ECEA's Member ONLY Newsletter
New White Paper: The Case for Market-Based Child Care Reform
We are the workforce behind the workforce, and ECEA just put that truth in writing.
This month we released a new white paper, The Case for Market-Based Child Care Reform: A Strategic Roadmap for Colorado. It makes the argument so many of you live every day: Colorado does not have a child care demand problem, it has a supply problem, and the fastest way to fix it is to make it easier, not harder, to run a great child care business.
Here is what the paper lays out:
- The churn is real. Between 2023 and 2026, Colorado saw 955 program closures against just 822 openings, a net loss of providers even as demand hit record highs. Nearly 9 in 10 of those closures were private, non-district programs: small businesses owned by women and neighbors.
- The desert paradox. The state names child care deserts as the crisis, then keeps deepening them. A center fully engaged in the system now navigates 223 pages of rules, plus 33 new pages of Quality Service Standards. You cannot resolve a child care desert by making it harder to run a child care business.
- A roadmap built around you. Five market-based principles, starting with parent choice and money that follows the child, plus a clear first step for any new funding: level the field with an "equitable compensation offset" so private providers are not the only ones paying property tax.
- Growth without new taxes. The paper champions the Colorado Child Care Contribution Tax Credit (CCCTC) and Senator Bright's Investment Performance Authority (Senate Bill 26-180), which funds care for families with low incomes from smarter investment of public dollars the state already holds.
- Funding families when they need it most. Realign the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) to prioritize the birth-to-five years, and move school-age care to a dedicated federal grant.
This is advocacy you can put to work. Share it with a legislator, a county commissioner, or a fellow provider. When decision-makers see private programs as essential infrastructure rather than a line item, the whole conversation changes.
Read the full white paper here: The Case for Market-Based Child Care Reform
Watch a related video here: https://youtu.be/mwhKjzI2ZKg
Together We Are Stronger.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Jf9IUwhpW7E_ZFBvhnPLyi8sBef2YxUTIdOO-D1ZhIg/edit?usp=drive_link
www.coloradoecea.org/offers/QLsHrqHr
Saving money on partnerships or partnering with companies that will work hard for you is invaluable and DOES make a difference for your program.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JXP-1s8_1YNnMRf2qDGfKNXatixz3mMw0Q4Yh0y3utc/edit?usp=sharing
ClaimLinx is Making a Difference ALREADY!
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One member, 22 employees with Major medical. ClaimLinx is going to be able to save them between $15,000 & $18,000 a month.
This is shifting the way you buy health care.
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We've told you about Amaze Health....you can add it to your MERP as a 105 plan (pre-tax) for $32 a month per employee. That will keep your MERP claims down....we will market this to your employees to make sure they use it and it keeps more money in your MERP so be sure to loop us in for support!
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Contact details are on the final slide!
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