As parents of young children across Colorado continue to struggle with the expense and limited availability of childcare, the state is preparing for a restructuring and expansion of early childhood resources.
Colorado’s Early Childhood Leadership Commission recently released its 10th annual report. The commission serves as Colorado’s advisory council working across sectors to improve outcomes for young children from birth to age 8.
A large focus of the commission's work last year related to House Bill 21-1304, creating a new Department of Early Childhood set to launch this July, and the statewide voluntary universal preschool program that is set to begin in Fall 2023.
The Department of Early Childhood is meant to unify the state’s early childhood system and ensure an equitable distribution of resources including the universal preschool program. The Early Childhood Leadership Commission spent 2021 coordinating with stakeholders on the transition plan for the new department and program.
In November, the commission unanimously approved the Department of Early Childhood Transition Plan, which established “a bold vision to change the way families and children interact with government systems and (ensure) a more equitable, accessible and streamlined system that alleviates the burdens on families and providers,” according to the annual report.
Recommendations for the universal preschool program were also approved by the commission Jan. 11 of this year.
According to a report by Wells Fargo Economics released Wednesday, titled “Who Cares?
How the Childcare Industry's Problems Are Every Employer's Problem,” 24.1% of 4-year-olds in Colorado were enrolled in a state funded preschool in the 2019-20 school year. An estimated 34% of 4-year-olds are enrolled nationally.
The Wells Fargo report outlines how the U.S. falls behind when it comes to taxpayer spending on children under 5 compared to K-12 and higher education spending. According to the report, the U.S. spends an average of $2,600 on childcare and early education per child aged 0-5 per year, half the average for comparable countries.
The Early Childhood Leadership Commission continued to implement the Early Childhood Workforce 2020 plan last year, with a goal of increasing that workforce. The plan prioritizes identifying ways to support recruitment and retention of the early childhood educators while promoting efforts to support livable compensation as the need for this workforce group grows.
“The (workforce) subcommittee utilized several meetings to discuss the impacts of a universal (preschool) program on the early childhood workforce and the need to recruit and retain teachers prior to the 2023-24 school year when the program will be implemented,” the commission’s report said.
One solution currently being discussed by the state’s leadership commission is streamlining the processes needed to qualify to serve as an early childhood professional.
The Wells Fargo report found that nationwide, employment of daycare providers remains at 12.4% below pre-COVID levels. This is a much steeper drop compared to the overall 1.9% deficit in total employment.
With the country seeing 131,200 fewer daycare employees, there are nearly 1 million fewer childcare spots, the Wells Fargo report estimated.
The Wells Fargo report cited cost as the core issue in early childcare with family income unable to keep up with the price of childcare, while caregivers see substandard wages.
For a family with one child under 6, childcare costs on average 12-14% of pre-tax income, yet the median hourly pay in the U.S. child daycare industry was just $13.38 in 2020.
The Early Childhood Leadership Commission report went on to mention collaboration with other state entities, like the Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Early Childhood. That office received $584 million through federal stimulus funding, which is going toward addressing the childcare crisis.
In 2021, the Colorado Department of Education issued 4,556 early childhood professional credentials. The Colorado Department of Higher Education saw over 200 credentials in early childhood education completed at four-year programs during the 2020-2021 school year.
Looking toward 2022, the leadership commission plans to assist the launch of the Department of Early Childhood in July along with continued efforts to implement the universal preschool program and to elevate the early childhood workforce.
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