PCC's Children First resource center works to improve child care quality and accessibility
Improving child care quality, affordability and access in Pueblo County is the core mission of the Children First program housed at Pueblo Community College.
Children First, a department at PCC, is home to the Pueblo Early Childhood Council, one of 34 Early Childhood Councils in Colorado. The Children First Child Care Resources and Referral office is on the PCC campus, 900 W. Orman Ave., in Room 174 of the Academic Building.
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"We help families find child care," Pueblo Early Childhood Council director Angie Shehorn said.
"We help them find resources that will help support their family. We also help them find resources to pay for child care and we help people become child care providers."
Parents of children ages 0 to 8 can be connected with licensed child care providers through the Children First online navigation system or by visiting the office at PCC. Children First staff consider several factors to find providers that fit each family's needs, such as their location, age of children and time of day when care is needed.
Parents and child care providers do not have to be students or faculty at PCC to receive assistance from Children First. The office assists people throughout Pueblo County and has an additional office that serves Fremont County.
"We are working with individuals who want to become child care providers," Shehorn said. "We help them find necessary professional development that is required for them to be licensed or become licensed.
"We have credentialed coaches ... that go into child care programs that invite them in because they are interested in improving the quality of the services. They coach them based on best practices as well as the things that will be looked at when they go through a quality child care rating."
Children First receives financial support from the City of Pueblo through American Rescue Plan Act funds. On Sept. 13, Pueblo City Council approved $150,000 in total ARPA funds to Children First. Payments of $18,750 over eight, three-month periods will be made to the program through July 1, 2023.
"(Children First) is very much needed in Pueblo because parents are having challenges in finding child care," Shehorn said. "They are having challenges in finding resources that they need to help their family. If they can have that one-stop-shop ... that takes the stress off the parents that have to navigate multiple systems."
Challenges in finding child care have become even more apparent during the pandemic, Shehorn said. Some providers have decided to permanently or temporarily close their doors as a health precaution. Others have placed limits on the number of children they are able to serve.
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"Plus the pandemic has created a large issue when schools go to remote," Shehorn said. "Where do those children go that were typically in school? Where are they going to go now since parents have to go to work?
"We have very close relationships with all the licensed providers in Pueblo," Shehorn said.
"Even if it's temporary, while their current facility is closed, we are able to help parents find a childcare provider that is licensed... We are able to help parents through that system by providing that list."
Children First can be contacted at 719-549-3411 or through its website.
Pueblo Chieftain reporter James Bartolo can be reached by email at JBartolo@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo's Children First program helps with child care accessibility
