Representatives from almost 100 local organizations join initiative.
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO—Today community leaders representing almost 100 local organizations announced a new Family Friendly Initiative to bring the community together to meet the area’s childcare challenges. El Paso County, home to almost 47,000 children five and under, has only 17,500 childcare spots for these children. Another 17,000 spots are necessary to meet the needs of families.
The initiative is engaging leaders from a range of sectors including large employers, small businesses, the healthcare industry, government, the faith community, and education.
“To meet the childcare challenge, it’s going to take all of us working together. Community leaders are needed to champion a full range of sustained, strategic approaches,” said SherryLynn Boyles, CEO of Joint Initiatives.
The underlying problems causing the crisis include a lack of childcare funding, an underpaid early childhood workforce, and the high cost of childcare for parents.
“Parents pay for childcare, which means the quality of education for young children varies based on parents’ income,” said Margaret Sabin, Initiative Co-chair and recently-retired President of Children’s Hospital Colorado. “Let’s think about who parents are of young children—often they are young people who may be just starting careers who haven’t had a chance to build a nest egg.”
“In Colorado, the average cost of childcare per child is $16,333 per year. That is a major cost for families, often as much as paying a mortgage or putting a child through college,” Sabin continued.
According to Sabin, the broken childcare funding system brings additional challenges. “Early childhood teachers are severely underpaid. The average salary for these teachers is $14.22/hour, less than $30,000 per year. Yet these are often certified teachers.”
The shortage of childcare is only half of the story; the other half is that quality childcare can help set the course of a child’s life.
“If we want children to thrive, we have to start with their first five years because this is when 90% of brain development occurs. Communities cannot afford to leave children’s education—who are at this critical age—to chance,” said Dr. Lisa Roy, Executive Director for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
“Children’s lives are changed for the better when their childcare is high quality,” said Roy, adding that children are more likely to graduate high school, enroll in college or technical school, earn higher wages over their lifetime, and have better health outcomes.
“Quality childcare is not only an investment in a child, but in a community. When a community’s people do well, the overall economy is affected too,” said Thayer Tutt, Initiative Co-Chair and Board Vice Chair of El Pomar Foundation. “Research shows that investment in early childhood education means higher labor productivity and reduced health care and criminal justice costs.”
The initiative is engaging community partners who will start the process of pursuing solutions. They are joining action teams to focus on:
- funding solutions,
- raising the community’s awareness,
- forging partnerships among businesses and early childcare providers,
- child mental health, and
- addressing the workforce shortage.
“If you care about living in a community in which our children are thriving as a result of access to quality childcare, if you care about the impact that thriving children have on our economy and quality of life, then please join the 100 organizations that are working to address our childcare challenge,” Boyles concluded.
To learn more about the Family Friendly Initiative click HERE.
To express interest in joining an action team addressing the childcare crisis, click HERE to Contact Us.