DENVER — Lisa Armao thinks older adults have more to offer than people realize. 

That’s why she’s mobilizing them to step in to a field where staffing shortages are all too common.

The Early Childhood Services Corps is a Colorado-based, non-profit group that recruits and trains adults 50-and-older to lend a hand in child care centers across this state.  

Since its inception in 2020, the ECSC has helped more than 200 older adults land roles as teachers, substitutes, volunteers and business advisors in more than 50 child care centers across Colorado.

The program helps address one of the biggest challenges facing child care providers throughout the nation: a shortage of workers.

“Most people, when they hear about us, they do love the idea, and they’re like, ‘Why isn’t everybody doing this?’ ” said Armao, ECSC’s founder and director. 

The child care worker shortage became even more pronounced after Colorado began offering state-funded universal preschool for 4-year-olds in 2023.

“Because of universal preschool, they got such an influx of new 4-year olds,” Armao said. “Who are you going to find that wants to work a part-time day at $18 an hour, in the middle of the day?”

Armao said the program has provided steady employment for older adults who need to work, but may only want to do so part-time. 

“I have people who reach out to me and say, ‘Can I make $1,000 working as a sub a month? Because if I don’t, I’m going to lose my house,’” she said.

ECSC provides seniors with free training

Substitute teachers can make a big difference for child care providers.

Child care centers are mandated by law to uphold certain child-to-teacher ratios. ECSC provides child care facilities of all kinds — including non-profit, private, corporate, public or home day cares — with a ready pool of qualified candidates.

Having that pool of on-call subs can allow child care workers to more easily take time off, which helps with staff retention. Armao said one pilot study of eight sites that consistently used ECSC recruits showed staff retention rates doubled in one year.

According to Armao, the presence of older adults can also be a huge benefit for children. But the logistics of running such a program can be challenging for child care providers, who already have a lot on their plate.

The ECSC handles those logistics for them.

Before entering a classroom, older adults undergo training so they’ll have the skills and knowledge on par with other early childhood educators.

Classroom volunteers complete 19 hours of free online training developed by ECSC in partnership with Red Rocks Community College in Denver.  

The ECSC recruits and trains older adults based on how, and how often, they want to be involved in local child care efforts.

Those who are looking for positions as paid staff, whether full- or part-time, go through 3-4 months of free coursework to qualify with statewide requirements for teaching positions. 

After training is complete, ECSC connects certified recruits who are fully background-checked with child care centers all over Colorado who need more staff. 

“What we’re trying to change is the concept that older adults are these sweet grandmas who come and read to you,” Armao said. “We really want to be seen as looking at our elders as healthy assets who can help you with the workforce issues.”

The ECSC’s model ensures participants are trained to understand today’s norms around children and child care.

“Without any training, an older adult will often revert back to words and phrases they used raising their kids, which we no longer use,” Armao said.

Not all senior recruits successfully complete the training program.

“And that’s totally fine,” Armao said. “Because if you truly believe in your heart that children are to be seen and not heard, or compliance means children do what you say because you’re the grown up, then you shouldn’t work with kids, because that’s not how it is anymore.

“We know that doesn’t create healthy adults.”

Seniors can also volunteer as child care business consultants

Even adults who don’t consider themselves “kid people” can lend a hand through the ECSC.

Those who want to contribute their expertise as business consultants undergo seven hours of free training in early childhood rules and regulations. This prepares them to work with child care center administrators, helping write grants and advising on financial or operational issues to ensure sustainability.

“Seniors bring a lot of capacity, not just the caregiving of young children, but also a whole bunch of expertise that they’ve gained over a lifetime of work,” said Jason Callegari, director of initiatives at the Buell Foundation in Denver, a child care-focused funder that works closely with the ECSC.  

Callegari said many child care directors are in the field because they are passionate about helping kids. But they may lack the experience or training to run a profitable small business.

Having a volunteer mentor with experience in fundraising, accounting or other corporate roles can make a big difference.

“I have emails from sites that were like, ‘We stayed open because of your volunteer business advisor. We would have closed, we never would have figured out this grant,’” Armao said.  

Colorado stakeholders believe the ECSC model could be replicated elsewhere with sufficient funding.

“I can see an easy scalability,” said Laura Carlson, VP of Programs at Buell Foundation. “You’d have to tweak it depending on local licensing standards, but I think you could accomplish that pretty easily.”

Armao agreed. 

“Every state has an early childhood workforce issue and every state has a plethora of older adults trying to figure out what to do after retirement, so why not do it?” she said. 

“There’s just such a great need and older adults are so willing and ready. They’re smart, they’re dedicated, they’re amazing workers.”