Martha McClellan - whose job is to help parents find child care - said working moms and dads have become so anxious about finding a spot, they're calling before they even have kids.

"I'm getting a lot of calls from people who are pregnant and thinking about getting pregnant," said McClellan, child care resource and referral coordinator for Southwest Colorado.

To address the crisis that can have people waiting a year or more for a day care opening, the Early Childhood Council of La Plata County, including McClellan, and La Plata County have come up with a program to get more people licensed to care for children in their homes.

Participants will have the training and fees subsidized - about $400 - and will be eligible for a $1,000 grant to put toward expenses such as installing fences or acquiring materials.

It is hoped that the program, which the county is paying $25,310 to fund, will add anywhere from 50 to 75 child care slots in the county this year. This would more than quadruple the number of new slots added in 2007.

"We can fill them up pretty quickly," McClellan said.

She said there are only 283 slots for infants and toddlers in the county, compared with an estimated 900 who need care. Many of those children, instead, are cared for by a family member or unlicensed provider. In the worst cases, parents have to quit working, turn down a job or move away.

Likely candidates for starting a home day care are people who have young children of their own. Once licensed, providers can have as many as six children in their home, but only two of those can be younger than 2 - this includes the provider's own children. An additional two children can come in after school.

Most providers in the area charge $25-$30 a day per child, so, with the maximum allowable children, a provider stands to make $3,000 or more a month before taxes and expenses.

But it's not the job for everyone, said Barbara Crowder, who provided child care in her home for 30 years before retiring and is now serving at a mentor for the program.

"They have to truly love children," she said.

Participants also must be willing to make a two-year commitment, have adequate space in their homes and not mind being home all day, which some can find isolating. Renters can face resistance from their landlords or homeowners associations.

Lezlie Mayer, head of the county's Human Services Department, said officials decided to focus on increasing the number of home-care providers, as opposed to commercial centers, because there's less overhead involved.

"To get a new center up and running would be pretty costly," she said.

And, Crowder added, being in a home is good, especially for younger children.

The city of Durango, too, has taken steps to address the crisis. It reduced the number of parking spaces providers need, cut the street fees and changed the permit process for centers in commercial zones.

"I think the (City Council) is very sensitive to our plight," McClellan said.

Mayer said funding for the home-care program comes from money the state allocates to the county for child care. The bulk of the money is used to assist low-income families with child care.

Full article available at the Durango Herald.