Childcare Questions

Unify America conducted ten discussion groups in February and March of 2023 with about seventy Montrose residents, including leaders from many different fields. The discussion groups were designed to identify the public problems that residents were concerned about. Dozens of issues were brought up. Five issues rose to the top as concerns: housing, childcare, mental health, youth development and economic development. Housing emerged as the greatest concern. Unify America had a budget that required the deliberation to be completed before the end of 2023. After several weeks of research on the nature of the housing problem, Unify America did not think it was possible to complete a deliberation on a subject that complex in that timeframe. The City of Montrose is also already conducting public engagement related to housing.

Among the other choices, childcare had the benefit of having a research paper completed in 2021, co-funded by the City of Montrose, Montrose County, Uncompahgre Valley Alliance Childcare Caucus, and Bright Futures for Early Childhood and Families, establishing the scale and nature of the childcare problem in Montrose. That was a key reason why childcare was selected.

There are 2,606 children aged 0-5 in Montrose. Please see below with linked sources.

If we only captured children under 5 in our statistics, we would miss 5-year-olds who may not have started Kindergarten yet and need full-day care.

Under 5 (ages 0-4):
Population: 2,015 (4.6% of 43,811)
Source: U.S. Census Quick Fact Sheet

Under 6 (ages 0-5)
Population: 2,606
Source: United States Census Table PCT12

According to the United States Census, as of 2021, 15.7% of Montrose children and youth under the age of 18 were living in poverty. You can learn more about how the U.S. Census Bureau measures poverty by viewing this infographic here.

It is income-based using federal poverty guidelines to determine the threshold of qualifying for free or reduced rates. Families above the poverty level pay $100 a month. (Based on a conversation with club staff on 11/1/23.)

There is not easily ascertained data that provides a big picture of welfare (or government benefits) fraud. One challenge is that there are many different types of government benefits and many different agencies involved in dispuring and providing oversight of those funds. Those agencies are at the federal, state and local level. Here are some snippets of data that may be helpful:

The United States Sentencing Commission (USSC) releases an annual fact sheet that captures data on the sentencing of government benefit fraud crimes. In fiscal year 2022, there were 647 offenders of government benefits fraud. Not all of these offenders participated in fraud involving child care subsidies; that level of specificity is not shown in the data. It’s also important to note that this number does not necessarily include every conviction of government benefits fraud in the United States, only ones that were reported to the USSC.

In 2016, the Inspector General's Office for the Department of Health and Human Services released a report with state level data of payment error rates specifically involving childcare subsidies through the Child Care Development Block. Colorado’s payment error rate was 6.65% (p. 24). While some of these errors may be the result of fraud, error payments are not inherently fraudulent. They could result from administrative errors, for example. And by definition, of course, these rates would not capture still undetected fraud.

Childcare data relies on many different sources of data from different organizations, geographies, and providers. As a result, there is not a single, definitive source of information tied to real time updates. Additionally, the numbers are constantly changing. The numerical data that we do have and can provide should be understood as snapshots in time of children, families, and providers.

While we cannot answer every question you have, we were able to conduct an informal count this week (October 15-19) by calling providers and asking about current availability. Again, these numbers are not static; they could change next week.

It’s also important to remember that open slots do not automatically mean a family can access that slot. For example, if the provider’s hours do not match the working hours of a parent or guardian, it may not work for them.

While we can give an idea of open slots at licensed childcare providers at this specific point in time, we cannot account for all types of care. For example, since FFN are informal arrangements, we are unable to verify or count those openings. There are no names and numbers to contact and ask. We also cannot predict future capacity at childcare providers. Finally, we cannot identify pros and cons of each provider. Families are best suited to determine the pros and cons of each provider for their own needs.

In the file below is a list of licensed providers in Montrose, the city of their location, their Colorado Shines rating (if listed on Colorado Shines, the state website for licensed providers), their total licensed capacity as reported to the State of Colorado for October 2023, the number of slots available according to a phone conversation made the week of October 17-19, and their listed hours (if known).

