Children's Issues

Did you know?

·       Colorado's high school graduation rate in 2011 was 74% (70% male, 78% female)

·       Colorado teen birth rates have declined somewhat to 33.1 out of 1,000 in 2010

·       21% of all children in Colorado under 5 years old live in poverty (85,000 children)

·       Colorado ranks as the fourth least-affordable state in the nation for the average annual cost of center-based infant care.

·       The price of early child care constitutes as much as 34% of a two-parent family's expenses in many parts of Colorado

·       Colorado ranks ninth highest in the nation in the average annual cost of care for a 4-year old in a child care center with an average of nearly $9,000 per year. 

·       Colorado ranks fourth highest in the nation in the average annual cost of care for an infant in a child care center with an average of more than $12,000 per year.

·       With these high costs, child care is particularly unaffordable for single-parent families.  In Colorado, the median family income for single parents is $24,195.  The average annual price for two children in center-based care is over $22,000, or more than 90 percent of the family’s income.  The result is that many children in single-parent homes do not receive quality child care.

·       In 2007, the Colorado Department of Health and Environment reported 70,804 births in Colorado.  With only 8,372 slots available for licensed infant child care state-wide, the shortfall is evident.  

·       In 2010, Colorado had 98,000 uninsured children, making up 7.8% of the state's child population.  The majority of these children are concentrated in families living in poverty.

SOURCE:  Colorado Children's Campaign

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