Colorado Works When Child Care Works
Child Care Works is a nonpartisan, community-centered movement dedicated to bringing attention to Colorado’s child care crisis and building support for common-sense solutions.
Child Care News
We’re gathering journalism, films, works of art, and first-person stories from across Colorado to make the child care conversation easier to follow.
Guess How Much Money My Child Care Business Lost in 2025?
In 2025, Founder & CEO of Westwood Academy RB Fast explains, the CCAP funding freeze was the straw that broke the camel’s back of her small business — and the working families it serves. In 2026, she worries we could see the collapse of Colorado’s child care system as we know it, and the cascading impacts that could set off. She calls for more dedicated solutions for an industry that is vital for the health of our state.
How a Federal Child Care Funding Freeze Would Impact Pagosa Springs
As one Pagosa Springs resident put it “kudos to Randi Pierce and the Pagosa Sun for this story on how the freeze will impact our local economy and the well being of our local families and their children — not to mention the local businesses who depend on employees who parent.”
Grandparents are Reaching their Limit
Elena and her husband had plans for their retirement. They wanted to move to Wyoming; to meet new people, volunteer, hike the snowy, perfect Tetons. And they did move there — for about eight months. Then they got a call from their daughter, who was due to have a baby within weeks. Retirement dreams were put on hold, and as author Faith Hill explores, this is a story playing out in many communities across the nation.
Data & Research
We’re also gathering the latest data and research from across the country to highlight learnings from the child care sector as well as potential solutions to our child care issues being piloted in Colorado and beyond.
Colorado Child Care Narrative Survey
Only 8% of Coloradans rank child care among the state’s top three issues, and 73% haven’t seen any recent messaging about it — leaving just 45% feeling personally impacted by the issues this system is facing. But there’s a clear opportunity: Mentioning anything about the importance of child care or the issues facing the system raises that sense of personal impact from 45% to 67%. These findings come from the 2026 Colorado child care narrative survey by Corona Insights. They survey also highlights how to better engage 9 key audiences often left out of child care conversations.
Community Partners
Child Care Works is a community-centered movement of Colorado small businesses, journalists, rural leaders, military advocates, filmmakers, artists, and everyday Coloradans, all united in seeking common sense solutions to our child care crisis. There is room for all in this movement, and we invite you to join us.
Homefront Productions
Whether they’re highlighting rural towns in Nebraska finding ways to solve tough problems in a divided era or following cancer patients to offer insights on how we might improve an increasingly impersonal healthcare system, Homefront Productions is new, independent media organization working to tell the stories that matter most to U.S. families.
Operation Child Care Project
Founded by military families, Operation Child Care Project is a nationwide nonprofit led by military advocates working to close the child care gap for veterans and service members – many of whom say lack of access to affordable child care is the number one reason they consider leaving active duty.
Family Friendly Initiative
The Family Friendly Initiative (FFI) was born out of the work of 110 Summit delegates representing business, education, faith-based, government, health and human services, media, military, nonprofit, and childcare sectors in and around El Paso County. It’s providing a launch pad for community engagement to improve child care in the Pikes Peak Region.
Your Stories
Stories from Coloradans about how child care affects their lives.
Grace, first time parent
Stacey Burns
Polly Doering, Mom and Provider
Rachel, parent of two
Share Your Story!
How has child care affected you? Share your story and help make a difference.