View the point-in-time spreadsheet

As explained in the Lowdown for Actions 7 and 8, the Early Childhood Center’s trailers lack enough full day classroom space for Headstart eligible children, old and needing repair, and will likely hit capacity this year.

That said, there are a lot of K-8 students (around 4,000), and comparatively few afterschool spots for enriching activities (around 260).

But where is the need greatest? And how to respond? These are the kind of question that you Delegates are best positioned to wrestle with.

(answered 10/13)

The Colorado Department of Education publishes the percentage of students on paid, free, and reduced lunch on its “Pupil Membership” website. That website details that “Student counts are suppressed for Instructional Programs and Free/Reduced Lunch to student privacy” (from the Notes section).

The Colorado Department of Education does publish the percentage of students across the district that are free and reduced lunch eligible. The data there is from 2022-2023.

• For Montrose Country RE-1J (the Montrose County School District code), the percentage of PreK-12 students on free and reduced lunch for 2022-2023 is 52.1%.

• For Montrose Country RE-1J (the Montrose County School District code), the percentage of K-12 students (exclude PreK) on free and reduced lunch for 2022-2023 is 51.1%.

You can review the raw data for yourself at the “Pupil Membership” page on the Colorado Department of Education, and selecting:

• “2022-23 PK-12 Free and Reduced Lunch Eligibility by District (XLSX)” link

• “2022-23 K-12 Free and Reduced Lunch Eligibility by District (XLSX)” link

(answered 10/13)

The following licensed childcare centers are confirmed as accepting the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program in Montrose County:

• Bright Beginnings

• Centro De La Familia

• The Learning Cottage

• Little Sprouts

• Living Word Lutheran Preschool

• Maslow Academy of Applied Learning

• Montrose Christian Childhood Center

• Sonshine Patch

• Tender Hearts Childcare Center LLC

(answered 10/13)

We think you’re referencing this press release, and thanks for bringing it to Delegates’ attention!

The seats referenced in the press release above are for Universal Preschool. The number of available seats still remaining do not completely erase the childcare gap for three significant reasons. First, these seats are set aside for four-year-olds and some three-year-olds only. UPK does not serve 0-2 year olds. Second, UPK does not address before or after school care or care on no-school days. And third, preschool hours are not always aligned with the working hours of parents that do not have flexibility to leave work early or arrive late in order to pick up children.

Additionally, in the Action 7 and 8 Lowdown, there are updated numbers for the Montrose County School District’s preschool (as of October 9, 2023).

According to Root Policy Research: “We don’t have data to answer that question one way or the other. Most survey respondents regularly use non-parent care (66%) but about 1 in five said they don’t use non-parent care at all and another 15% said they weren’t currently using non-parent care (because of dynamics related to COVID-19). However, there isn’t a data source that lets us accurately compare these results to the entire population.”

Root Policy Research used population projections from the state demographer (Figure I-6), and those numbers indicate the number of children is likely to increase between 2026 and 2050, despite declines in this population from 2011-2023.

Delegates submitted multiple questions about turnover rates in industries other than childcare, and also asked about statistics cited during the deliberation.

To answer this question, we turned to Dr. Nathan Perry, an economist from Colorado Mesa University, who compiled information about turnover rates in early childhood education in comparison to similar industries. Here’s a link to that summary.

ECE Turnover rate.docx

While we don’t have city by city data, the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation compile county information on childcare costs and release it as part of their “County Health Rankings” data set. The most recent data is from 2022 and lists Montrose as 29% as the average cost per household. You can see that the average household income required for childcare in Colorado ranges from 17% to 44% across counties. (Note: this data uses average; Unify Montrose has used median based on the data below).

The 30.8% number in the Status Quo Lowdown is based on the following:

• The median annual household income in Montrose County is $50,489.

