1 week Ago By Judith Kohler
Dania Kasim takes a visitor on a classroom-by-classroom tour of the child care center she has owned and run since 2010. She introduces staff members, many of whom have been with her since the Rising Star Early Learning Center opened in Englewood.Kasim then sits down to talk about the financial issues and policy changes she’s afraid could force her to close the center’s doors.
“My main thought is, ‘Am I going to be able to keep my business open?'”RELATED: With child care costing $25,000 a year, how are Denver parents affording families?Her worries stem from the fact that about 80% of the 140 children enrolled at Rising Star are in the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, or CCCAP.Director Dania Kasim poses for a portrait at Rising Star Early Learning Center in Englewood, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)While a statewide revenue gap of more than $1 billion is squeezing all state agencies, the CCCAP program is also reeling from the results of an audit requiring higher pay for child care centers; the winding down of COVID-19 relief money; and federal policy changes that will increase the expenses but provide no additional funds.
Without more money, the Colorado Department of Early Childhood projects that CCCAP could end up serving as many as 64% fewer families than it currently does.Counties administer federal and state money for the program. They contribute a 10% match for the service and cover 100% of any cost overruns.
Denver, Arapahoe, Adams, Larimer, Weld, Boulder, Broomfield, Jefferson and El Paso counties are among the 20 that have frozen enrollment after calculating the impending cost hikes.People can apply for spots in counties where there’s a waitlist. But a freeze means the program is closed to new families even if spaces become available.
Rising Star is in Arapahoe County, where enrollment was frozen Jan. 1.“What do you do when all the kids move up and they leave and then we’re still in that freeze?” Kasim asked.
“If we have to wait two to three years, that is going to be a catastrophe.”County commissioners and area human services departments have been talking to state and federal lawmakers and officials about the potential fallout. They’re concerned that child care centers will close and that the lower-income families served by the program will face dire choices between keeping their jobs and taking care of their children.
“These are some of our most vulnerable families. Many times they are single-parent families. It’s very concerning, that decision of ‘What do I do with my children when I go to work to pay for rent, food and everything else,’ ” said Arapahoe County Commissioner Carrie Warren-Gully.
Adila Elham feeds a child during lunch at Rising Star Early Learning Center in Englewood, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)Warren-Gully fears that child care providers might accept fewer infants through 3-year-olds, whose care is more expensive. The program serves children through 12.
They can attend as long as their families are eligible, which that makes it difficult for counties to cut expenses when needed.About 2,600 kids in Arapahoe County are authorized for CCAP.“Prior to January, when we put in our freeze, we figured we were serving only about 11% of the families that were actually eligible,” Warren-Gully said.
In January, the county received 300 enrollment applications that it couldn’t process because of the freeze.Ongoing problems with availability and affordability of child care were thrust to the forefront during the COVID-19 pandemic when schools closed and parents who couldn’t work remotely had to figure out how to take care of their children. Challenges with tight fiscal margins and availability of slots remain.
RELATED: How to choose a child care program in ColoradoLack of enough child care spots affects businesses as well as families, said Gretchen Davidson, CEO of the Arapahoe County Early Child Council. She stays in touch with business organizations to keep the issue of child care availability and affordability on the economic radar.“They’re thinking about it.
They’re just as aware of the situation it puts them in, making sure they can hire the best people for jobs,” Davidson said.“Putting us in a bind”The child care program annually serves an average of 28,730 children, or about 10% of those who are eligible. Care is provided by 2,462 licensed providers and administered by 500 county workers, according to the state Department of Early Childhood.
Most of the money comes from a federal block grant. Colorado received $116.3 million in federal funds for CCCAP for fiscal 2024-25.
The state allocated $32 million; counties paid a total of $17.3 million; and $11.3 million came from COVID stimulus money.
Starting in 2024, the Colorado program raised child care providers’ rates after a federal audit of what CCCAP paid. The raise is being phased in over three years and state officials say it will cost $20.4 million.
The counties estimate the total will be closer to $25 million.An even bigger bill will come due in 2026 if new federal rules for the program kick in as expected. The rules approved by the Biden administration are intended to help parents by capping their co-payments and bringing providers’ reimbursement more in line with private pay.
The most significant — and expensive — change will be a shift to paying child care centers based on enrollment rather than attendance.Zalah Sherzad, left, helps a child wash their hands before lunch at Rising Star Early Learning Center in Englewood, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)“Now, CCCAP only pays when a child attends and for a minimum number of absences we’re required to pay,” said Sarah Dawson, director of the program.
