Boulder County's lack of affordable and available child care

This is the second article in a series on the Consortium of Cities addressing child care challenges in Colorado and Boulder County.

According to Kaycee Headrick, Executive Director of the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, the current child care environment in Boulder County is creating dire circumstances for many working parents, with one-third of highly educated women dropping out of the workforce each year. Seventy-four percent cite the primary reason as a lack of quality and affordability, with average annual costs for child care at $25,064 for infants, $23,026 for toddlers, and $19,968 for preschool-aged children.

The affordability issue seems counterintuitive when the average annual earnings for early childhood care providers in Boulder County is $35,850. Nearly one-third of these providers qualify for public benefits due to low wages.

Headrick noted, "Compounding these problems, the turnover rate for early childhood care providers is 30%, four times higher than that of a K-12 teacher. Over 70% of Colorado's childcare center directors report taking two and one-half months to fill a position, while 47% of providers do not operate at their desired or licensed capacity."

The Consortium of Cities (COC) convened on Dec. 4 to address the pressing child care challenges in Colorado and Boulder County. Participating municipalities shared their efforts and initiatives to tackle this critical issue.

The COC, comprised of 11 cities and towns in Boulder County, including non-voting representatives from Broomfield and Niwot, was established by the Boulder County Commissioners in 1986 to provide an organizational structure to promote communication among local governments.

Each COC member reported on its efforts toward improving early childhood care and education in its jurisdiction.

The Longmont City Council's priority for early childhood care and education is ensuring that families with children under the age of five receive appropriate, affordable, and high-quality care and education. The City of Longmont discovered that 60% of Longmont children are in friend, family, and neighbor (FFN) care, a group often described as invisible or unreachable. The city's approach was to develop trust with them, so the FFN providers would consider the city part of their support group. An outcome of this was a dashboard that captured information on demand, supply, quality, and accessibility of early child care and education.

Longmont also created The Front Range Community College Foundation scholarship. This fund will provide $49,990 in grants to Front Range Community College students studying early childhood education. An additional fund has committed to providing $25,000 in scholarships annually, with students in kindergarten through third grade eligible to receive a $50 scholarship that gets deposited into their 529 College Savings account.

To expand on the previous funds, state grant funds will also allow the city to collaborate with The TLC Early Learning Center. The TLC Early Learning Collaborative, a proposed 32,000 sq. ft. facility will be a gathering place for The TLC Learning Center and the early learning community. Parents, caregivers, children, and early learning specialists will have a central location to work, plan, and learn.

The City of Boulder's definition of early childhood services focuses on city activities and investments that reduce poverty among adults and children, increase food and housing security, improve health outcomes, reduce health disparities, and increase household self-sufficiency.

Boulder currently subsidizes child care for approximately 30 families with young children annually. However, The Colorado Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP) freeze has negatively impacted many vulnerable families with few other child care options. The City of Boulder, in 2024, managed $317,300 in grants for child care and $144,410 for early childhood development. For 2025 there are now eight programs with $327,300 in child care and $167,750 for early childhood development.

The City of Lafayette recap showed that Early Childhood Education (ECE) services at the recreation center were discontinued many years ago, but currently provide preschool-age programming, After School Care (B.A.S.E.), and summer camp programs for school-age children. The city has representation on the Early Childhood Advisory Council of Boulder County and has resources available in the library for parents, teachers, and caregivers in English and Spanish.

The Town of Lyons stated they were envious of the resources of the larger municipalities but, as a small town, had limited resources.

The Town of Nederland stated they were also size-restricted. However, 72% of Nederland citizens voted in the 2024 special municipal election to support TEENS, Inc., building and operating an Early Childhood Education Center on the town's vacant lot. TEENS, Inc., is a nonprofit organization based in Nederland that provides services and programs to support youth and young adults with various resources.

The City of Louisville is actively working to enhance child care accessibility and quality for its residents. The city referenced Treehouse Learning, a private, locally owned early childhood education program in Louisville. It offers eligible children 15 hours per week of free, high-quality preschool to prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. The city also hosts a variety of child care centers catering to different age groups and educational philosophies.

The positive development is that conversations are occurring about the child care crisis in Boulder County. However, what remains unaddressed is the gap between the high costs families face and the low wages earned by child care providers.

The next article in this series will explore the reasons behind the gap between families' high costs and child care providers' low wages.