Nearly 14,000 children are currently on wait lists for childcare statewide, according to the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.

Childcare Aware of America estimates the average annual cost of center-based infant care in Colorado is nearly $21,000.

On an upcoming episode of Real Talk with Micah Smith, parents, community leaders, and childcare providers discuss childcare challenges and solutions.

Watch a preview of this week's Real Talk with Micah Smith in the video below:

Real Talk: Colorado community leaders talk childcare challenges and solutions

“Parents and families need a reliable, sustainable, childcare resource meaning they need funding that will help with the gap of how much it truly costs to provide childcare,” Jacqueline Cradle, founder and director VFS Prep, an early childhood education center in Denver said.

Cradle said several of the families her center serves struggle with cost and accessibility of childcare.

Denver recently launched the Haynes-Gary Child Care Task Force to help find solutions to affordability and accessibility in the city.

“The task force will run through spring, summer of ‘27 to be able to make those concrete recommendations. I don’t think we will be waiting all of that time for next steps,” Jess Ridgeway, Denver’s Office of Children Affairs executive director and member of the task force said.

A coalition called Brighter Start Boulder County is backing a ballot measure that will ask voters to raise property taxes to increase funding for early childhood care and education in the county. 

“It will help make childcare more affordable. So for a low and middle-income families they can get tuition assistance to help offset that cost of care,” Kaycee Headrick, CEO of the Early Childhood Council in Boulder County and a coalition member of Brighter Start Boulder County.

Headrick said the county also faces a shortage of providers for toddlers and infants. According to Headrick, this measure would incentivize providers to open more infant and toddler programs.

Full episodes of Real Talk with Micah Smith air on Sundays at 5:30 p.m. on Denver7.