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Why Families Need More Support
Families cannot thrive if economic security must compete with access to high-quality childcare.
Parents cannot thrive if their communities do not provide the support and resources necessary not only for survival, but for long-term wellbeing.
The Current Reality in Colorado
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment invites a representative sample of parents who give birth in Colorado to participate in the “Baby and You” survey, which collects data at various points throughout the baby’s first three years of life. Surveys are administered when the child is 3–4 months old, 12 months old, 2 years old, and 3 years old. The most recent report analyzed data from babies born in 2023 and includes questions about childcare.
This survey revealed that more than half of Colorado parents of 12-month-olds had no regular or routine childcare arrangement.
Amongst parents who did have some sort of childcare, 73% identified cost as the most common barrier to having their preferred childcare arrangement. “Preferred” could mean having a child in a daycare center that’s safer or closer to a parent’s workplace or home-based care for a child with health issues.
Why Childcare Affects Everyone
Every parent deserves to have childcare that benefits their families and our communities.
These are the people raising the next generation of teachers, students, doctors, lawyers, community advocates, and on and on. They hold our future in their hands.
And one thing we know is that when parents are supported by their communities (when the “village” truly shows up and exists), everyone benefits.
Those with children, those WITHOUT children, the entire community.
Why the Childcare Collective Exists
​In the United States in 2026, the “village” is a fantasy. For many, it’s only a dream. It doesn’t exist. And we can NO longer wait for a politician, a “guru,” an “influencer,” an “expert” or anyone else to fix it.
WE have to fix it.
WE have to build it.
WE ARE the experts. We live this every day. We’re existing without a village.
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And we want to change that.