More than 5,700 children from low-income families have been shut out of child care programs across Colorado, where 23 counties have, as of May 1, frozen enrollment or set up waitlists for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, according to data from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
It鈥檚 a kind of gridlock with far-reaching impacts for kids, families and child care providers 鈥� and a crisis, some early childhood education officials say, that is stranding families, raising alarm about where children stay during the workday and straining some community providers until they may have no choice but to close their doors.
鈥淚n my eyes and from what I鈥檝e seen in the community, kids are being kind of pushed to the wayside,鈥� said Amie Cinkosky, director of Little Eagles Child Development Center in Colorado Springs. 鈥淭hey don鈥檛 have a safe place to go.鈥�
Funding challenges began affecting the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program last year and , putting both families who rely on the government subsidized child care program and providers whose seats are mostly filled with the program鈥檚 students on an uncertain track. The halt in enrollment, which could last three to five years, stems mostly from a slew of federal rule changes adopted under the Biden administration in March 2024. The federal government is mandating that parents whose children benefit from the program pay a smaller fee out of pocket 鈥� 7% of the family鈥檚 income, down from 10%. The new rules also dictate that counties pay providers in advance and dole out funding based on enrollment rather than attendance.
Additionally, Colorado must compensate child care providers at a higher rate than a few years ago after a routine federal review determined that Colorado was falling short in how much it paid providers.
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