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"A Child Care Desert" - Steamboat Resort opens new facility to help workers, local community

Jason Sung
It's increasingly hard to find child care in Colorado. Steamboat Ski Resort decided to create its own facility to benefit employees and potentially help address a community problem.

Like many parts of Colorado, child care is nearly impossible to find in Steamboat Springs. Especially infant and toddler care.

"We've actually been identified in Routt County as a 'child care desert,' said Loryn Duke, Director of Communications for Steamboat Ski & Resort Corp.

Last year the resort was losing employees because they couldn't find child care. Now the resort is just weeks away from opening a new facility.

"I think it's pretty impressive for us to try and be an industry leader - not only in the ski industry - but just in the business industry, and proving how an employer based child care facility is a possibility, how it can become a reality, and how at some point, it should become a priority benefit," Duke said.

So far, twenty of the thirty spots being offered are reserved for resort employees. Duke said they've received 40 applications for any remaining spots open to the community. That shows how big the need for child care is.

The city of Steamboat is working with community partners to try and create more local opportunities for early childhood education. They're also in talks with the Colorado Department of Transportation to build a new child care facility.

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