Community Corner | A Look at Colorado's Childcare Struggle
Community Corner recently welcomed Andrea Kramer, senior producer and reporter at Rocky Mountain PBS, to discuss her latest documentary, Careless: Colorado's Childcare Struggle. The 26-minute film dives deep into a crisis that is affecting families across every income level in the state.
Colorado is the fifth most expensive state in the country for infant care, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends families spend no more than 7% of their income on childcare, but families across Colorado's ten most populous counties are spending an average of 20%. The financial pressure has pushed one in three parents in the state to quit, turn down, or change jobs entirely.
A major piece of the story centers on the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), a subsidized childcare program for low-income working families that is currently under an enrollment freeze with no clear end in sight. Childcare centers that rely heavily on that funding are struggling to stay open, and families are being turned away.
Kramer also highlighted everyday people finding creative solutions, from a childcare co-op in Denver's Elyria Swansea neighborhood to a mother in Glenwood Springs who successfully campaigned for a local ballot measure to raise funding for early childcare.
Careless: Colorado's Childcare Struggle is available now on the Rocky Mountain PBS YouTube channel and the RMPBS Plus app. Visit Rocky Mountain PBS to learn more.
