The Early Childhood Council (TRIAD) for the counties of Clear Creek, Gilpin, and Jefferson held a Community Conversation about Child Care meeting on March 11, 2024, at the Gilpin Community Center.

The Early Childhood Council is a track other than non-profit that is being pursued to replace the now-defunct Eagles Nest childcare center. TRIAD is focused on delivering early childcare services across multiple childcare programs and communities.

TRIAD is currently developing a Community Needs Assessment across Clear Creek and Gilpin Counties. This meeting was the second in a series of parent and community meetings planned for the next six months. The concerns expressed by young parents and the proposed solutions that are discovered during these meetings will be used in the final comprehensive early childcare assessment for the counties.

The meeting was conducted as round table discussions on childcare needs in Gilpin County for children up to eight years of age. Each table held both parents and TRIAD facilitators. These small groups went through a set of questions regarding early childcare priorities for the counties.

The questions ranged from personal parenting issues to access to affordable childcare services. At the end of the meeting, each table highlighted one or two questions that they thought were important, giving them perspective and solutions.

Affordability and accessibility of 0–3-year childcare was the top priority. The Gilpin County school district has a pre-kindergarten program that can take a child if they have had their third birthday. Rachel Hansard, a TRIAD facilitator, is the director of the district’s program. She said that the program still has spaces available.

Other resources considered important were extra-curricular activities like swimming classes, or outdoor spaces like parks where kids could get together and play with each other. These activities were considered important to keep kids feeling connected.

Methods of communication between parents and organizations was another important topic. There was considerable interest in having a reliable way for the program to communicate with parents so all the kids can be involved and avoid that sense of isolation.

TRIAD (triadbrightfutures.org) will be scheduling more meetings later this spring. TRIAD also has a Facebook page and posts regularly. Contact Marnie Copeland (marnie@triadbrightfutures.org) for more information on their organization and this study. For additional information and assistance on the Gilpin RE-1 pre-Kindergarten program, contact Codi Ramsey, Elementary Administrative Assistant (cramsey@gilpin.k12.co.us).