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Steamboat Springs — Editor's note: This story has been corrected from its original version. Steamboat Springs resident Cari Hermacinski pays $1,000 a month for 180 hours of child care.

In 2007, there were 1,543 children younger than 5 in Routt County. That number could reach 2,260 by 2020, according to the state demography office - meaning without significant change, the shortage of local day care is only getting worse.

While the population of young children is increasing, the number of day care slots available is not keeping pace. According to the Community Indicators Project from Yampa Valley Partners, there has been a slight decrease in day care available during the past 10 years. According to the report, with data from the QualiStar day care provider network, Routt County had space for 640 students in 2008, down from 650 available in 1997. The impact could felt the most in Steamboat Springs, where nearly three quarters of the county's babies are born.

That scarcity of care has led Steamboat Springs City Councilwoman Cari Hermacinski to look at options other than traditional day care.

Hermacinski said she was paying as much as $900 a month in child care costs for two days a week before she hired an au pair.

"Having an au pair is by far the most affordable child care option in Steamboat," she said. "I tell as many other moms about it as I can."

Hermacinski now pays $1,000 a month for 45 hours a week worth of care, or 180 hours a month. She works through a national au pair agency and pays tuition for the caretaker to attend classes at Colorado Mountain College's Alpine Campus.

"The affordability is unbeatable, and it's a great cultural experience for the whole family," Hermacinski said.

Hermacinski said she also would like to see the city help families to afford day care, which can often be the second largest expense for a family after mortgage payments. Preparing for a meeting about local affordable housing, Hermacinski said the issue is larger than just homes.

"We don't have an affordable housing issue; we have an affordability issue," she said. "I want to investigate if we can use funds generated through the community housing ordinance for other things, specifically child care."

She said she would like to see the city enact help for the families that would take effect immediately, such as a subsidy to "buy down" child care costs.

"We're not in the position to build a day care or run a day care," she said.

In another attempt to create care opportunities, the Alpine Campus also offers early childhood education classes to train care givers.

The program has 30 students enrolled in the spring semester and will offer two additional courses during summer, said Kathie Rudasics, of CMC's Instructional Services department.

Enrollment begins April 13 for preschool assessment and child growth and development courses.