The Chaffee Early Childhood Council announced the results of its 2023 survey this week, and the results are sobering. They indicate the economic impact of the lack of childcare on the county’s workforce, as well as at least two tiers of childcare budgets within this county — one set for one or two higher-income families and another for middle and lower-income families.
“I’m assuming that people said ‘this is what we have left after we pay our mortgage and cover groceries’,” said Chaffee Childhood Council Executive Director Sarah Romack. “We’d love to ask more questions of these participants. My hope is this [survey] is a good conversation starter with different groups in the community.”
Asked about how the survey was conceived, Romack said that it was triggered by approaching deadlines for employer-based childcare grant opportunities. “They have had several rounds, so what was being requested of the council was more specific data. We know there is a need, but we need to find out what exactly it is — how big a need.”
Although Romack added that she was hoping for a bigger sample, “115 is a good chunk for this initial survey.”
Logo courtesy Chaffee County Early Childhood Council
Among the key findings set out in the chart below:
- The greatest need identified was for toddler childcare spaces, with 38 percent of parents responding noting that as their current need.
- At least 86 percent of parents want center-based full-day care (which is perhaps more likely to accommodate diverse work schedules) as opposed to five-day/week childcare.
- At least 35 percent of parents had missed from six days to 10 days of work in the past year due to lack of childcare.
- Thirty-three percent of parents indicated that their weekly childcare budget was between $300 and $599, while just over 25 percent said their childcare budget was $1,000 or over.
- It appears that the respondents skewed toward the higher income, with 35 percent self-identifying as having incomes between $100,000 and $149,999.
More than 33 employers and 115 families participated in the survey. While respondents were self-identified as 93 percent white, the survey also adds that participants were 17 percent Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.
The Five-year-old Childcare Gap
“One of the more surprising findings of this first childcare survey was an identified need for after-school care for five-year-olds,” said Romack. “The Boys and Girls Clubs serve ages six and up.”
It indicated that a lot of people are looking for more flexibility for their work schedules. It showed the difference between the two communities of Salida and Buena Vista. “I had no expectations, but I knew it was going to say – yes — we need childcare!”
She added that an open-ended question at the end of the survey that asked how parents felt about childcare in Chaffee County was revealing.
“There were a lot of discouraged comments,” said Romack. “One parent said they have had their child on a waitlist for programs since their prenatal time frame and still weren’t able to get in when their child came of age.”
She noted that she is delighted by the new early childhood education campus conceived by Watershed Inc. and the Buena Vista School District in Buena Vista. “Taking this in — seeing the extreme need we have here in Chaffee County — we need to start thinking,” she concluded, adding that “We’re also trying to focus on employer workforce efforts.”
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