Colorado Children’s Campaign presents 2025 Kids Count data showing prenatal care and child-care gaps in Custer County

Maya Gould, vice president of research at the Colorado Children’s Campaign, presented the organization’s 2025 Kids Count county profile to the Custer County Board of Commissioners on Sept. 10, summarizing statewide and county-level child well‑being data and policy implications.

Gould told the board that Custer County has about 800 children—roughly 15 percent of the county population—and that a family of four in the county was estimated to need about $82,000 a year to meet basic needs. “For a family of 4, it’s estimated they need almost $82,000 a year to afford all of their basic needs,” Gould said.

The presentation highlighted several local indicators the campaign said warrant attention: an estimated 24 percent of children in Custer County live at or below double the federal poverty level; roughly 40 percent of babies born in 2023 in Custer County were born to mothers who did not receive prenatal care in the first trimester; Custer County had about 50–52 licensed child‑care slots; and the county’s child uninsured rate was around 5 percent. Gould noted that statewide point‑in‑time counts and McKinney‑Vento education data have shown a marked increase in the number of children experiencing homelessness.

Why it matters: the Nut Graf

The Kids Count profile aggregates public data to show where children and families are falling short of basic needs and to guide local planning and grant applications. Commissioners and local stakeholders said the county can use the report to prioritize grant applications, coordinate with the hospital district on prenatal and urgent‑care access, and align county and nonprofit efforts on child care and early‑childhood health services.

Key findings and local context

- Poverty and economic security: Gould said about 1 in 4 Custer County children live at or below twice the federal poverty level (about 24 percent). The ALICE household survival budget for a family of four in Custer County was estimated at roughly $82,000 a year (about $41/hour household wage) using 2023 data.

- Prenatal care and infant health: “In Custer County, that’s actually much higher. It’s 40 percent of babies,” Gould said of births without first‑trimester prenatal care in 2023. Presenters and county staff discussed provider closures and access barriers as likely contributors.

- Child‑care capacity and affordability: The presentation showed roughly 50–52 licensed child‑care slots countywide; local speakers clarified that many of those are part‑day preschool slots and that full‑day availability is much lower. Gould said Colorado is among the least affordable states for infant care; presenters estimated county infant center tuition around $13,000 a year and observed that for a median family that could represent roughly 16 percent of income for one child.

- Insurance coverage and public programs: Gould reported that the county’s uninsured rate for children had dropped in the past decade, to about 5 percent, and provided FY2023–24 enrollment figures on request: 74 children enrolled in CHIP and 467 in Medicaid (county figures provided by presenters and county staff).

- Homelessness and housing instability: Gould described statewide increases in point‑in‑time homelessness and McKinney‑Vento counts and said those statewide trends have shown a marked increase in the number of children experiencing homelessness; she said county‑level point‑in‑time detail was not available in the slides but offered to request county breakdowns from the Department of Education.

Discussion and local responses

- County staff and commissioners discussed using remaining local grant funds to contract with a nurse practitioner so families can access basic pediatric and prenatal care locally rather than traveling to towns “down the hill.” A county health representative described outreach to the local hospital district board and recent attendance at a “mom‑baby cafe” to hear families’ needs.

- Commissioners and members of the public asked about data collection and whether the county would administer the Colorado Healthy Kids Survey; county staff reported the school board has approved administering that survey this year, which officials said should improve local data for future reports.

- Presenters described plans to help counties use the Kids Count report to pursue state and philanthropic funding and to provide the county profile in Spanish if requested.

Ending

Presenters said the Kids Count report is a tool for local planning and grant applications and offered follow‑up help to pull additional county‑level data. The board thanked the Colorado Children’s Campaign and the Custer County Kids Council for the presentation and discussed next steps for coordinating childcare, prenatal access and grant applications.

Quotes in this article are taken from the Sept. 10, 2025 Custer County Board of Commissioners meeting transcript and attributed to speakers listed below.