• According to the Root Policy Research 2021 report, respondents to the survey in Montrose spend an average of $720 per month/per child on childcare. Annually, that comes out to $8640 per child. Montrose families have 1.8 children, on average, which means Montrose families are spending an average of $15,552 on childcare each year ($8640 per child x 1.8 children).

• $15,552 is 30.8% of $50,489 (the median Montrose family’s household income).

• In 2016, the US Department of Health and Human Services set the benchmark for affordable childcare at 7% of family income as the amount for copays for families receiving government childcare assistance. The government guideline isn't built around how much those in the median income should spend on childcare and we haven't found any other formal guidance on a reasonable goal.

• We set 15% as our definition of affordable because cutting the spend in half felt meaningful.

How many full day spots are needed?

A precise number is dependent upon whether you mean full day as in “not half day care,” or if you mean it as covering a full 8am-5pm workday. According to the 2021 Montrose Childcare Needs Assessment, there were:

• “...an estimated 842 children occupying 741 daily spots”.

• There were also approximately 218 children with “latent demand” meaning children on waitlists or with parents that wanted to utilize licensed child care in order to work.

• That means, at the time of the assessment, there were an estimated 933 spots needed for 1,060 children (with some children attending part-time and sharing a spot.)

• See Executive Summary p. 5 of the Needs Assessment.

Keep in mind that this data is two years old and circumstances change. During an implementation phase additional data could be helpful to right-size the state of the problem to the most current figures possible.

How many after hour spots are needed?

The type of data needed to answer this question would depend on whether you’re referring to 24/7 care, after work hour care (i.e., during the evening hours), no school days care, or after school care. For the first three categories, we don’t have any data from the Needs Assessment or elsewhere to provide an estimate.

For after school care, in interviewing local youth organizations we identified 260 combined spots available, and in consistent use, with some programs having waitlists. This includes the Boys and Girls Club, Malow, Montrose Recreation Department, and the school district. There are other programs as well, but these are among the largest. For a point of reference, there are about 4000 students in Montrose in Kindergarten through 8th grade.

Keep in mind that circumstances change and will keep changing. During an implementation phase additional data could be helpful to right-size the state of the problem to the most current figures possible.

How many workers do we need per age?

The staff to child ratios change based on age ranges (infant, toddler, children) and whether age ranges are combined. But in general:

• 1 staff for 5 infants (6 weeks to 18 months)

• 1 staff for 5 toddlers (12 - 36 months)

• 1 staff for 7 toddlers (24 months to 36)

• 1 staff for 8 children (2½ - 3 years)

• 1 staff for 10 children (3 - 4 years)

• 1 staff for 12 children (4 - 5 years)

• 1 staff for 15 children (5 years and older)

• 1 staff for 10 children (mixed age, 2½ - 6)

See page 58 in Code of Regulations

The Needs Report identified 54 infants in licensed care in 2021 (Section III, p. 1). This would require approximately 11 staff members system wide.

There were also 788 children between ages 1-6 that were utilizing licensed childcare in 2021 (Section 3, p. 1). Since the data is not broken into a smaller age range, we have to estimate a non-scientific number of staff needed.

Let’s hypothetically say that half of the 788 children were ages 1 - 3 years old and half of the 788 were 4 - 6 years old.

• For 394 children between ages of 1 - 3 years old, there would need to be somewhere between, approximately, 56 (for 1:7 staff-child ratio) and 79 staff (for 1:5 staff-child ratio).

• For 394 children between ages of 4 - 6 years old there would need to be somewhere between, approximately, 26 (for 1:15 staff-child ratio) and 33 (for 1:12 staff child ratio).

For after school programs serving school aged children, 5 and over, there are 260 spots as mentioned above. This would require approximately 18 staff (for 1:15 staff child ratio).

By adding the estimates above for each category, there would need to be between 110 and 140 staff system wide for both school hour care (day care, pre-school) and after school care.

