The Talent 2.0 Workforce Strategy, released last February, identifies common concerns for employers that become significant barriers to the recruitment and retention of talent. One of those barriers identified was a lack of child care options in Larimer County.
The early childhood community has long been aware of the increasing shortage of child care options in Larimer County and how that affects employers in all industries across Larimer County, as parents cannot work when they do not have safe and stable care for their children.
A collaboration of Be Ready, Directing Change and the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County wrote a white paper, A Workforce Strategy and Major Economic Driver: Child Care in Larimer County to provide a brief overview of child care challenges for employers and families in Larimer County. The issues are complex, and solutions will require the joint effort of businesses, governmental agencies, educational institutions, and the early childhood sector.
The white paper examines the cost of child care, the community capacity for child care and the “failed market” of child care. The white paper identifies a gap of more than 3,000 children between licensed child care capacity in Larimer County and the child care need.
The child care collaboration proposed, and Talent 2.0 supported, joining forces with business and economic development leaders, forming an official task force of the Talent 2.0 Strategy to pursue solutions for Larimer County. The short-term task force will include representatives of the child care community as well as the business community and will work together to better understand this workforce barrier while evaluating possible solutions. Talent 2.0 is calling for interested business leaders to contact Ann Hutchison ([email protected]) at the Fort Collins Area Chamber of Commerce to join the newly formed task force.