FOUNTAIN — About 1,000 families in El Paso County could be out of a Universal Preschool (UPK) provider this year, according to the county's UPK coordinator.
Joint Initiatives for Youths and Families said there aren't enough spots for everyone who applied. Its president and CEO, SherryLynn Boyles, said more providers signed up this year, which is promising.
"We had about 8,000 applicants in year one for UPK and we had less than 6,000 [families] match and be able to utilize the match," said the Boyles.
Boyles said in the next few months, the organization plans to launch an initiative to help fill gaps.
"We got really creative about how we can come up with some solutions, such as engaging retirees as providers, looking at training high school students and getting them prepared to go into that field," said Boyles.
Javinia Downes, a UPK home childcare provider, said more providers would help meet the demand.
"There is such a need for more child care, everywhere, we're all in basically a childcare desert, we know fountain valley is one of the biggest ones," said Downes.
UPK direct placement started August 1st.
That means families who did not go through the matching system, now have to go straight to the provider for a spot.
"There's pros and cons to direct placement, one is you're working directly with, you have a relationship with the program and the con is that you sure hope your choice has an opening," said Boyles.
Downes said filling her last UPK spots means she can afford to hire help.
"Within the next couple of weeks, they can direct contact us and we can get those direct enrollment spots filled," said Downes.
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