Are you a forward-thinking executive who values making a difference as a key component of business success?
Our members are leaders in their fields who are driving lasting change by expanding thought leadership around early child care and education as the foundation to economic growth and societal transformation.
Join this prestigious group of powerful business leaders and support our important work, including:
Child care is one of the biggest concerns working parents have. Available care enhances employee contributions, while advancing early education creates a stronger and more diverse next generation of talent.
Forward-thinking companies foster their success today, and also improve their future financial outlook. Through access to early education, they are developing a talented future workforce, ready to take on the challenges of tomorrow.
EPIC is helping to initiate change and shaping the future of Colorado through action-oriented conversations with business associations, government leaders and other organizations, supporting the creation of family-friendly work environments and increasing access to child care and early education.
Connect with us to learn how to implement new programs at your workplace, and support your employees, and navigate the Federal Tax Credits that may be available to your company.
If you are a committed company that understands that people are the drivers of your economic success, you may want to join us in leaving a legacy of a changed future.
Before a child enters kindergarten, their most critical brain development occurs. When early literacy skills are imparted on children, they become successful readers and grow up to contribute to our communities and the workforce of the future.
Since 2013, EPIC’s Colorado Business Reads, a statewide book drive, has delivered more than 600,000 books to children who don’t have a home library. Books from businesses around the state have been collected and distributed to community programs such as:
Organizations including the Colorado Rockies and The UPS Store have been instrumental in supporting EPIC’s book drives that enable children to develop a love of reading in their most formative years.
By becoming a member you can join EPIC in providing early literacy resources to children in need. Get involved, help Colorado kids and families, and increase employee engagement in your company through volunteer opportunities. You can make a difference! Click here to become a member and learn more about our partnerships with Reach Out and Read Colorado and Book Trust.
ESSENTIAL FOR A THRIVING ECONOMY
Child care is an essential industry and key to building a balanced and thriving economy that meets the needs of Coloradans. A strong, sustainable child care and early education system is an economic imperative. This critical infrastructure keeps businesses thriving, families contributing, and provides a foundation for children’s future success.
The high cost of child care and early learning often keeps parents out of the workforce.
Colorado has the 8th highest cost of child care in the country. The cost of full-time infant care averages near $1,300 per month in Colorado and can easily surpass $2,000 per month for infant care in areas like Denver. A family earning the state median income of roughly $73,000 per year would spend almost 40% of their income on child care for an infant and a 4-year-old.
Shortages in early education professionals and child care slots jeopardize employee retention.
Since 2011, Colorado has lost nearly one-third of the licensed infant child care slots. In addition, hundreds of in-home child care providers have closed across the state. These providers offer the most infant and toddler care, extended hours, and evening or weekend care. At the same time, the early childhood teachers caring for children are making an average wage of $26,000 per year and are unable to support their own families.
A STRESSED BUSINESS MODEL RIPE FOR INNOVATION
The child care cost structure, coupled with communities where families cannot afford to pay high market rates, makes it difficult to build and sustain a child care program from the onset. Increasing early childhood revenue streams, while reducing expenses for child care businesses would provide relief to the industry. Over the next two years, EPIC proposes to bring business leaders from real estate development, homebuilding, finance, construction and other industries together to create innovative solutions that address Colorado’s critical child care infrastructure needs.
Learn more how you can help us change the child care business equation and our phased approach to improving access and affordability to high quality child care and early learning experiences.
The Building Up Initiative will create innovative solutions to improve access to affordable, high-quality early learning for children and the ability for families to work. Click here to share our one pager with your network.
Interested in learning more about Building Up and joining as a subject matter expert? Click Here
It’s no secret that the pandemic has brought the importance of quality, affordable child care for the workforce to the forefront of the conversation. In politics, business, education, and the lives of millions of families this is a topic of hardship that has been building pressure for a long time in Colorado and across the nation. In a recent article in the Colorado Sun, The Colorado Children’s Campaign estimated that about 64% of Colorado families had to alter their child care plans and lives due to the pandemic (Julig, 2021).
Employers have been hit hard by this deficit, as employees from entry to executive level are leaving the workforce and struggling to return. Employers and entities across the state are taking action to help relieve the pressure on working families, through the development of on or near-site child care programs and other creative family benefits that aim to offer both access, flexibility, and affordability for their employees, while building critical child care supply in their region.
To continue guiding this incredible effort to success, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) has partnered with EPIC to bring back the Employer-Based Child Care Design Lab, a unique opportunity for employers to gain the knowledge necessary to plan an on-site or near-site child care facility through direct support and community partnerships while developing a competitive grant application for up to $800,000 in state funding for their projects. The Design Lab will launch in April 2023 through August 2023 and will consist of virtual meetings, networking opportunities and project technical assistance for participants.
LEARN MORE ABOUT DESIGN LAB 2.0
Community Hospital Utilized Design Lab to Address the Child Care Needs of Their Staff
A lack of accessible and affordable childcare was identified as a community need in Mesa County. As a result, Community Hospital took action and recently broke ground on “Adventure Academy,” a new, onsite early child care and early education facility.
Learn how Steamboat Ski Resort used Design Lab to help Solve Their Child Care Challenge
In December, Steamboat Ski and Resort opened their new employer-based child care facility. Listen to our podcast below on how they “got over their skis” to tackle the problem of a lack of child care with collaboration from EPIC’s Design Lab.
Please send all related questions to employerdesignlab@coloradoepic.org
The Growing Strain on the Child Care Business Model
/in News & Media /by Colorado EPIC