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Steamboat Springs — There has been some attention in the Pilot & Today recently as to the challenges our community faces when it comes to child care issues. Indeed, these are complex issues without easy solutions. The availability and attainability of child care is at the core of affordability for any working family.

Although I always am happy to see these issues brought to the foreground, I was troubled that there was not more of an awareness of the role First Impressions plays in this community in regards to these issues. First Impressions of Routt County is the umbrella organization for our community that is tasked with overseeing early childhood care and education programs, school readiness programs, parent education classes, quality improvement programs for our child care centers and a robust scholarship program that seeks to make child care affordable for all of our working families.

First Impressions is supported by the county and the city, and as such is co-chaired by a Routt County commissioner and Steamboat city councilperson, currently Nancy Stahoviak and myself. The First Impressions Board of Directors is made up of more than 30 dedicated citizens from all facets of our community. It is, by far, the best attended and enthusiastic board I have ever seen and truly is a testament to how dedicated our community is to the family values we all hold dear.

And so even in these troubling times, First Impressions continues its mission. Each of us is being asked, whether as an individual, a businessperson, or a citizen, to re-evaluate our priorities and to do more with less. First Impressions recognizes that the challenges that lie ahead for our working families and local businesses are more difficult than ever, and we are committed to helping the community weather this storm.

Through the First Impressions Business Advisory Task Force, we plan on reaching out to our business community more proactively with educational outreach designed to inform business leaders about how they can help their employees with these issues. We can all be a part of the solution, and it does not have to cost a lot of money. Businesses that implement flexible scheduling, job sharing or work-from-home programs often find that the costs of these programs are significantly less than the costs of recruiting and training new employees, and the benefits to the business are measurable and significant. Also, did you know that a charitable donation to a child care center or to First Impressions only costs you 10 cents on the dollar? Tax rebates are available that pay back 90 percent of these donations. Now, that is a stimulus plan I can get behind.

To the dedicated members of the First Impressions Council, thank you for your hard work on behalf of this community. To all of my fellow working parents in this community, please know that First Impressions is here to help you and your family.

Have questions? Contact First Impressions at www.firstimpressionsofrouttcounty.org.

Jon Quinn

Steamboat Springs