Craig Daily Press

Craig — Debbie Yeager may not know the comfort of a typical day in her new job with Moffat County Social Services, but adversity is not new in her life.

Yeager, a cancer survivor and mother of two young children, has overcome recent challenges. Her philosophy remains constant, now.

“You never give up,” she said. “You keep striving and moving forward.”

Her outlook could be a benefit in her new position — one new to Social Services, as well — as she attempts to pioneer a new regional program.

Yeager is the county’s first early childhood coordinator, a joint position with Rio Blanco County. Her task is to organize the Northwest Colorado Council for Children and Families, a new initiative to help parents learn how to care for children from birth to age 6.

It’s an important part of a child’s life that normally gets little attention, Yeager said.

“There’s 1,825 days from birth to the first day of kindergarten,” she said. “In those 1,825 days, kids are going to go through things every day of their life that affects them the rest of their lives.”

The Council’s main focus is to organize or streamline services in four areas: childcare and parent education, health care, mental health and family support.

An effective system in those areas can foster cooperation between agencies with similar programs and create a community of services parents can easily access, Yeager said.

After becoming a parent, she said she now understands more than ever how important a child’s early years are to their development.

She saw things as a Moffat County High School teacher that made her wonder if youths could be reached more effectively when they were younger, she said. She eventually left MCHS after seven years to be with her newborn children, she added.

“Being home with my kids for two years, I see things in a different way,” Yeager said. “Teaching them manners at an early age, sitting down and reading with them, playing with Play-Doh. It’s all so important.”

Although her background is in education, she earned a masters degree in education leadership, which included grant writing classes she can use in her new position.

Before creating the Council, Moffat and Rio Blanco County Social Services plan to host three open forums for parents to tell officials what services they need, what services are conducted poorly and what services work.

Any programs that might come from the Council will come from the parents first, Yeager said.

Collin Smith can be reached at 875-1794 or cesmith@craigdailypress.com