The change will drive up expenses by $33 million annually, the program estimates. Capping families’ co-payments to 7% of their income, down from the current 10%, is expected to add about $10 million more annually.Currently, CCCAP spends on average $6,600 per child per year.
“Once we get to October 2026, with all the new rules in place and the full provider rate increase, we’ll be at $18,000 per child per year,” Dawson said.State and county officials have met with state and federal representatives about more funding and modifying or rescinding the federal rules. The legislature’s Joint Budget Committee proposed adding $15 million more for CCCAP this fiscal year and an additional $10 million a year after that.
“At the end of the day, it’s hard because the changes are really good for the program and they are things we’ve been trying to work toward,” Dawson said. “But without additional funding, it’s really putting us in a bind.”Facing tough choicesRenee Monohan first got involved with the South Central Council of Governments Early Learning Center in Trinidad as a parent.
She became a teaching assistant, a teacher and about 20 years later, is now program director for the area’s largest child care center.“I believe very firmly in what we offer and what we do for the kids and the families in the community,” Monohan said.But the nonprofit is feeling the effects of uncertainty around funding and the federal rules.
In December, the center had to close a small facility in Huerfano County in December. Monohan said all the families found alternatives.Of the Trinidad center’s 118 children, 51 are in CCCAP.
Monohan said Las Animas County hasn’t frozen the program’s enrollment, but she’s been told it could happen. She said the impact will be substantial if new families can’t be added.And If area families can’t access CCCAP, the community’s overall workforce will be affected, Monohan added.
“We’re very rural. Our resources are very limited and the choices that we have are limited as far as where parents can go for quality child care.”Some families have combined assistance from CCCAP and the state’s universal preschool program that provides up to 15 free hours of care per week.
Las Animas County might opt for a waiting list for CCCAP participants because of finances, said Michael Aragon, the county’s human services director. In that case, new children could be enrolled if others leave the program.However, the long-term funding questions are worrisome.
The county isn’t spending more than its allocation under CCCAP, but that could change with the rising expenses, forcing Aragon to draw on reserve funds.Related ArticlesColorado lawmakers introduce bill to expand protections for undocumented immigrants“Uncertainty” colors Colorado economic forecast as lawmakers begin to finalize budgetAs private equity invests in child care, Colorado lawmakers seek guardrailsCondemning Trump’s pardons, a turf ban, crime lab reforms and more from the Colorado legislature this weekColorado program that helps “the most vulnerable families” with child care faces freezes amid rising costs“If the county comes to the point that it can no longer afford to carry this program, then our provider could potentially have to close its doors,” Aragon said. “Many of our providers provide educational opportunities at an early age.
I feel like if we are not capable of providing that opportunity to our youth, we’re doing a disservice to them and the community we live in.”Investing in children: High priority?Rachel Sullivan of Loveland could have been in the position of deciding between work or staying home with her 2-year-old.“If I didn’t have CCCAP, then I would have to stay home with the baby at all times and I wouldn’t have any other form of income,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan has used CCCAP for the last five years. Two of her children who are in school will attend the program during the summer. She is taking time off from work after her 13-year-old daughter’s recent death following a car accident.
She knows the child care will be there when she returns.“It’s very helpful for those of us who are already struggling financially,” Sullivan said.Heather O’Hayre, Larimer County’s human services director, worries about the choices faced by families that can’t get help through CCCAP.
Larimer County froze its CCCAP enrollment in February 2024. The county projects that it will overspend its funding by $1.5 million, which means it can strike a deal with a county whose allocation exceeds its need.
Otherwise, it will have to pay 100% of the uncovered expenses.Rising Star Early Learning Center in Englewood, Colorado, on Wednesday, March 19, 2025. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)Nearly 450 children are on Larimer County’s “freeze list,” waiting for the county to start accepting applications again.
The county had 1,258 children in CCCAP when the freeze was imposed. At the end of 2024, 958 kids were enrolled.If the federal changes approved by the Biden administration are implemented, “we’ll likely serve anywhere from 20% to 50% of who we’re serving today,” O’ Hayre said.
“We are continuing to hear stories from families that are having to leave their jobs” because they can’t access child care, O’Hayre said.John Kefalas said he and the other Larimer County commissioners have talked to state and federal lawmakers about the financial issues plaguing the child care program.“This is really a fundamental issue: the welfare of our kids and families that want to get ahead,” said Kefalas, a former state legislator.
Removing barriers to child care so parents can work and attend school or a training program is key to a resilient economy and helping end generational poverty, Kefalas said.“This is an example of an issue that should be nonpartisan, and I think for the most part it is,” Kefalas said. “It should be a high priority to invest in children.
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