Please note, these are rough estimates. Limitations preventing more precise numbers include:

• Each site will be configured differently space wise (i.e.,some classrooms may have limited capacity below the staff-child ratio due to fire code) and different sites may have different age combinations for each group of children. That can also affect staffing levels.

• The split of 788 into two different age categories (half in the 1-3 year old range, and half in the 4-6 year range) is arbitrary.

• Estimates are based on licensed childcare usage from the 2021 Needs Assembly. Present usage will not be identical to this number and could affect staffing levels

Keep in mind that circumstances change and will keep changing. During an implementation phase additional data could be helpful to right-size the state of the problem to the most current figures possible.

Childcare is an issue that many American communities are facing and have been facing to some degree for a wide variety of reasons. In the United States, these changes have taken place over many years, but the timelines are different in different communities.

But we aren’t trying to solve the problem everywhere. During this Unify Montrose deliberation, the Assembly of representative Delegates will be focusing on the issue in Montrose and what could be done locally to support children and families.

For the purposes of our deliberation, we define “Affordable” as half of what the median Montrose family is paying today for childcare, meaning no more than 15% of their household income. This is higher than the federal recommendation for low-income families, but would represent significant progress for all families, since the average cost of childcare in Montrose is 30.8% of the median family’s income.

Several of the actions contain provisions for providing for children with special needs. Jennifer Pelligra, of Community Options, Inc., in Montrose, has consulted and served as part of the volunteer Solutions Team to help shape actions.

Absolutely! The best way for churches to become involved is to talk with Bright Futures, the state Early Childhood Council for Montrose County. Bright Futures can provide information and resources about how churches might get involved to be part of the solution. Several staff at Bright Futures, including Kathleen Merritt, Clea Willow, and Rachel Balerio, are involved in Unify Montrose (you’ve seen them in Lowdown videos).

As Delegates learned in the Status Quo Lowdown, there are several types of childcare options in Montrose. These include:

Licensed Childcare Centers provide care in a dedicated facility. They meet state and local health and safety requirements in order to be licensed.

Licensed Homecare refers to people who provide childcare in their home, typically for between 6 and 12 kids.

FFN (Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care) refers to care provided by grandparents, babysitters, next-door neighbors, etc. FFN providers are unlicensed, and there are limits on the number of children they can provide for (typically no more than 4).

School District Pre-School has an early childhood education program, typically for children in the year or two before they enter kindergarten.

Youth Programs are typically available for school-aged children after school or in the summers. These programs include Montrose Recreation District programs, the Boys & Girls Club, the Ute Indian Museum Summer Program, Montrose County School District before/after school programs, Outer Range Summer Camp, Elevate Academy Dance, and others.

For the first two above (Licensed Childcare Centers and Licensed Homecare), the best resource is ColoradoShines.com, which is a website run by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood. The website allows parents to search by your location for preschool, childcare centers, and licensed homecare. The website gives information about the provider, including the number of open spots and when that information was last updated.

For youth programs, these are not always listed in ColoradoShines.com, and so we’ve tried to list some of the major providers. If you know of other providers who provide care for school-aged children, please let us know and we will update this answer.

Informal networks are part of what are called “Family, Friends, and Neighbors.” Some of these networks may exist, but they can be hard to learn about or track since they tend to exist within social networks. If you know of one that would like to be included as part of this answer, please let us know and we’ll update this!

The word affordable is part of the shared goal for this deliberation process: Every parent and guardian in Montrose shall have dependable access to safe, affordable, and enriching childcare so they can work, attend school, or otherwise contribute to our community. All terms used in the Shared Goal have been defined in Week 4’s Status Quo Full Homework.

In this deliberation, affordable is defined as half of what the median Montrose family is paying today for childcare, meaning no more than 15% of their household income. This is higher than the federal recommendation for low-income families but would represent significant progress for all families since the average cost of childcare in Montrose is 30.8% of the median family’s income.

