Although filling the lack of childcare services available for infants in the area will be a small gap, the City of Aspen is working with Colorado Mountain College to add a classroom later this year.
Shirley Ritter, head of the city's sales tax-funded "Children First" program, said it will be able to accommodate up to 10 babies and two staff.
The CMC trustee approved the plan at a recent board meeting as part of a partnership established with the city last fall, with the goal of providing early learning laboratories and workforce development programs to address the lack of burden in the valley Affordable childcare issues.
"They gave directions to move on," said Steve Scardron, vice president and dean of the Aspen and Carbondale campuses of Colorado Mountain College. "They think it's a good idea... It's kind of like a living laboratory."
Ritter admitted that considering that only 32 licensed childcare spaces in Pitkin County are available for infants, and that an average of 137 infants are born each year, adding a classroom is very small.
"This is a short-term project designed to meet the urgent needs of baby care," she said, adding that details on how it will run and by whom will still need to be finalized. "We hope to be prepared during the ski season, when people are expected to return to work and be ready to put their children in collective care."
The project will include start-up equipment and materials needed to equip classrooms, as well as financial assistance to families.
It is expected that the initial cost of $50,000 will come from the city’s multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief and recovery fund.
Aspen City Council allocated US$1 million for childcare in April. The funds are used for multiple purposes, one of which is to provide emergency financial assistance to people currently unable to work due to COVID-19.
It applies to people seeking or returning to work, who may not yet be eligible for the Kids First regular financial assistance program.
During the period when people re-enter the labor market, Kids First provides half of the tuition for childcare for two days a week.
Ritter said there was a lot of money available, but only six people applied.
For those who are currently working and need help paying for childcare, the eligibility requirements are far less stringent than the Kids First quarterly financial assistance.
The deadline for applying for regular financial assistance is August 1, and assistance will begin on September 1.
"We don't just send money," Ritter said. "We are supporting families that need childcare."
Elected officials admitted that there is a childcare crisis in Aspen and surrounding areas.
The City of Aspen took the lead in hiring a special project manager to coordinate this work, which now includes Pitkin County, non-profit organizations, and large employers such as the school district, Aspen Ski Company, hospitals, and a few other entities.
All these organizations need professionals as part of their workforce. If working-class families do not have enough childcare services, the local economy and communities will be affected.
"This is a labor and economic issue, but it is also related to providing quality care for our children," Ritter said. "This is a new day, with so much support from the city council and the city government."
During the COVID-19 crisis, the city’s long-term plan is slowly advancing to expand childcare services with CMC and other community partners.
"This is a good time to plan," Ritter said.
She and others are looking for partners and new sources of additional funding, but in view of the pandemic, they are handling it with caution.
She wrote in a memo to the city council: "The world we live in is different now than a few months ago." consider."
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