DENVER \u2013 Ending the cycle of poverty for Colorado\u2019s children needs to go beyond providing quality education and other kids\u2019 programs, according to a new report.<\/p>\n
The report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation says it\u2019s equally important to provide parents with access to job training, affordable housing and child care.<\/p>\n
Sarah Hughes, research director for the Colorado Children\u2019s Campaign, said the report validates what her organization sees every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cKids really don\u2019t live or grow up in a vacuum,\u201d she said, \u201cand in order for kids to succeed \u2013 yes, of course we have to invest in the things that support them, but we also have to invest in supports for their parents.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes called Colorado\u2019s recent reforms to the child care subsidy program \u201cone step in the right direction\u201d when it comes to supporting families.<\/p>\n
Colorado is doing better than the national average in most areas analyzed in the report, but in about 1 in 5 low-income families, no parent is a high school graduate. When parents can succeed, said Patrice Cornwell, director of strategic initiatives for the Casey Foundation, they\u2019re better equipped to help their children.<\/p>\n
Bill Jaeger, vice president for early-childhood initiatives for the Colorado Children\u2019s Campaign, said a problem specific to Colorado is the availability of licensed child care. Three of the state\u2019s counties have no licensed facilities, and 20 have no licensed child-care center.<\/p>\n
\u201cChild-care providers are, despite the high cost of child care, kind of just squeaking by more often than not,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I think some strategies to help us think about how we treat them as the small businesses that they are, and also incentivize the opening of those, to kind of help build markets that will then become self-sustaining.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to child care availability, affordable housing is another issue in the state. According to the report, more than two-thirds of Colorado\u2019s low-income families with young children spend more than 30 percent of their income on housing.<\/p>\n
The report, \u201cCreating Opportunity for Families: A Two-Generation Approach,\u201d is online at AECF.org.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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