There is a strong pro-business case for supporting child care

Finding employees is one of the top problems local businesses have when it comes to thriving in Grand County. The labor shortage is an issue businesses wrestle with daily, right along with the high cost of housing and real estate.

And yet, surprisingly, there’s a potential solution to this problem of finding employees. This solution is in the realm of childcare and the fact that we don’t have enough childcare in Grand County and the child care we do have is awfully expensive.

Enter Katy Hale, the director of Grand Beginnings in Grand County. She makes an excellent argument for the need for more and better-funded childcare. She calls it “The Business Case for Child Care Support.” It’s an interesting case statement that she makes. And it makes sense, which became obvious at the Northwest Colorado Council of Governments Economic Summit three weeks ago in Silverthorne. She opened some eyes.

She says that by adding childcare and lowering its cost in Grand County we can put, by my estimates, 70-80 more able-bodied adults into the workforce. These are adults who live here already and who have a vested interest in making our communities thrive. In other words, potentially good employees. These are mothers (and perhaps some fathers) who currently can’t go to work because they need to stay home due to limited child care or can’t afford child care.

Think about it. It’s a win-win situation. Fix the child-care problem in Grand County and at the same time fix the labor force problem.

But there is a catch. There are several reasons there is a waiting list of 250 unduplicated children waiting for child care in the county. First, it costs a lot of money to put a child in day care. Believe me, I know, having put three kids through the local child care system in Grand County.

Second, there simply aren’t enough licensed child care providers in the county. This is because it costs a great amount of money to operate a child care center that conforms with all the state regulations. On top of that, it simply costs a ton of money to buy or lease the building or property for such a center. As well, people working in this field of early child care education don’t make much money.

And please don’t think I’m just some talking head railing on about yet another serious social issue. I helped to start the Granby Play Days Preschool years ago and served as president on its board of directors. I have also worked with several preschools and day cares in the county in my work here as an enterprise facilitator.

Everything Katy says is so true and so worrying because this child care problem has the potential to break our society, both locally and nationally. Something needs to be done.

And I haven’t even mentioned the proven importance of early childhood education and care for the best development of our children into productive, happy adults. And yet, the need for increased child-care support seemingly goes unrecognized and under-appreciated.

Interestingly, the voters have approved a measure that allows a portion of lodging tax revenues collected by the county to go toward improved and expanded child care in Grand County.

But the amount of money that child-care advocates might be able to glean from this new and appreciated source of funds won’t be enough. In my opinion, America, Colorado and Grand County (all of us) need to face the fact that we are failing as a society when it comes to early child-care, even with this probable added funding for that issue from lodging taxes. Starting local is a great place to start, however.

We expect both mothers and fathers to work to have a sufficient income to pay a mortgage or rent and food and transportation, not to mention health insurance; and yet it’s darn near impossible for all deserving families to pay for good child care.

Figures from Katy Hale suggest that somewhere between 60 and 90 percent of families would choose to put their children in licensed care if it was affordable, high-quality and at an accessible location. Not all children should be in licensed care, Hale notes, but for many, that is the best option.

As a nation and a society, we should be investing much more in a reliable and consistent early child care system. That’s what many other advanced nations do. We could do the same. But it will cost.

And it will pay too, by putting able-bodied Americans back in the workforce to address this labor shortage that is slowly but surely crippling our ability to business in Grand County and the United States.

Patrick Brower is the Enterprise Facilitator for the Grand Enterprise Initiative. He offers free and confidential business management coaching to anyone who wants to start or expand a business in Grand County. He is also the author of “KILLDOZER: The True Story of the Colorado Bulldozer Rampage.” He can be reached by calling 970-531-0632 or at patrickbrower@kapoks.org.