Why is there a shortage of childcare in Northern Colorado?

Why is there a shortage of childcare in Northern Colorado?

Molly Bohannon, Wochit

A community-led initiative proposing a VAT increase to finance childcare in the Larimer district will not stand in front of the voters in November after the community group and the district failed to reach an agreement.

In early 2021, the United Way of Larimer County and the Early Childhood Center of Larimer County convened a steering committee to find a long-term, systemic solution for providing affordable childcare in Larimer County.

Months of research and outreach resulted in the group calling on the Larimer County Board of Commissioners to take an initiative in the November vote asking voters to approve a 0.25% sales tax in order to provide affordable childcare Fund in many ways, including labor support and family grants, Deirdre Sullivan, CEO of the United Way of Larimer County, told the Coloradoans.

The sales tax hike would have roughly doubled funds for childcare and early childhood education in Larimer County, Christina Taylor, CEO of Larimer County’s Early Childhood Council, said during a working session on Aug. 18.

The group urged commissioners to put the proposal on the ballot instead of collecting signatures due to concerns about COVID-19, Taylor said.

The pandemic has exacerbated the problem of affordable, quality childcare and demonstrated how partnerships between nonprofits, community groups and local governments can ensure resources are distributed fairly, Sullivan said.

More: The demand for childcare increases as parents return to the office. Centers cannot keep up.

Sullivan told commissioners that they need to ensure that “the way we set this up affects the families who need it most”.

Despite informal support from many communities, including Fort Collins City and Loveland City Council officials, the proposal caught a hook with Larimer County’s commissioners and staff, who had concerns about the timing and the precise use of the money, Sullivan said.

Commissioner John Kefalas said during Tuesday’s administrative meeting that “we have worked hard to try to make this work” but “there were some unanswered questions and the decision was made not to continue this voting initiative in 2021”.

Sullivan told the Coloradoan that after discussions with district commissioners and staff, the group decided to withdraw its proposal from commissioners before Tuesday’s meeting.

“We really wanted to rethink and recreate how we did things in the past,” said Sullivan. “The schedule made it so we couldn’t do that.”

County officials have expressed concerns about working with local nonprofits to redistribute the funds. Taylor said in an interview that they were unable to agree with the county on an effective partnership between the county and a community organization, which is what their research – including research on similarly structured programs in Denver and San Miguel Counties – is. proved to be most effective in combating this problem.

County officials also expressed a desire for more time to analyze and discuss the proposal before proceeding, Sullivan said.

Federal funds: For example, PSD is spending $ 20 million from the last round of COVID-19 relief funding

Commissioner Kristin Stephens, who was on the Steering Committee, said she was “deeply disappointed that we have not been able to get to a place to put something to the vote because I think it is urgently needed in our community. I think it is in a crisis situation, I think it has been like that for several years and I don’t think it has been fully addressed. “

Stephens said she is eager to work on other solutions, starting with federal funding from the American Rescue Plan, to address these issues as soon as possible.

“I’m not sure there is a way to fully address this without a dedicated source of funding,” said Stephens.

Sullivan said long-term, sustainable revenues are needed to raise wages and expand programs. Their hope with the proposed VAT hike was to kick off these new programs and initiatives with the help of recovery and other federal funds, and then back them up with the VAT revenue.

“What we could do is just not enough,” she said.

Taylor said the group plans to take some time to think about what went wrong with this proposal and reconnect with leaders and stakeholders in the community to decide what to do next.

“This problem is not going to go away,” she said.

Sady Swanson is involved in public safety, criminal justice, the Larimer County government, and more across northern Colorado. You can send her your story ideas at [email protected] or on Twitter at @sadyswan. Help your work and that of other Colorado journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.