Thought Leaders: Everyone depends on someone who depends on childcare
By Christina Taylor - Early Childhood Council of Larimer County —
Whether you work in construction or healthcare, you have likely been impacted by childcare issues, either personally or as a result of a co-worker. One in 5 Coloradans need childcare in order to work–an estimate that is likely conservatively low. Yet, in Northern Colorado, 4 out of 5 families do not have access to licensed childcare for their infant and 3 out of 5 families with toddlers cannot find licensed care. This leaves many families scrambling to find quality care for their children and unable to participate fully in the workforce. In fact, 10% of Colorado residents quit a job, didn’t take a job, or made significant changes to their job responsibilities because of childcare problems. And across the nation, $3 billion is lost annually by U.S. businesses due to employee absenteeism resulting from childcare issues.
Making the matter worse is that even if a family can find care for their infant or toddler, the average cost of care in Larimer County is $390/week for infants, $319/week for children 2-3 years old, and $280/week for children 3-4 years old. That’s more than $15,000 per year per child!
For decades, childcare has been considered a personal issue. Yet it affects everyone in every single industry. Cost of living, cost of childcare, lack of childcare availability, low pay for the early childhood workforce, an increase in population, and inadequate state and federal funding are all contributing to childcare being a market failure across the nation and here in Northern Colorado.
Other communities throughout Colorado and the U.S. have created local solutions to childcare. Denver has a dedicated sales tax, San Miguel County (Colorado) has a property tax, and several states are adopting cost-sharing models in which the employer, government, and employee split the cost of childcare.
If you want to learn more about the need and options for solving our childcare crisis, contact your local early childhood council or follow LarimerThrivebyFive.org.