Childcare crisis

By Dyana Z. Furmansky Sopris Sun Correspondent

Aft er receiving their joyful news, parents expecting their fi rst baby are initiated into another fact of life: there’s a waitlist at every licensed early childcare center between Parachute and Aspen. “People hear through the grapevine that the moment they know they are pregnant they must get on a waitlist,” says Kelly Beal, coowner of Honey Tree Childcare, a licensed facility in Carbondale. At Honey Tree, Beal says 53 families have signed up for nine openings that will become available in June, for the care of infants between the ages of about six weeks and 12 months. She says that while the Honey Tree list is verifi ed, duplicate applications make most waitlists inaccurate. “Everyone gets on all the lists they can.”

At Blue Lake Preschool, with locations in Carbondale and El Jebel, the number of applicants is 541, says Executive Director Michelle Oger. Factoring in multiple sign-ups, she estimates that the real number of applicants is about half. Even this, she says, “is crazy.” One mother who declined to be identifi ed says her newborn was number 43 on the waitlist at the only childcare center in her area. Now two years old, the toddler is number 38. Siblings of children already in a program have priority, says the mother, who works at home part-time while her husband works full-time. “We are not on vacation. It feels like nobody is doing anything for the families who live here all year,” she says.

Usually, it’s new moms — rather than new dads — who adjust their careers. “I had to ask, did it make sense for me to stay in teaching, or to fi nd a way to make money from home?” says Rachel Perkins, who loved teaching for the Aspen School District. Her salary made the $1,500 month fee for infant care diffi cult to aff ord. Perkins now works part-time for a sport journalism website. Th rough her husband’s job they receive housing.

Even parents who secure a spot in an early childcare program and keep their careers on track know the anxiety of the waitlist. “It’s really scary,” says Sara Nadolny, a Basalt town planner who returned to work fulltime 10 weeks aft er her daughter was born. Nadolny works with the Basalt Early Childhood Coalition, established in 2006, to increase infant and toddler care capacity. Last month the town of Basalt signed an agreement with Blue Lake Preschool to open its third infant and toddler care facility in Willits. Planning for the center is in the initial stages.

Many families endure long commutes once they secure infant care. From the time her daughter was 10 weeks old until she was one, Valley Settlement Development Director Sally Boughton drove fi ve days a week from the family’s home in New Castle to the El Jebel childcare center, to the organization’s offi ce in Glenwood Springs, then back to El Jebel to pick up her daughter before returning home.

Ironically, one of Valley Settlement’s missions is to increase early childhood care and education for Latino families living between Parachute and Aspen. About 1% of Latino families enroll their children in licensed preschools, according to Valley Settlement.

To address the gap in early education in the Spanish-speaking community, the organization off ers a mobile preschool. It also provides infant care coaching for 32 Spanishspeaking, at-home providers. Th ough they don’t have to be licensed, such family, friends and neighbors, or “FFNs,” are indispensable, says Kenia Pinela, a peer support manager. Some FFNs take infants as young as four weeks old. Providers earn between $20 and $40 per child per day, which can begin at 5 a.m. and go into the evening. “It’s heartbreaking for our families when both parents have to work two jobs each and commute long distances,” says Boughton.

Shirley Ritter, who heads Aspen’s Kids First children’s resource center, says the town needs more FFNs in addition to more licensed centers. “Th e state off ers a $5,000 incentive for a private home to get licensed, but I don’t think anyone who lives on Red Mountain is going to go for the money to open a childcare facility,” she says.

Ritter shuns words like “daycare center” and “babysitter.” Instead she talks about the need for “classrooms” and “teachers,” because quality infant care includes education, in addition to being a safe place for a baby to eat and sleep. “Th at’s why infant care is so expensive,” Ritter says. “Infant classrooms require one trained teacher for every three babies.” She says it takes a year for teachers to get the training to understand how rapidly an infant brain develops and what learning opportunities to off er.”

Limited paid leave and infl exible employers pose other obstacles for working families. One mother who declined to be identifi ed said she took off three weeks of unpaid leave aft er her second child was born; her husband had six weeks of paid leave. She returned to work as her employer required, but the mental pressure was unbearable.

“I came to a breaking point,” she says. “I couldn’t give my employer what she demanded, and I couldn’t give my children what they needed. We decided I had to quit my job, get healthy and stay home with our kids.” Money is tight. “We hope nothing goes wrong with our car.” And they pay $850 a month for their older child to attend a center a few days each week, so they don’t end up at the bottom of the waitlist, when the mother returns to work.

El Busesito is a service offered by Valley Settlement. This retrofitted mobile bus travels from neighborhood to neighborhood, bringing free, bilingual preschool education to children up and down the Roaring Fork Valley. Photo by Emily Chaplin

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ROOTS OF MINDFULNESS

Unpack the 2,600 year-old roots of the modern mindfulness movement.

Tuesday mornings 3/29-5/3

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No WALKINS Por favor. Llame para citas LEGAL CLINIC

Basalt Library hosts volunteer attorneys to assist with legal matters one-on-one from 2 to 5 p.m. Sign up for a 15-minute slot by calling 970-927-4311 or by emailing info@basaltlibrary.org

ASPEN SCIENCE CENTER

Learn about the mysteries of color and light at the Basalt Library from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. All ages are welcome to drop-in for free.

LIBRARY CHAT

Basalt Library Executive Director Amy Shipley invites the public to join her for a library update, with wine, tea and treats, from 6 to 7 p.m. FRIDAY, MARCH 11

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SILVER BALL

The Glenwood Recreation Center holds a Masked Silver Ball from 6 to 8 p.m. Register in advance at www.glenwoodrec. com or by calling 970-384-6301

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CRYSTAL THEATRE

“Death on the Nile” shows on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. “Parallel Mothers” also shows on Saturday at 5 p.m. “Licorice Pizza” is screened on Sunday at 5 p.m. and Monday at 7:30 p.m.

IMPROV TROUPE

Thunder River Theatre Company’s Consensual Improv performs at 8 p.m. Tickets are at www.thunderrivertheatre.com

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DEATH CAFE

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FREE PHYSICS LECTURE

Garth Illingworth of the University of California Santa Cruz discusses the James Webb Space Telescope mission at the Wheeler Opera House beginning at 5:30 p.m. For more info, visit www. aspenphys.org

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WILD & SCENIC FILM

ACES hosts night two of its Wild and Scenic Film Festival with films pertaining to the theme “our food future.” Proceeds benefit ACES’ Tomorrow’s Voices program, which teaches Roaring Fork Valley teens the ins and outs of environmental leadership. For tickets and more info, visit www.tacaw.org THURSDAY, MARCH 17

CELTIC TUNES

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ECSTATIC DANCE

Thirteen Moons Ranch hosts a spring equinox ecstatic dance and cacao ceremony beginning at 5:45 p.m. Registration is not necessary; guests are asked to bring a mug, journal and pen. SUNDAY, MARCH 20