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DENVER – The Colorado Chamber Foundation, Gary Community Ventures and Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC) today announced the launch of the Child Care Access Alliance, a new partnership aimed at improving the affordability and availability of child care across Colorado.
As part of this partnership, the alliance also announced the selection of seven local chambers of commerce to receive $140,000 in grant funding to understand and address local child care challenges in regions across the state. In working with these local partners, the alliance will provide technical assistance to these grant recipients as they understand local needs and identify solutions that will work for their employees and communities.
“This alliance is an important step forward in advancing the Chamber’s 10-year strategic action plan to foster long-term economic growth and resiliency throughout Colorado,” said Rachel Beck, executive director of the Colorado Chamber Foundation. “Child care is a critical workforce issue. When parents struggle to find reliable and affordable care, it disrupts their ability to work and creates real challenges for employers, from higher turnover to reduced productivity and hiring shortages. By working together to expand access, we can support working families, strengthen early childhood development and build a stronger talent pipeline for Colorado.”
“We’re excited to partner with chambers across Colorado and lift up their leadership in driving solutions to child care challenges,” said Steffanie Clothier, director of school readiness with Gary Community Ventures. “This work will spark innovation at the local level and help shape what’s possible across the state.”
“Colorado’s child care challenges affect families, employers and the state’s economy, which is why business leadership is so important to advancing solutions,” said Alethea Gomez, Colorado executive director of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC). “The Child Care Access Alliance is an opportunity to work alongside chambers and regional partners across Colorado to better understand local needs, elevate actionable and scalable strategies, and build momentum for practical solutions that help children, families and employers thrive.”
The following local chambers of commerce have been selected to receive grants through the Child Care Access Alliance after a thorough application and review process:
- Adams County Regional Economic Partnership
- Aurora Chamber of Commerce
- Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC
- Grand Junction Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Arvada Chamber of Commerce
- Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce
- Greeley Chamber of Commerce
The alliance’s first initiative will focus on expanding business leadership on child care issues by supporting the selected chambers of commerce and their partners across key regions of Colorado as they work to better understand and address local child care challenges.
Participating chambers and their partners will:
- Build knowledge about local child care challenges through employer surveys, interviews and gatherings;
- Assess the local business impacts of insufficient affordable child care; and
- Identify promising employer, local and statewide strategies to address these challenges.
The Colorado Springs Chamber, Greater Arvada Chamber and Grand Junction Chamber have already engaged in these early steps and will be using the grant dollars to expand their existing efforts, including piloting employer-led solutions.
Insights from these regional assessments will inform a comprehensive statewide report, offering a clear picture of Colorado’s child care challenges and proposed solutions. The chamber grantees work is expected to conclude by the spring of 2027, with the statewide report to follow.
Affordable and accessible child care is essential to Colorado’s economic competitiveness. The Colorado Chamber Foundation’s Vision 2033 identifies workforce shortages as one of the state’s most urgent challenges, with employers across industries citing the high cost and limited availability of child care as a major barrier to attracting and retaining talent.
Colorado’s child care challenges have broad-reaching impacts. The state ranks among the most expensive in the nation for care, with the average annual cost of child care being $20,978 for an infant and $17,479 for a toddler. At the same time, Colorado faces a critical shortage of licensed child care seats, with more than half of the state considered a child care desert. Altogether, the lack of affordable and accessible child care results in an estimated $2.7 billion loss to Colorado’s economy each year.
Learn more about the Child Care Access Alliance here: https://cochamber.com/alliances/child-care-access-alliance/
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The Colorado Chamber Foundation is a non-profit educational foundation whose purpose is to support programs, research, educational opportunities and other initiatives that encourage and enhance a healthy business climate. The organization works collaboratively in partnership with state business leaders to advance Colorado’s economy and local communities through forward-thinking solutions.
Gary Community Ventures is an impermanent philanthropic organization committed to using all of its resources by 2035 to transform systems and build wealth for Colorado kids and families. We use all of our tools – catalytic grantmaking, impact movements, policy and advocacy, and new ventures – to tackle complex challenges and create longer-lasting impact than any single approach could achieve alone. We partner with leaders across early childhood, education and workforce development, housing, and benefits to ensure systems work best for the kids and families they serve and invest in opportunities to help families build wealth and own assets that grow in value over time.
Executives Partnering to Invest in Children (EPIC) is a nonprofit organization founded by business leaders to strengthen today’s workforce while investing in the workforce of tomorrow. EPIC works with the business community to champion early childhood policies, implement workplace strategies, and develop community-driven solutions that expand access to quality, affordable child care and early education. Learn more at EPICImpact.org.