Access to childcare is a proven necessity for optimal childhood development and even a functioning economy.

Still, it’s never guaranteed. That has been historically apparent in Mesa County, with about 3.5 children under the age of five for every available childcare slot as of April 2024.

The county has made substantial strides since then in capacity and quality, but it also suffered a blow following a January decision to indefinitely freeze local enrollment for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program.

The federally funded program, which is operated at the county level, subsidizes childcare costs for low-income locals who are unhoused, attending school, seeking employment or working full-time.

“We’ve talked to some families who are really struggling, trying to get out of homeless she

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