"Careless: Colorado's childcare struggle" premieres April 30
DENVER — Worse than concert tickets or reserving camping spots, finding a spot in a childcare center in Colorado is harder than ever.
Sixty-one of Colorado’s 64 counties don’t have enough spots at licensed childcare centers to accommodate the number of children under six years old, according to the Common Sense Institute. On top of that, the childcare that is available has become increasingly unaffordable. In 10 of the state’s most populous counties, families are spending an average of 20% of their income on childcare when the recommended benchmark is no greater than 7%.
“What we see happen over and over is that the childcare programs are not able to charge the true cost of care, and folks are already paying more than they can afford. So that's a crunch coming from both directions,” said Shelby Mattingly, the former CEO of Denver’s Early Childhood Council.
Over the past few years, the state has invested more heavily in early childhood education. In 2022, Colorado created the Department of Early Childhood, elevating the focus on early childhood to the cabinet level. And in 2023, Colorado rolled out universal pre-K. The program currently guarantees 15 hours a week of free tuition and only serves children in the year before kindergarten.
Other programs have run into issues, like Colorado’s Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP), a program that provides subsidized, reduced-cost childcare to low-income, working families. Due to changing federal requirements that raised the reimbursement rates per child, 20 counties across the state have had to issue an enrollment freeze, leaving nearly 14,000 children from low-income families on waitlists. It’s unclear when the enrollment freeze will end, but it’s expected to last at least a few more years.
“We do know that the effects are already happening in real time and that kids and families are right now not able to access care who need it. And we're worried about the compounding impacts of that over time,” Mattingly said.
A recent Baby & You survey of Colorado families found one third of parents across all incomes said they had to quit, change or not take a new job or educational opportunity in order to meet their childcare needs.
Rocky Mountain PBS has been following this childcare crisis for years. We’ve found families from around the state who are doing whatever they can to secure care.
Molly Hamilton, a Glenwood Springs mother of three, has been out of the workforce for seven years. She paused her career because there were so few spots at licensed childcare centers near her home. When she eventually secured an opening for her son, it no longer made sense for her to work because childcare was so expensive. This past fall, Hamilton turned her frustrations into action — she knocked on doors campaigning for a local ballot measure — a sales tax to bolster childcare funds in the region between Parachute and Aspen.
Michael Gonzales, a single dad of four boys, was caught in childcare limbo after his wife died during childbirth two years ago. After she passed away, his family missed the annual re-enrollment period in CCAP and lost their childcare subsidies. Gonzales, who works as a warehouse driver, turned to his community for support. The childcare center his kids attend for before and after school care has been offering the family free tuition for now. But the center can’t offer that for everybody in their care.
Candi CdeBaca and Liliana Flores grew up together in Elyria-Swansea, a low income, primarily Latino neighborhood in northern Denver with a dearth of licensed early learning centers. Last year CdeBaca and Flores opened a parent-run childcare cooperative. As parents of young children, the two recognized the need for a child-centric space that parents can visit throughout the day. The space offers free weekly childcare programming for stay-at-home parents, many of whom have left the workforce to raise their young kids.
Rocky Mountain PBS also spoke to a handful of parents at playgrounds and parks around the state who shared their experiences with finding affordable childcare — and the tough choices they’ve been forced to make.
An RMPBS Original documentary on the struggles families face in securing childcare premieres Thursday, April 30 at 7 p.m. on Rocky Mountain PBS and available to stream on RMPBS+.
Related Stories
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. To read more about why you can trust the journalism of Rocky Mountain PBS, please visit our editorial standards and practices page.
