In the coming months, Colorado officials will send a new stream of federal money to the state’s child care providers and others working in early childhood.
Apr 22, 2021, 5:24pm MDT
In the coming months, Colorado officials will send a new stream of federal money to the state s child care providers and others working in early childhood.
Subscribe
Those dollars $119 million come from a $10 billion early childhood allocation in the second federal stimulus package passed by Congress in December. Colorado early childhood leaders unveiled their plans for the money during an online town hall meeting April 8.
In addition to helping the battered child care industry recover from the pandemic, they said the money is intended to help the state prepare for the launch of universal 4-year-old preschool in the fall of 2023.
Child care subsidy rate increases $36.4 million over two years
This money will go to providers that care for children whose families qualify for government subsidies through the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program. The funding will boost subsidy rates by 5%, plus give an additional boost to providers who care for infants and toddlers, and providers in counties where the cost of providing care is higher. Part of the $36 million will also pay providers for days when children are absent. About 44% of Colorado’s child care providers participate in the subsidy program.
Sustainability grants for workforce support $35 million over one year
This round of sustainability grants will provide funding so child care providers can give employees hazard pay, cover benefits, or maintain employees’ hours. This money will be available to providers regardless of whether they participate in the child care subsidy program The state has not yet decided the maximum grant size, but providers wh
Local Teka Catron, left, holds the hand of Amelia Schmitt, 2, alongside Makenzie Shmitt, 7, Hazel Cavender, 2, and Tyler Schmitt, 5, at the Snowmass Ice Rink in Base Village on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. The group lives in Carbondale but come up to Snowmass to ski and skate. (Kelsey Brunner/The Aspen Times)
In Snowmass Village and the Roaring Fork Valley, an ever-changing supply and demand equation impacted by COVID-19 continues to mold the landscape of child care services. Some parents opt for a traditional model at the Little Red Schoolhouse, but others have turned to alternative options relying on family and friends or employer-run programs to meet the need.