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In some Colorado counties, the price of baby care is equal to greater than half every week’s wage at a minimal wage job, which leaves little cash to pay for different bills.
That’s one of many findings in a brand new report on licensed baby care from the Frequent Sense Institute, a Colorado analysis group. General, the report reiterates what many dad and mom know intuitively: Youngster care is pricey and arduous to seek out. However it additionally digs into county-by-county variations that spotlight how the kid care panorama differs by neighborhood.
One factor the report doesn’t account for is household, pal, and neighbor care, which is casual baby care supplied by a baby’s kin or others. The state doesn’t license such suppliers or monitor their prevalence, however they’re those who typically fill the hole when state-licensed care is in brief provide or out of attain financially.
Listed here are three takeaways from the report:
Youngster care takes an enormous chew out of household revenue
In Colorado’s 10 largest counties, households are spending 18% to 25% of their month-to-month revenue on baby care — far above the 7% affordability benchmark set by the federal authorities. It’s the worst in Weld County, the place baby care prices eat about $1,400 a month on common. That’s 25% of $5,600, the common month-to-month family revenue.
Households have it a bit higher in Denver. There, baby care prices practically $1,600 a month per baby on common, 18% of the month-to-month family revenue of practically $8,600. Households in Arapahoe and Pueblo counties spend an analogous share of their revenue on baby care as these in Denver.
In populous counties, baby care provide is greatest in Boulder, worst in Pueblo
Boulder County has 0.63 baby care seats per baby below 6 — extra seats relative to the variety of younger kids than Colorado’s different 9 most populous counties. Jefferson and Douglas counties are shut behind.
Lowest on the 10-county record is Pueblo, which has 0.29 seats per baby below 6. Youngster care provide is even worse in a few of Colorado’s least populous counties, together with Elbert, Huerfano, Lake and Las Animas.
4 Colorado counties have sufficient slots for younger kids — technically
4 Colorado counties within the southwestern nook of the state have sufficient licensed baby care seats to serve each baby below 6 inside their borders. The biggest of them is La Plata, the place Durango is the county seat. The county has about 400 kids below age 6 and about 1,200 baby care slots — although the report doesn’t account for youngsters who could come to La Plata from close by counties for baby care.
The opposite three counties with one of the best baby care provide relative to their baby populations are all sparsely populated. They embrace San Juan, Mineral, and Hinsdale counties.
Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat, overlaying early childhood points and early literacy. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
