Two Eagle County officials asked the Basalt Town
Council last night to contribute to an early childhood care program
that is mostly being funded by Eagle County.
Arn Menconi, an Eagle County commissioner, came to Basalt along with
Kathleen Forinash, director of Eagle County Health and Human Services,
to make the plea. With them was Glenda Wentworth of the Colorado State
University Cooperative Extension.
They said there are now 6,000 children in Eagle County under the age of six.
And they told the council there was a need to pay child care workers
more so they don't quit, that it was key to visit new mothers at home
with their infants, and that early dental care for young children
improves their diet and their ability to learn in school.
To accomplish those and other goals they are trying to raise $355,000
in matching funds put forward by Eagle County to fund what they are
calling the BrightStart program.
Most of the town of Basalt is inside Eagle County while a small portion
is in Pitkin County. Neighboring Carbondale is in Garfield County.
Forinash told the Town Council that it is "tough" to be a parent these
days. A 2006 study found that 60 percent of the families in Eagle
County need child care and that nearly half of all births in the county
are now to first-time mothers.
"Almost every family runs into situations they are not prepared to
handle," Forinash said. "They are often away from their close family,
they don't have folks that they necessarily can turn to for good advice
and help when they are facing an issue in caring for their kids."
Basalt's council members seemed supportive of the effort, but did not
commit to a funding level. The town's 2007 budget included $25,000 to
help fund local child care and Menconi called the town "a leader" on
the child care issue.
Councilman Gary Tennenbaum said he felt that the Basalt area would see
more early child care services as a result of this effort by Eagle
County and he asked Menconi for guidance on how much the town might
contribute.
Before Menconi's presentation, Tennenbaum had told the council that day
care is "extremely lacking in the midvalley." He and his wife recently
found child care for their infant son in Aspen, but said the waiting
lists are very long for available space.
"It's really been difficult," Tennenbaum said. "It's really hard when
you know you both have to work and all of a sudden you have this crisis
of 'What do we do with our son during work time?'"
The request to the council came against the backdrop of a recall
petition being circulated by a Vail resident against Menconi, in part,
it seems, because Menconi is a stubborn advocate for additional funding
for early childhood care.
During his second campaign as commissioner, Menconi pledged to pursue
funding for child care. Then he advocated a tax increase to fund $3.5
million in child care measures. The voters rejected the tax in
November, but there were suggestions that the program should be funded
from the county's general fund.
Menconi then voted, along with the two other Eagle County commissioners, to spend $70,000 on a 2006 needs assessment study.
Then the three commissioners approved $1 million for what has become
the BrightStart program. Of that $1 million, $355,000 needs to be
matched by "community" funds.
Full text available at the Aspen Daily News
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