Raise Colorado Senate Bill 63 Discussion

Join the Raise Colorado coalition for a discussion of Senate Bill 19-063 (SB 63), the Infant and Family Child Care Action Plan. The meeting will include a presentation of the SB 63 process by Kristen Lang of the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) and a facilitated discussion of the barriers and solutions to Colorado's infant and family child care shortage. Coffee and light breakfast will be available starting at 8:30 am, the meeting will start promptly at 9:00 am in the PCL Room at Mile High United Way, 711 Park Avenue West. (Due to the collaborative nature of this meeting, we highly recommend attending in person. If this is not possible for you, we will also have a zoom option available.)

If you'd rather participate in a Senate Bill 63 discussion outside of regular business hours, we are hosting an identical event on Saturday, July 27 at Bear Valley Church, 10001 W. Jewell Ave. Visit bit.ly/satsb63meeting for more information and to RSVP.

By passing SB 63, the Colorado General Assembly (state legislature) charged the OEC and the Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) with developing a strategic action plan to address Colorado's loss of infant and family child care. The state legislature passed the bill based on their findings that: Family child care homes provide an essential element of the child care network in both urban and rural areas of the state; In certain counties, there are no child care centers, making family child care homes the only option working families have for licensed child care; Eighty-nine percent of child care businesses in the nation are owned by women, making the viability of child care businesses an important component of the state's economic success; Many parents prefer family child care homes, where children experience a home-like environment conducive to healthy and safe development; The state has a shortage of licensed, safe, and affordable child care options, and there is a growing need for child care facilities due to the increase in working parents; Since 2010, the state has experienced a decline of 1,582 family child care homes, at an average of approximately 200 family child care homes closing each year; and because infant child care is more often provided in family child care homes than in child care centers, the decline of family child care homes has resulted in over 7,300 fewer infant slots in the state in 2018 than in 2010.

Join us to learn more about the SB 63 process and to share barriers and solutions to the loss of infant and family child care with the OEC and ECLC. Questions about the event? Contact Kayla Frawley at kfrawley@claytonearlylearning.org.