Your Stories

I was working at a daycare when I had my son. I went back when he was 8 weeks old and worked for about 6 months until we were literally drowning financially because we were paying for my son to go to the same daycare that I worked at. My partner was working full time as well. And as an employee I was receiving a "discount" for the weekly tuition. By the time my son was 8 months old I had to ...

My name is Brian Blasnick. I’m the owner of NIAX Colorado Springs, which is a revenue-sharing networking group here in town. The biggest reason I own my own company is because it allows me flexibility with my childcare situation. For about 20 years, I was a chef —an executive chef — in Colorado Springs. I worked at a ton of different places: Trinity, The Broadmoor, Blue Star. The last ...

People can’t afford to have kids. My daughter said, "We really want another one, but I don’t know that it’s doable." And it’s heartbreaking. I would love to say "We have everything paid off. I can retire and take care of my grandchildren." I would love nothing more. My mom didn’t work when my nieces and nephews were born, so she took care of them. I would love nothing more than to take care ...

My daughter is now in the 4th grade, but when she was little she attended preschool through CPCD Head Start. Having my preschooler attend this program allowed me to go back to school, participate in the Family Development Credential program that is offered to parents, and eventually lead me to my current position, working as a Family Advocate for CPCD. Access to affordable child care is ...

My son, who started attending school on December 2, 2025, has only been in school twice because he has been constantly sick. I was informed about the school’s services and am eager to utilize them for my son, but I haven’t had the chance to do so yet.

Not having childcare really impacts the quality of life I want to give to my kids. Without childcare I can’t help support the family, nor can I try to achieve long standing goals like going back to school to pursue a higher education. And by not being able to achieve the goals I can’t better my life or my kids life. 

I am so grateful for CPCD for opening schooling for toddlers. My toddler is 3 going on 4, and she is thriving with CPCD; she's reading, she knows how to write her name, she knows her ABCs and her colors. My 3-year-old didn't know anything until she started attending CPCD. It's an awesome feeling to see your child thriving and do an amazing things on his or her own. I am so grateful that my ...

This family has been part of CPCD since 2023. They are an immigrant family who came to this country with one goal in mind to give their children a better life. Since arriving, they have faced constant financial challenges. They have lived in shelters and in subsidized housing, only to be forced to leave when they fell behind on rent. Stability has been hard to find.Throughout these years, ...

I live just south of Colorado Springs in an area called Security-Widefield in unincorporated El Paso county. We are very near Fort Carson but are non-service members/non-veterans. I had a premature baby in April of 2025. He was 10 weeks early and we had not yet gotten on any childcare waitlists yet though we knew we wee behind. I started having high risk issues and was struggling to go to ...

Childcare has helped me tremendously, Although at first, it was a little difficult because I didn’t know about the CPCD And trying to find childcare was hard I was missing a lot of work. Being able to go to work and not have to worry about finding someone to be with my young children has made it easier and having a peace of mind to know they are being properly cared for and not only that ...

We received our daughter in foster care when she was 6 weeks old and didn't have great options for childcare since we didn't know how long she would be with us and my spouse and I had to maintain our work schedules. I reached out to many different childcare providers (and were on waitlists for many), but after 10 months a friend told us about Early Head Start. They were so helpful and were ...

Due to childcare expenses, my family has had to rely on one parent staying home. Even when options for head start became available, the hours or days did not align with regular schedule hours of work. Therefore, I have been unable to pursue my own career goals until all of my children were in school. Even then, because after school is expensive, I have only been able to attend school myself. ...

Childcare has determined whether I could work at all, because I’ve spent long stretches without reliable care and had to miss work or adjust my hours. Not having consistent childcare made pursuing education harder too, since classes and homework had to be squeezed in at night or during naps. It also limited simple things like errands, appointments, and connecting with people in the ...

Everything is so interconnected. If you don't have a safe place to make sure your child is going when you're not with them, then how are you supposed to sustain long-term work? It’s the cycle of poverty. Families have to have safe places for their kids to go. If it's a choice between spending $560 per month or leaving a kid home alone for three hours, parents think, “Well, it’s just three ...