To join us
We need your help improving childcare in Lake County! Please reach out to Carlye Sayler at carlye@lcbag.org for more information about Coalition meetings and other ways to get involved.
The Childcare Coalition brings together Lake County community leaders, families, and providers to improve early care and education as essential economic and social infrastructure. Through collaboration and strategic investment planning, the coalition aims to align resources, advance solutions, and build a sustainable childcare system that supports children, families, and the local economy.
Coalition Background
The Childcare Coalition was formed in 2021 to respond to long-standing childcare challenges in Lake County that were intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. In January, 2021, LCBAG, the Lake County Board of County Commissioners and Department of Human Services moved quickly to better understand the issue of child care, developing and distributing a survey that was taken by 135 families. In February 2021, the Coalition— including childcare providers, parents, and representatives from state and local regulatory agencies and decision making bodies—held a strategic planning session to review the survey results and imagine a more sustainable childcare system in Lake County. To read about the goals that emerged from the initial 2021 strategic planning session, go here. Since then, the coalition has:
- Created a strategic framework for improving childcare
- Helped launch the Early Care and Education (ECE) Fund to support families and providers
- Supported aspiring providers through credentialing and licensing
- Built broad community and cross-sector buy-in for childcare as essential infrastructure
Building on this work, the coalition is now developing a Strategic Investment Plan to advance a sustainable, long-term childcare system in Lake County.
Why the Work Matters
As Lake County parents of young children know all too well, Lake County currently has no licensed child care seats for children under 3 years of age–and not enough seats to serve the need for children 3-5 years of age.
In a survey of 135 local families, families said the following:
“We are struggling to meet work demands and be home with our child. I cannot imagine the hardships many others are facing.“
“In general, childcare in Lake County is cost prohibitive compared to the availability of good-paying jobs. In the first few years of living here, there was not a job available that would offset the cost of quality childcare.“
“We may have to move out of Leadville due to the lack of childcare availability.”
“We need childcare to support working mothers!“
