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Insider's Edge - Help Change Licensing Regs No!; Enterprise Zones

Jul 23, 2026
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We Are Rewriting the Licensing Rules. Tell Us What to Fix.

ECEA now holds a seat on the SB20 Licensing Task Force. This is the group that reviews the rules you live under every day. If a rule slows you down, costs you money, or makes no sense for a real program, this is the moment it can finally be changed. But we need your voice to do it right.

Why this matters to your business

Every confusing rule costs you time. Every rule that repeats itself costs you money. You did not open your doors to spend your nights decoding regulations. This is your chance to change that.

We are in the meetings so you do not have to be. But we can only fight for the fixes we know about. You are the expert on what gets in your way. Tell us, and we carry it into the room for you.

How to send us a rule (it takes two minutes)

Click the button below. The survey asks five quick questions:

  • Your email

  • Rule Set

  • Rule Number

  • The issue with the rule or the licensing system

  • Your recommended change

That is it. Use the link as many times as you need. If you have ten rules on your mind, submit all ten.

Tell Us What Needs to Change

https://forms.gle/AKxbCzwrqD3TTNxQ9

Prefer a spreadsheet? Build one using those same five questions as headers, list as many rules as you want, and email it to [email protected]. We will add every one of them to our main sheet.

Our first meeting is coming up fast, so engage now. The more rules we gather from you, the stronger our case at the table. This is how we make a real difference.


 

A new tool that sends families to your door

We just launched a new website for Colorado families: www.cochildcare.org

It gives parents real resources in one place. It also lets us pass referrals straight to our members. When a family in your area is looking for care, we can point them to you. That is free enrollment leads working in your favor.

Please share it with your families and your community. The more the site grows, the more families we can be directed to quality care.  ECEA Members...THAT'S YOU!!

Together we are stronger.

Every function we take on here is advocacy for Colorado's privately owned early childhood programs. Forward this to a provider who needs to see it.


Members...Are YOU in an Enterprise Zone?  If you are you need to read the tax guide!

https://oedit.colorado.gov/enterprise-zone-program

https://tax.colorado.gov/enterprise-zone-tax-guide


Turn Payroll Taxes Into Margin: The Amaze Cafeteria 125 Plan

Many of you have asked: how do I create margin with a Cafeteria 125 plan, and why should I use Amaze for it? Here is the short answer. If you have 10 or more full-time employees, this program creates margin your program badly needs, and it gives your staff phenomenal benefits. It is 100% above board.

The simple version

A Cafeteria 125 plan is a pre-tax structure the IRS has allowed for decades. Big corporations have used it for years. Amaze brings that same tool to small businesses like yours.

Here is how it works. The plan lowers the taxable part of your payroll. You pay less in payroll taxes. Your employees take home more pay. And nothing changes about any major medical plan you already offer. Zero disruption.

The rare win-win

What you gain (the margin): You save on payroll taxes for every employee who takes part. For child care programs, that is an estimated $550 or so per employee per year, after the small admin cost. On a team of 15, that adds up fast. The savings run through your existing payroll software and show up in real time.

What your staff gain (the benefits): Your employees take home an extra $1,000 to $3,000 a year. They get health coverage with $0 copay and $0 deductible, unlimited use for the whole family, free access to more than 1,100 medications, and accident coverage. It covers their whole family, with dependents protected until age 26.

That is the win-win that almost never happens: more margin for you, and bigger paychecks plus better benefits for the people who care for Colorado's children.

Is it legit? Yes, 100% above board

  • Built through the IRS under Section 125

  • Backed by ERISA

  • Meets the recent Tri-Agency ruling as a certified excepted benefit

You are welcome to run it past your own tax advisor or the Amaze legal team. We are all about transparency and answers.

No 10 employees? You still have an option

Do not have 10 full-time employees, or do not want the cafeteria plan? You can still buy Amaze Direct for your team for just $32 a month per employee, and it covers their whole family. Any business can use this option. See slides 1 through 8 and slide 25 for the details.

One honest note

If your payroll does not run through a supported vendor, plan on up to 30 extra minutes per payroll run. It is a small lift for what it gives your team.

You can read them or I can read them to you, your call

I can read the slides to you, or you can read them yourself. The full deck walks through every number and every benefit.

Watch or Read the Slides Here 

Ready to get started?

Email Dawn at [email protected] and I will send you your registration link. One important thing: you must sign up through our link to lock in the negotiated $32 rate. Do not sign up through any other link, or you lose our rate.

Savings figures are estimates for illustration only and will vary by program. Please confirm the numbers for your business with your own tax or financial advisor.

Together we are stronger.


Quick PDIS Pointer

Licensing cannot see all of your archived trainings.  If you know something is currrent and it's not showing up for them, check your archived trainings in PDIS to show them.

OUR MEMBERS ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE!!!

 

 

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We are making sure that YOU as a member are getting the information that you need to be able to operate efficiently in this industry.
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