Eagle County Child Care Market Assessment Presentation of Key Findings
Introduction Eagle County Child Care Study 2
Research Goals What is the current child care landscape? What gaps, if any, exist in child care? What does the future hold? Eagle County Child Care Study 3
Approach Demographic Research Interviews with Licensed Child Care Centers > 18 interviews (attempted interviews with all licensed centers) Interviews with Parents/Guardians > 10 interviews with people who pay market rate for child care > 10 interviews with people who receive subsidized access to child care > 10 interviews with people who don’t use licensed child care > Within these, 10 were with Spanish speakers Community Feedback Survey > Gathered from postcards and the “Vail Moms” Facebook page Eagle County Child Care Study 4
Child Care Supply and Demand Eagle County Child Care Study 5
Factors Affecting Child Care Decisions The decision to use child care occurs only when cost, quality, Cost convenience, Need availability, and need all coincide. If cost, quality, availability, and Availability Convenience convenience don’t co-exist, need can potentially be negated by dropping out of the work Quality force. Eagle County Child Care Study 6
Segmentation Only about 25 percent of children meet all five criteria: need, cost, quality, availability, and convenience All children under 6 4,300 Children in Not in Child Child Care Care 1,200 3,100 Corona Insights Estimates From Various Sources Eagle County Child Care Study 7
Need Eagle County Child Care Study 8
Segmentation Do they want child care or do All children under 6 they really not need it? 4,300 Not in Child Care, Children in Child Not in Child Care, Non-Working Care Working Parent(s) Parent(s) 1,200 1,700 1,400 Corona Insights Estimates From Various Sources Eagle County Child Care Study 9
Work Force Participation Among those who do not participate in the work force, do they join or re-join the work force as their child grows older? The answer appears to be no. We found no increase statewide in the percent of people in the labor force with a six year old than with a five year old. U.S. Census Bureau Eagle County Child Care Study 10
Segmentation All children under 6 4,300 Not in Child Care, Children in Child Not in Child Care, Non-Working Care Working Parent(s) Parent(s) 1,200 1,700 1,400 Corona Insights Estimates From Various Sources Eagle County Child Care Study 11
Why Does Potential Need Not Translate To Demand? Lots of Options – Some good, some bad Unlicensed child care Alternate shifts Staying with other relatives or paramours Work from home parents Nannies Left alone or with siblings Other arrangements Eagle County Child Care Study 12
Why Does Potential Need Not Translate To Demand? Cost and availability are likely drivers, quality and convenience less so. No reliable way to efficiently disentangle these factors. “I do know that quality is important, but if you can’t afford it, you can’t pay for the quality. I think that is the reason why so many people take their kids to the neighbor next door where there are no licensed programs or structure, the kids are not as safe, but I believe this is all because people can’t afford to pay for other programs.” – Parent receiving subsidies for licensed child care “We were looking at options before she was born and put in a couple applications at facilities up here. The feedback we got was that there are long wait lists and it’s very expensive. Because of those two factors, we made a pact that we would figure it out and stay home with her.” – Parent not using licensed child care Eagle County Child Care Study 13
Factors Inhibiting Demand for Licensed Child Care Reasons for not using licensed Reasons for not using licensed child care among parent child care among parent households with incomes under households with incomes of $75,000 $75,000 or more Community Feedback Survey Community Feedback Survey Sample Size = 19 Sample Size = 12 Eagle County Child Care Study 14
Availability Eagle County Child Care Study 15
Child Care Markets There are effectively two Major Child Care Markets in Eagle County U.S. Census Bureau Eagle County Child Care Study 16
Facilities and Home-based Child-care There 45 licensed child-care options in the Eagle River Valley 24 child-care facilities > 14 up-valley 6 operated by Eagle County Schools > 10 down-valley 4 operated by Eagle County Schools 21 child-care home-based > 8 up-valley > 13 down-valley Eagle County Child Care Study 17
Comparing Capacity to Enrollment ~ 800 children under 6 are enrolled in up-valley facilities ~ 300 children under 6 are enrolled in down-valley facilities 100% 22% 24% Down-valley care for 3 to 5 75% 5% 4% Down-valley care for under 3 50% 46% 45% Up-valley care for 3 to 5 25% Up-valley care for under 3 27% 27% 0% Capacity Enrollment Based on provider interviews Eagle County Child Care Study 18
Infant Care Infant care is in short supply Some parents who have not been able to find infant care have had to pull their preschoolers out of a program because they could not work and they could not pay for care without working. > “There is more infant and toddler care available up-valley, so more parents take their infants up-valley, then when they start preschool, they stay local. But I think the preference is for local care.” – Child Care Provider Many parents put their infants on a waiting list as soon as they get pregnant, but still may be unable to find a slot. This is one reason why some parents do not use a licensed provider for their child. > “We’re on a couple waitlists and we’re not sure we’ll be able to get in. I got on a wait list about a month before my son was due, and we don’t need care until he’s 4 months old and only need 2 days a week. If we don’t get into a place, I’ll work less until I find a place.” –Parent not using licensed care Eagle County Child Care Study 19
Demographics and Availability Availability > Child-care facilities have faced challenges for several years. Great recession from 2007 through 2009 Demographic dip from 2010 through 2014. o The number of children age 0-5 declined by 8 percent from 2009 through 2014, which is unprecedented since 1990 or earlier o 2013 through 2015 are the “bottoming out” years > The demographic trend is about to reverse, causing an increase in demand There are about 4,200 children age 0-5 now, rising to 4,800 by 2020. Increase of approximately 11 percent over the next five years Eagle County Child Care Study 20
Demographics and Availability Availability > If capacity doesn’t increase, the county will likely see… Increased pricing for residents Decreased availability of licensed child care options for residents > Availability is already too low for infant care Not profitable for providers Wait lists already in place Conclusion: Competition to obtain child care is going to go up steadily over the next five years unless supply increases Eagle County Child Care Study 21
Convenience Eagle County Child Care Study 22
More than 80 percent of children under 6 live along the I-70 corridor from Gypsum to Vail U.S. Census Bureau Eagle County Child Care Study 23
Based on community feedback survey and provider interviews Eagle County Child Care Study 24
Location and Convenience Non-working parents are generally willing to commute further for child care than working parents are, as the hours of child care restrict how much time they can spend commuting to child care before/after work While location does play some role in choosing a child-care provider, many parents are willing to drive somewhat further than they are currently for a higher quality facility Eagle County Child Care Study 25
Cost Eagle County Child Care Study 26
Cost Summary Cost of Living Index in Eagle County School District (as of 2013) > 7 th Highest cost of living in the state (Index – 109.8) Cost of Child Care in Eagle County School District > 53% Higher than median across all school districts Qualistar 2014 Study > $11,100 annual cost for preschool care (10 th in state) > $13,000 annual cost for infant/toddler care (12 th in state) Eagle County Child Care Study 27
Providers Are Squeezed Providers have a hard time raising capital to sustain their business “The problem is you can’t charge parents what it takes to care for their kids” –Child Care Provider Facilities report that between 75% and 95% of expenses are teacher salaries. They have little budget for operating and maintenance. “Preschool teacher pay is very low compared kindergarten or 1 st grade teachers, even though those kids are only one or two years older than preschoolers” –Child Care Provider Some providers pay a decent wage but no benefits, which makes it hard to retain teachers. Eagle County Child Care Study 28
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