Riverhouse Children’s Center has opened a new facility, providing room for eight more infants each day. That’s good news for La Plata County parents, who are finding it more and more difficult to find a place to leave their young children when heading back to the workforce.
But beware: Waiting lists already are filled for the new facility, a trend that’s showing throughout many Durango child care centers.
The new state-of-the-art Riverhouse facility, 742 Florida Road, has been open since May 28 and has seen a smooth transition into the new location, said Brenna Abeyta-Watson, executive director.
Along with the addition of the infant room, the new facility is piloting a summer school-age program for children ages 5 through third grade, with 10 Riverhouse alums attending.
Riverhouse hosts 68 children through summer, and 60 during the school year. It’s an essential entity in a county where demand is much greater than supply.
La Plata County has 34 child care centers and 24 licensed child care homes, said Tamara Volz, director of the Early Childhood Council of La Plata County, a program that helps connect families with services for children.Martha Endres, owner and operator of Smarty Pants Play School in Durango West, notified parents in January that she would be closing her business in May. Long waiting lists blocked parents from relocating their children to new facilities. So Endres had a change of heart; she’s keeping Smarty Pants open through the summer.
Unfortunately, this is a trend throughout the county: Child care centers are closing, and no new centers are being opened. Whenever a program closes, it causes those parents to look to other programs that may already be at capacity, or search for other child care options such as family or friends, said Shannon Bassett, child care resource and referral coordinator at Early Childhood Council.
Breaking ground
The Riverhouse project has been in the works for more than three years. A year into the project, a community member donated the land for the new building on Florida Road, and without the donation, community support and volunteer efforts, the facility wouldn’t be where it is today – built in 10 months and under budget, Barker said.
The new facility has been well-supplied with teaching equipment. Riverhouse received a shipment with more than $100,000 worth of teaching materials, amounting to an 8,000-pound delivery, that Barker said will allow the teachers to bring in more creativity, fun and a better learning environment. Riverhouse was granted financing through the U.S. Department of Agriculture for $1.2 million, and planned to raise $1 million through community support. It came close to its goal, reaching $900,000.Walking through the $2.2 million children’s center, visitors see smiling and eager-to-learn children. Building this facility has helped Riverhouse in many ways, giving it more financial stability, but, most importantly, creating a conducive learning environment for its attendees, Abeyta-Watson said.
“This building was designed in an effort that the children were put first,” Barker said.
The ground floor includes a family room for therapy sessions, a conference room and a children’s area for the summer school-age children’s program. The upper level hosts a kitchen for the Riverhouse Food Program and the rooms for all other children, three outdoor playgrounds and two new infant crib rooms.
The building meets Americans with Disabilities Act design standards, and has added security. To enter, a visitor must either be buzzed in by the front office or have a keycard.
Barker and Abeyta-Watson said Riverhouse sets itself apart from other child care centers with specific developmentally appropriate programming; a healthful, quality food program; a high level of teacher education; and a curriculum that engages children and fosters a love of learning.
Children are separated by five age groups, starting at 6 months and ending at 5½.
Lack of child care
A lack of available child care isn’t unique to La Plata County. It is a nationwide problem, and a very serious issue within Colorado.
Currently, licensed child care locations exist for only 9 percent of Colorado’s infants and 19 percent of its 1-year-olds.
Volz attributes this to the cost. Infant and toddler child care is pricier, and some parents cannot afford the expense. The cost of child care is so extreme – on average it’s equal to the cost of college tuition, Volz said – it poses the biggest obstacle for parents.
Another major issue is the waiting list. Riverhouse, for example, has one for every age group.
Bassett suggests parents get on multiple waiting lists when they become pregnant. There have been cases where a parent has to give up a job to take care of a young child, Volz said.
Up to 2 years, the average cost in La Plata County is $35 per day, for ages 2-5, it is $30 per day, and the cost goes back up after age 5, to an average $32 per day, Volz said.
Riverhouse’s overall average per day is $45, and of the children the center serves, 40 to 45 percent are low-income.
Riverhouse wants to continue serving low-income families, and this is where fundraising is key to keep the nonprofit up and running. There is an in-house subsidy program, but the center also relies on the Colorado Childcare Assistance Program, a state entity that helps to supplement costs for low-income families.
But these programs don’t account for all of costs. The Colorado Childcare Assistance Program contributes around $30 per day, leaving $15 per day that Riverhouse needs to make up with fundraising. This means Riverhouse must raise around $25,000 a year to supplement its losses, which it raised during its fourth annual Cheers for Children fundraiser at the Glacier Club.
Emily Griffin, a summer intern at The Durango Herald, is a Fort Lewis College student. Email her at egriffin@durangoherald.com.
