Colorado’s child care system is squeezing families from both ends: prices are brutal, slots are scarce, and the state’s main subsidy program is literally freezing people out. That’s the gist of a new Colorado Newsline commentary by Jenn Finders (originally published by The Conversation) laying out how Colorado’s Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) is hitting a financial wall—right as counties start passing local tax measures to patch holes the state can’t seem to stop drilling.
According to the piece, Colorado is the sixth-least affordable state for child care. Center-based care averages 14% of a two-parent household’s median income and a jaw-dropping 45% of a single parent’s median income, compared to a federal affordability benchmark of 7%. The author also cites that in 2023, more than 40,000 Colorado parents reported quitting a job, turning down a job, or changing jobs because of child care problems.
Now for the part where Colorado governance does its signature move: act surprised that math exists.
Colorado discovered “unfunded mandate” math—again
The commentary explains that a March 2024 federal rule caps family co-payments for child care subsidies at no more than 7% of household income and requires reimbursement rates to reflect the full cost of care—but included no additional federal funding. In Colorado, meeting these requirements is projected to cost the subsidy system about $43 million more per year.
And then the COVID-era stabilization money runs out. The piece notes that the expiration of COVID-19 relief funding—described as providing Colorado an additional $465 million to stabilize and expand child care assistance—has added to “growing financial instability” for the subsidy system.
So what happens next in modern Colorado? We don’t fix the system. We freeze it.
“Enrollment freeze” is just bureaucracy’s way of saying “good luck”
Per the article, about one-third of Colorado counties are experiencing an enrollment freeze for child care subsidies—meaning new applicants can’t access subsidized care “until the freeze is lifted,” and there is no set timeline for when that will happen.
Without additional funding, enrollment in CCCAP is estimated to decline by 64%, from about 30,000 to 10,000 enrollees. Not because fewer families need help. Because the state’s solution is to lock the door and put a sign on it: “Back soon. Maybe.”
Larimer County: where the numbers stop being “policy” and start being pain
The author zooms in on Larimer County, noting that a household with a median income of $64,919 and two kids under 5 spends about 37% of its income on child care. Larimer has had a CCCAP enrollment freeze since February 2024 due to budget constraints.
The piece also describes survey research of 88 families (half receiving a subsidy, half blocked by the freeze). In unpublished research being prepared for peer review, the author reports families affected by the freeze used fewer paid child care hours, faced higher costs, had less stable arrangements, were less satisfied, experienced more child care-related stress, and showed greater risk of depression.
And here’s the part we really care about as taxpayers and workers: families without a subsidy reported missing twice as many workdays. Extrapolated to the 425 Larimer families affected, that’s over $2.2 million in lost annual earnings. That’s not a “soft” impact. That’s a direct hit to household stability and local productivity.
Local communities are passing taxes because the state won’t (or can’t) keep up
The commentary’s core point is that counties are now trying to fill gaps with local revenue—because statewide and federal funding is unstable.
- Larimer County: voters passed an additional 0.25% countywide sales tax, expected to generate $28 million annually for child care assistance and workforce compensation.
- San Miguel County: voters passed an existing property tax of 75 cents per $1,000 of assessed value allowing the county to keep and use all revenue instead of being limited by a new state cap; estimated to retain nearly $1 million annually.
- Eagle County: voters approved a lodging tax increase from 2% to 4% on hotel stays and short-term rentals, projected to raise about $4.5 million annually to lower child care costs.
The author argues these initiatives can provide tuition support, expand slots, improve quality, and raise wages for child care workers—but also admits they cannot by themselves resolve Colorado’s statewide child care funding deficit.
Our take: Colorado’s new plan is “patchwork taxes forever”
Here’s what we’re watching: Colorado is drifting into a two-track reality where child care help depends on your ZIP code, your county’s ballot appetite, and whether you can survive until an “enrollment freeze” ends (timeline: lol). Meanwhile, families get told child care is essential for the workforce—right up until the bill shows up.
We’re not anti-child-care. We’re anti-lying. If child care is this foundational to the economy (the piece cites an estimated $2.7 billion cost to the state from disruptions for families with infants and toddlers), then Colorado’s leadership needs to stop pretending a spreadsheet “freeze” is a policy solution. It’s not. It’s a punt with a press release.
And yes—counties can do creative local solutions. But when the state lets core systems wobble until local sales taxes, property taxes, and lodging taxes have to swoop in like duct tape on a cracked engine block, we’re not “innovating.” We’re just doing Colorado’s favorite thing: making working families pay twice—once in taxes and again in chaos.
So what’s the actual plan?
The article lays out the damage, highlights local stopgaps, and notes the uncertainty. What it doesn’t provide (in the text we were given) is the part we’re all owed: a clear statewide accountability map. Who is responsible for the freeze decisions county-to-county? What’s the total statewide shortfall number? What’s the timeline to restore access? What’s the oversight on the new local revenue streams?
Until we get those answers, this “funding crisis” story reads like another chapter in Colorado’s governing style: announce a big promise, let the money expire, then send counties to the ballot box with a tin cup.
Read the original piece here: Source
Sound off: Are local child care taxes a smart fix—or a permanent surrender to patchwork government?
Source: Colorado Newsline
Just Stop It
