President Trumps Executive Order freezing federal funding this week was greeted with a same day lawsuit resulting in a stay and was ultimately rescinded. People statewide were panicking about whether it impacted CCCAP funding.

HERE'S THE REALITY:

We have consistently heard from CDEC that they expect ALL counties to be on a CCCAP freeze by the end of the fiscal year. That means that EVERY county will be on a freeze within the next 5 months. Those freezes are expected to last at least 3-5 years!

WHAT!?!

The unfunded mandates from the Federal Government in 2024 created a mandate to implement additional CCCAP changes that we all applaud. Help for families, help for programs. Those new requirements have an additional annual cost of $60 Million dollars. Colorado has agreed to provide an additional $10 million in the budget this year for CCCAP but that leaves the state woefully short, still necessitating another $50 Million dollars of the full amount needed to implement the new federal mandates.

Now you see counties that are not on a freeze, limiting paid holidays, etc. in an attempt to continue keeping their programs active. When those changes fall short and the counties find their budgets are limited to line item revenue streams, they will go on a freeze.

Here's the question.....

Do we hold onto an ideal, the changes that brought us closer to a perfect system, while we watch it further BREAK the existing system?

• Currently 2,653 programs will not be affected. They don't have a CCCAP contract.
• 114 Homes/Centers/Preschools/SACCS have contracts without authorizations.
• 1,755 Programs have CCCAP children in their programs right now.

We ask, can those programs sustain without CCCAP funding, without being able to refill their CCCAP slots when children leave or age out? For some, that will be the final straw. Colorado providers have attained a partial win already. CDEC was mandated to increase their funding by the Feds because they were cited in an audit for underpaying providers. Those changes have already been implemented 1/3 of the way, with another 1/3 increase coming this October and the final 1/3 in October 2026. The state has been exemplary in implementing these new rates for programs. That change alone improves CCCAP for our programs.

Colorado has a two year waiver for the new unfunded mandates. That waiver won't keep counties from going on a freeze. The ONLY thing that stops that from happening is:

1. Get the full funding amount from the Feds or the State, OR
2. If the unfunded mandates are rescinded. That doesn't mean they can't be implemented in the future on a more gradual basis!

Coercing a system to change without providing fiscal support to implement the changes is destructive. Each program has to decide for themselves. We recommend you reach out to your federal legislators and tell them about their two options to protect the Colorado child care industry. Solutions have to come and they need to come quickly.