Denver’s universal childcare task force seeks community input before the end of October

DENVER — Denver Mayor Mike Johnston promised to deliver a plan for universal childcare in the city before the end of his second term if re-elected. From now until the end of October, Denverites can complete a survey administered by the city to voice their childcare challenges and ideas for solutions.

Johnston created a task force to collect community input, and the team completed its first phase earlier this week following six community listening sessions.

Jess Ridgway, executive director for Denver’s Office of Children’s Affairs, said the listening sessions were productive and found that “affordability certainly stands out as the number one [issue] across the board for everyone.”

“We've heard from families about some of the really difficult decisions they have had to make because of childcare or lack of childcare,” Ridgway said. “We've heard a lot from our [early childhood] workforce that, in addition to making a living wage, they want to be able to have more opportunities for advancement, more benefits, and feel like a professionalized workforce, which they are not feeling like right now.”

Another big hurdle for families seeking childcare is how hard it is to navigate the system, Ridgway said. Finding a solution to this will be one of the priorities for the second phase of the city’s initiative, she said.

Ridgway also said that while the in-person listening sessions are over, they might reopen sometime at the end of the year or the beginning of 2027. Regardless, the Childcare for All survey is still available online and will run through the end of October. 

In his State of the City address two months ago, Johnston set the deadline for his universal childcare plan as the end of his second term, which would be in 2031 if voters re-elect him next April. The Childcare for All initiative is being developed by the Haynes-Gary Task Force, named after two Denver advocates, Anna Jo Haynes and Nancy Gary, who focused on the needs of Colorado children. 

According to Johnston, the task force will deliver three things: “A plan to cut the red tape so passionate educators can open and run a quality childcare business. A pipeline of well-trained, well-paid caregivers. And a path to make care affordable for every Denver family.”

The second phase of the plan, which ends April 2027, will “review the community feedback gathered in the first phase, develop recommendations, and identify implementation opportunities.”