistant director of the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism at Merrill College.
Adam Marton, director of the Capital News Service Digital Bureau, led the project’s design and oversaw a class that did the project’s data visualizations. Jenna Bloom, a Merrill College student, assembled the project’s county summary pages.
Students who compiled the project’s county summaries are: Jaria Butler, Jenna Bloom, Kaya Bogut, Harrison Deitz, Jess Daninhirsch, Madi Eades, Nicholas Ellott, Fiona Flowers, Jonathan Iacovacci, Hannah Massey, Zephan Matteson, Mikayla Roberts, Evony Salmeron, Hayden Whirley and Katelynn Winebrenner.