DENVER – Ending the cycle of poverty for Colorado’s children needs to go beyond providing quality education and other kids’ programs, according to a new report.
The report released Wednesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation says it’s equally important to provide parents with access to job training, affordable housing and child care.
Sarah Hughes, research director for the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said the report validates what her organization sees every day.
“Kids really don’t live or grow up in a vacuum,” she said, “and in order for kids to succeed – yes, of course we have to invest in the things that support them, but we also have to invest in supports for their parents.”
Hughes called Colorado’s recent reforms to the child care subsidy program “one step in the right direction” when it comes to supporting families.
Colorado is doing better than the national average in most areas analyzed in the report, but in about 1 in 5 low-income families, no parent is a high school graduate. When parents can succeed, said Patrice Cornwell, director of strategic initiatives for the Casey Foundation, they’re better equipped to help their children.
Bill Jaeger, vice president for early-childhood initiatives for the Colorado Children’s Campaign, said a problem specific to Colorado is the availability of licensed child care. Three of the state’s counties have no licensed facilities, and 20 have no licensed child-care center.
“Child-care providers are, despite the high cost of child care, kind of just squeaking by more often than not,” he said. “So I think some strategies to help us think about how we treat them as the small businesses that they are, and also incentivize the opening of those, to kind of help build markets that will then become self-sustaining.”
In addition to child care availability, affordable housing is another issue in the state. According to the report, more than two-thirds of Colorado’s low-income families with young children spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.
The report, “Creating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach,” is online at AECF.org.
