I am so excited to share two VERY cool projects I was a part of in 2023. I hope you’ll check them out and share the work!
Enhancing Compensation Structures for Family, Friend, and Neighbor Providers in Jefferson County
Developed in partnership with Impact Charitable and the Colorado Gives Foundation, this report draws from the Thriving Providers Project to make recommendations on using federal, state, and local resources to improve compensation for informal/license-exempt child care providers. This report focused specifically on Jefferson County, Colorado, and is broadly applicable to Colorado and (to some extent) other places more generally.
I LOVED this project. It got me so fired up about the importance of informal care/FFN care, which is the arrangement of choice for many families and the only option for others. FFN is a critical part of our care infrastructure, and if we are going to support families’ thriving, supporting those who are providing FFN care needs to be a part of the conversation!
Clearing the Path for New Child Care Supply: Solutions for Child-Friendly Planning, Housing, and Community Development (or read the Executive Summary)
The idea for this report was developed over several years through EPIC’s (Executives Partnering to Invest in Children) conversations with child care providers, developers, and employers who were interested in opening facilities but ran into expensive obstacles. For this report, we talked to several of these people to better understand the challenges and propose some solutions. And now, I’m working with EPIC to support legislation in Colorado that draws on the findings of this report to provide technical assistance, local government planning grants, and capital funds to help support the development of child care facilities.
