Breckenridge Child Care Program Evaluation

Prepared for the Town of Breckenridge in 2018

In March 2018, the Town of Breckenridge hired APA Consulting to conduct an evaluation of the Town’s child care program. The two primary components of the child care program are: 1) the tuition assistance program, which provides subsidies to parents living and/or working in Breckenridge to help them afford child care, and 2) teacher salary support, which provides funds to four local child care centers to supplement teacher salaries and assist with retention and recruitment. In the course of this evaluation, APA conducted interviews with the program’s administrator and the Child Care Advisory Committee, as well as with the directors and teachers at the four child care centers in Breckenridge. To gain additional context about child care in Summit County, APA interviewed the director of Early Childhood Options Summit County as well as child care teachers from Dillon and Frisco. APA also interviewed municipal leaders from similar mountain communities to understand how the Town’s program compares to child care support efforts in those communities. Finally, APA interviewed directors of high-quality child care programs in other mountain resort communities to understand how they supported teacher retention and quality.

The study resulted in the following recommendations:

1. Plan for Sustainable Funding

2. Continue to Strengthen Policies Supporting Teacher Recruitment and Retention

3. Increase Efficiency through Shared Services

4. Maintain and Refine the Tuition Assistance Program

5. Collect Additional Data on Critical Program Metrics

6. Review Communication between the Town of Breckenridge and the Child Care Centers

7. Conduct a Facility Space Review at All Centers

8. Prepare for the Possibility of Universal Pre-K