On the campaign trail, I often hear that childcare is so prohibitively costly that many families feel hopeless. Elderly relatives trying to enjoy retirement are burdened with additional responsibilities because working families lack options. And for nontraditional families like mine, the cost of just starting a family is so high that some of us feel like we have to give up on our dreams. But there is so much more that local government can do to help working families. And these are just a few of my ideas:

• Update the county's development standards and regulations to classify childcare as essential infrastructure so that we can expand access to childcare wherever it is safe to do so.

• Include access to childcare as a component of any community work agreement.

• Expand access and funding to existing childcare programs, whether it is through parks and recreation departments, afterschool programs, etc.

• Work with our nonprofit leaders to ensure that existing childcare resources are available in an equitable manner, including to our communities without reliable internet, our rural communities, our low-income communities, and our immigrant communities in particular.

• Work with the legislature and political leaders to increase revenue streams and fund both existing programs like the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program and new programs.

• Incentivize private businesses to include on-site childcare or, even better, direct funding for existing childcare small businesses through tax incentives.

• Support and fund vocational and training programs for childcare workers and those in adjacent industries. Ensure that these workers have access to the labor movement's resources and can unionize safely.