Delta/Montrose/Ouray/San Miguel Counties Coalition Presents First of Four Pre-Licensing Courses Nov. 7 at Montrose Regional Library

TELLURIDE – In San Miguel County, the first person to hear about a new pregnancy is often the director of one of the region’s licensed daycare facilities. It’s no secret that if working parents want to stand a chance at getting their child into daycare, they must elbow onto a facility’s waitlist well before that child is even born.

Families in parts of Delta County are also feeling the daycare squeeze, with parents in places like Paonia or Eckert finding their only viable options for childcare as far away as Delta.

“That would be like living and working in Telluride, but driving your child to Norwood every day for care,” says Bright Futures for Early Childhood and Families Program Manager Jill Burchmore.

Burchmore and Bright Futures Executive Director Cathy James are on the frontlines of the regional childcare crisis. They say the biggest setback to getting more local kids into daycare, and thus getting more local parents into the workforce, is the simple lack of licensed daycare centers in the region. Bright Futures is hoping to buoy that shortage by providing a childcare pre-licensing course that would encourage the establishment of more licensed childcare providers.

“This pre-licensing class will offer opportunity to people who may want to get licensed and care for children in their own homes,” says James.

Expanding alternatives within the local childcare pool by encouraging parents to offer in-home childcare will, they hope, offer a viable daycare option for more working families. And the opportunity to become a licensed childcare provider serves double duty, by getting more parents back into the local workforce.

“We are seeing parents who need to work, but cannot find childcare, so they are looking at this option. It allows them to stay at home with their own child and contribute to the local economy by earning their own income and allowing another parent to work elsewhere,” James explains.

The upcoming course, to be held Nov. 7 and Dec. 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., is one of four courses held annually by Bright Futures. According to the organization, there are approximately 250 families with children under the age of five in the region who currently have no childcare options. San Miguel County has 14 daycare centers and two licensed home providers that serve approximately 330 children. That is compared to Montrose’s 17 centers and 52 home providers and Delta’s 11 centers and 23 home providers, which combined serve approximately 1,600 children.

According to Burchmore, becoming a licensed childcare provider opens doors such as qualifying a provider to apply for early education grant funding and allowing them to benefit from Bright Futures’ referral service for new in-home providers.

But the main advantage to attaining licensure is the legal protection it brings. “To be licensed is to be legal,” explains James. “When you’re watching someone else’s kids, you want to have that legal protection.”

Bright Futures’ upcoming 15-hour course, which will be held at the Montrose Regional Library over two Saturdays, will provide the necessary education for pre-licensure; qualified instructors will also help guide course graduates through the subsequent steps to become fully licensed.

Bright Futures for Early Childhood and Families is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization supporting children birth to age five by providing quality child care and education, health, mental health and family services. As one of 31 Early Childhood Councils in the state of Colorado appointed by Governor Bill Ritter, the Bright Futures Regional Early Childhood Council is a coalition made up of the four counties of San Miguel, Ouray, Montrose and Delta, dedicated to providing leadership, innovation, influence, and resources to ensure the region has a high quality early childhood system.

For more information or to register, call toll free at 877/728-5613 or locally at 728-5613. www.brightfuturesforchildren.org.