Pandemic poses challenges for Boulder County child care providers; families struggle in the aftermath

Jan. 3—For the major part of the coronavirus pandemic, Laurelin Duckett's daughters have not been far from her side.

Duckett, a single mom who works full time as a behavior analyst for children on the autism spectrum, used to depend on child care for her 5- and 9-year-old daughters to allow her to focus on her work throughout the day. But the pandemic has made the family's child care situation complicated. Now, whether it's a trip to the bank, grocery store or her office, Duckett's daughters have been in tow.

On Christmas Eve, with the sound of her daughters laughing and playing in the background of their Boulder home, Duckett stepped away for some momentary alone time to explain the challenges that not having day care has presented for her family.

"Since the fall, we've had no child care at all," Duckett said. "I don't feel comfortable having any babysitters at this point, because we've been trying to be pretty isolated. I don't want to bring any exposure into the house. That's been quite challenging, because I've had no breaks."

Though child care centers have remained open throughout the pandemic, Duckett is among the parents who've refrained from enrolling her kids in a care center. At the same time, the child care industry is facing major hurdles due to the coronavirus pandemic.

In Boulder and Weld counties, child care enrollment has experienced significant declines throughout the pandemic. Early Milestones Colorado, a nonprofit that seeks to advance the success of young children through research and policy practice, conducted a statewide summer survey in an effort to measure the impact of the virus on families, care providers and the workforce.

In Boulder County, the nonprofit reported that out of 64 survey responses, enrollment among surveyed providers saw an average decrease of 46.3%. The survey showed child care centers reported a roughly 50% drop in enrollment; family child care home providers experienced about a 30% drop and preschool providers experienced a roughly 54% decline.

In neighboring Weld County, Early Milestones Colorado reported that out of 59 survey responses, surveyed providers saw an average enrollment decrease of nearly 26%. Statewide, the nonprofit reported that enrollment decreased by an average of 37% across surveyed providers.

Nearly half of Colorado households reported losing work income due to the pandemic, according to a Denver Post article. Similarly, nearly half of 7,442 families surveyed across the state reported to Early Milestones Colorado that they had experienced income loss during the crisis. The survey didn't specify if families lost income because of the pandemic or the lack of access to child care. Of the 362 Boulder County families that responded to the survey, roughly 32% who had kids under 5 said they didn't have adequate care for their children .

For child care providers, there have been numerous challenges throughout the pandemic. Early Milestones survey results showed that for child care facilities, the top three factors influencing reopening were budget, public health guidance and COVID-19 rates. The survey didn't specify whether it was referencing COVID-19 infection or case rates.

Daphne, 5, left; and Harper, 5, last names withheld, play with Lego blocks at the TLC Learning Center in Longmont on Dec. 21. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

Matt Eldred is the executive director at TLC Learning Center, a child care facility in Longmont. The child care center has created strategies to limit person-to-person contact, including keeping classroom cohorts separate and following public health guidelines to wear a mask and social distance, which he said applies to everyone 2 and up.

Eldred said keeping families, children and staff safe throughout the pandemic has been a top priority, but one that has come with challenges as public health orders and guidelines have continued to change.

"We know that child care services are an essential service, especially for working families, and yet, if you can't open safely you're not going to be providing any services," Eldred said. "Our most vulnerable families were already having a hard time finding care. That was really magnified during COVID. To be able to have child care centers that are open has really helped those families, especially those who need care: our working families."

Longmont's Bob Norris is among the local advocates who have long been seeking to address the gaps in child care, even before the pandemic. Norris is part of a grassroots Longmont coalition called the Longmont Early Childhood Community Coalition, which formed two years ago out of Norris' home and meets on a monthly basis.

The coalition in June started listening sessions, where parents and businesses could share their concerns.

What he's heard, Norris said, is that parents are worried about their children getting exposed to the virus, as well as finding child care. Without child care accessible to parents, Norris said he's heard people say it will be impossible to restart the economy.

"There's a lot of things about this (pandemic) that makes the shortage of child care really damaging," Norris said.

The state in August announced sustainability grants to child care providers in Colorado. The grants, funded through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, were intended to help child care providers accommodate smaller group sizes, purchase additional safety and cleaning supplies and cover salaries for staff who provide child care, according to the state's website.

Theo, 4, last name withheld, writes a letter to Santa at the TLC Learning Center in Longmont on Dec. 21. (Matthew Jonas/Staff Photographer)

Longmont spokesman Rigo Leal said the city, through a partnership with Boulder and Weld counties and the state, received about $4.3 million of CARES Act funding. Leal said the city provided $705,000 worth of grants to child care providers.

"Supporting child care providers is an integral piece in our economic recovery as a community," Leal wrote in an email. "If providers are stable and operational then parents can work and our community can continue to thrive."

During a Longmont City Council meeting Nov. 17, Eldred spoke out to thank city leaders for allocating funds to help child care centers through the CARES Act. He was joined by a two other child care providers who also expressed their gratitude for the support.

"These funds are really going to help child care centers stay open and to be able to make up some of those shortages in lost revenue," Eldred said.

While state and local aid has saved some businesses, it hasn't been enough for others. In a late November interview, Danielle Butler, executive director for the Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, said 18 child care programs across the county had closed.

The Early Childhood Council of Boulder County is a support system for local, licensed child care programs. Butler also is involved in Longmont's coalition, to represent the council and serve as a resource for child care issues at the local and state level.

"Once the pandemic hit, providers closed, basically," Butler said. "We were down to about 22% of all our just over 300 programs that stayed open consistently countywide in April. The most likely to have stayed open were the small child care homes."

Butler said about 87% of Boulder County child care programs have since been able to reopen.

"It is a resilient sector... but it's been a very hard, difficult, expensive road between March and now," Butler said.

Others, she said, faced staffing shortages, due to reduced occupancy, which also led to a decrease in enrollment. Child care centers also must be prepared to contend with a temporary shutdown if there's a probable or positive coronavirus case among staff or clients, Butler said.

"That flows back to the parents," Butler said. "I know families with children who are back home with them. It interrupts their work schedule, it interrupts everything. There's still a lot of COVID impact on working parents."

It also flows back to the economy.

"It's almost an invisible part of our economy," Butler said. "Child care is so important to local business. How do you (go to work) or run a business when your kids don't have a safe, happy, enriched place to be?"

Duckett said she used to have her daughters attend an afterschool care program, which she said was canceled when schools switched to remote learning. Duckett said she hasn't chosen to enroll her daughters in child care because she worries about potential exposure to the virus.

"It proved to be incredibly difficult when things are open and then closed, open and then closed," she said. "It's actually much easier for me to just say, 'it's closed,' and operate that way. I haven't enrolled them (in child care) and will continue to not enroll them, until there's a significant decrease in COVID numbers."

Duckett said she feels lucky to have a job that has been accommodating with her child care situation. Because her job requires one-on-one interaction, she said most of her work can't be done from home. On days when she can't work remotely, Duckett said she's able to bring her daughters into the office with her.

"I have been very fortunate," Duckett said. "But it isn't ideal for anybody, me, my boss or them, but we're making it work the best we can."

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