The report highlighted in this blog post is part of the Colorado Children’s Campaign Kids in Focus series, which elevates data and research to inform the policy conversation about kids and families in Colorado.
Ten years ago, when I became a mother, my career in early childhood policy got personal. As a BIPOC mom with a thriving career, I was determined to balance parenting and work not only to maintain my professional identity, but also to set an example for my daughter.
Unfortunately, this was easier said than done. For the first few years of her life, my child ricocheted between nannies, day cares, and the occasional family member for care. Not only was my salary unable to cover the cost of care, but I also couldn’t concentrate because I was constantly coping with last minute child care cancellations or fretting about the quality of services my daughter received. It was exhausting, and I knew something had to give. So, like so many other mothers, I left the formal workforce and spent the better part of a decade being the solution to our family’s crisis of care.
When it comes to frustration about child care choices, I am not alone. A new brief authored by Maya Gould, the Vice President of Research at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, shares brand-new data from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment’s Baby & You Survey that suggests that many new parents in Colorado struggle with the same challenges I did.
According to the brief, Colorado Parents Need Help Affording Child Care: Insights From the Baby & You Survey, nearly one in four parents reported that their current child care arrangement was not what they would have preferred, while 60% did not have a regular child care arrangement for their one-year-olds. This number was even higher among families enrolled in Medicaid and CHP+, 80% of whom lacked reliable access to care.
Parents identified the main barriers to child care as affordability and availability. Colorado Public Radio reports that child care in Colorado is the fifth most expensive in the nation. Center-based infant care is especially exorbitant, costing families $19,573 annual, if they can even find a seat – according to the Bell Policy Center, almost every county in our state is a licensed infant and toddler care desert. With statistics like these, it is no wonder that more than one-third of parents in the Baby & You Survey quit, changed, or turned down a job or educational opportunity in order to meet child care needs.
Although when I left the workforce, my status as a middle class, married woman protected me from many of the experiences of lower income mothers, my absence from the workforce still cost me. I fell behind in my career, lost touch with professional networks, and missed out on retirement savings. Furthermore, I unwittingly contributed to Colorado’s $3.8 billion in annual revenue loss due to mothers who leave the workforce because of a lack of child care.
Infants deserve a safe space to grow and thrive. Parents deserve peace of mind while they pursue jobs they want and/or need. Families deserve to live in a state where child care is affordable and accessible for all of us, regardless of our gender, income level, or geography. These findings from the Baby & You survey point us to where we need to focus next to make sure infants, parents, and families have the care they need and deserve.