We don’t know the exact effect Montrose residents working in San Miguel or Ouray County is having on childcare. However, we can look to survey results that are from the 2021 Childcare Needs Assessment Report to learn more about the needs of parents and their location preferences for childcare options. The report details, “The majority of Montrose County workers also live in Montrose County, but there are still a high proportion of both in- and out-commuters” (Section I, page 4).

While the surveys are not broken down by residents who commute to work outside the county, it is worth noting that 71% of parents would “choose care near their house over care near their work. This preference was stronger for those living outside the City of Montrose; 76% of county residents living outside the city preferred care closer to home compared to 68% of city residents” (Section II, page 12).

As a clarification, someone who lives in Montrose and commutes to work in a different county is included in this deliberation’s definition of Montrose residents; the definition of Montrose residents is someone who “lives, works or attends school within Montrose city limits, or, lives, works, or attends school within Montrose county, not in the city limits, but within the Montrose valley corridor” (for more about this definition, see the Full Homework of the Status Quo).

For the purposes of this deliberation, childcare in Montrose refers to a variety of care that is provided for children from birth until parents would be able to comfortably leave a child alone, often cited as between 10-12 years of age. In Colorado, parents decide what age a child can be left alone. In this deliberation, “childcare” includes early childhood care (0-5), preschool (3- and 4-year-olds), and younger school-aged children (K-8th grade). More information about the wide variety of types of care can be found in the Status Quo Full Homework in the Lowdown.

Childcare includes preschool, or “pre-K” as it is sometimes called. For fall 2023, the state of Colorado has expanded preschool access with Colorado’s Universal Pre-K program. This program, generally, provides 15 hours of preschool per week for free to all families of four-year-olds (and some three-year-olds with certain qualifying conditions). Some of the actions the Assembly will review relate to preschool, and those actions all contemplate the use of state and federal funding, including Universal Pre-K funding.

We’ve been working with local agencies, who do interact with state and federal programs and resources. The scope and goal of the deliberation is for delegates to consider actions that can be enacted at a local level to achieve the shared goal. Delegates will deliberate these actions in Weeks 5-8 of the Deliberation process.

Here’s what the Root Policy Research group says in their report: “The survey was open to respondents during the months of April and May (2021) [after childcare centers and schools were open]. While some parents/guardians may have shifted their childcare usage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the survey instrument was carefully designed to ask respondents about non-COVID, or “typical” childcare experiences. As such, the results are intended to inform childcare preferences and needs in a non-pandemic environment unless otherwise noted." - Section 2 p.1.

Also from the report: “The self-selected nature of the survey prevents the collection of a true random sample…However, the high number of responses yields a robustness to the results that minimizes error around the estimates. Root monitored the survey as it progressed and compared demographic and socioeconomic indicators with the overall population…”

According to the Root Policy Research team, “We were using 2019 ACS at the time (Census wasn’t out yet). That said, the 2019 ACS says 2600 kids so it seems our sample is actually about a third of the county population. Stating it was half seems to be an error (looks like our analyst compared number of kids in survey to households with kids in the ACS—its half of that number, but that isn’t the right comp).”

A 2020 study by Ready Nation in Colorado estimates the annual costs of insufficient childcare on Colorado parents, employers, and taxpayers to be $2.17 billion (in lost earnings, productivity, and tax revenue). Applying the statewide estimate to the population of the city of Montrose results in $7,595,000. Applying the same to the whole county population yields $16,150,786 in annual costs.

Please note: this is a correction to the lower estimate of $6 million that was used in the lowdown videos.

No, they are not.

Here’s the definition of a childcare desert: "A child care desert is any census tract with more than 50 children under age 5 that contains either no child care providers or so few options that there are more than three times as many children as licensed child care slots." (https://childcaredeserts.org/2018)

So, technically, that’s accurate for Montrose. But it’s also been criticized as an overly evocative term because the majority of Americans (51%) also live in this definition of a “childcare desert.”