6/13/25 ECEA Child Care Update

The totals in the pie chart above are for licensed community based child care and preschool programs only. They represent 1,476 community based programs.

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Break even points for programs are generally at 70-75%. It's critical that we pay attention to the fact that currently 47.9% of community based centers and preschools are likely not profitable at this point. Another 5.2% may or may not be profitable. Only 36.9% of programs who reported their enrollment data are likely profitable.

ECEA MEMBERS - IF YOU ARE NOT PROFITABLE, YOU NEED TO CONTACT PEGGY OR DAWN. WE HAVE A TRAINING TO PROVIDE YOU WITH TANGIBLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO BECOME PROFITABLE.

It's confidential and it's extremely helpful!

There are currently 669 School operated child care/preschool licenses.

HOME TOTALS:

There are currently 1371 Homes.

Reported numbers for homes: No kids = 43; 1 child=16 homes, 2 children = 47 homes, 3 children = 60 homes, 4 children = 96 homes, 5 children = 112 homes, 6 children = 193, 7 children = 122 homes, 8 children = 173 homes, 9 children = 87 homes, 10 children = 49 homes, 11 children = 36 homes, 12 children or more (half days, etc) = 113, no data = 224 homes

SACC PROGRAM TOTALS:

There are currently 1091 School aged programs.

726 are operated by community based programs.

365 are operated by school districts.

Here is what communities told CDEC what their priorities should be:

Here's what our members are saying about the things impacting their business most:

Rent would be #1 is the feedback we got from one person.

MEMBERS ONLY--WE ARE HEARING GREAT THINGS ABOUT WHAT IS TO COME ON THE FEDERAL LEVEL!!

Last week we were asked about anything we had heard about that last years CCDF regulations might be rescinded. We were told that they had heard that this was going to happen. Yesterday at the RAC, Dr. Lisa Roy said that there will be a significant roll back of regulations from the federal government. They are not changing anything until they see the final new rule set. That means a lot of the current regulation work on CCCAP for instance will be null and void if this takes place.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN? If the rule set is nullified then the over 6,600 families on CCCAP freeze lists will be able to access low income child care again. That means that over 6,600 more children will be flooding the market looking for care again!

WHAT ELSE MIGHT HAPPEN? Further de-regulation to alleviate some pressures on your business. ECEA is working with a national coalition of Child Care Trade Associations to identify and suggest specific rules that need to be scaled back or eliminated. Our FIRST priority is maintaining safety for children but we also know that the industry is severely overregulated and we need some breathing room restored. ECEA is likely to ask for your help in submitting federal public comments before the Mid-July deadline. Watch future updates for details!

MEMBERS ONLY--WE CONTINUE TO PUSH FOR CHANGE - Stage II Discussions with the State

HI Carin and Mary Alice,

In our white paper we highlighted the concern about stage II investigations from licensing taking place as an automatic SOP by Licensing. I am following up on that issue.

We've seen an increase in allegations from disgruntled staff and families when they are leaving or are asked to leave a program. They complain to the county because they've learned that's where they can do the most harm to a program as it triggers a multitude of inspections.

ECEA believes that an internal shift in this policy would make a huge difference in our industry, creating a better sense of partnership than the current perception of adversarial compliance policies. CCDF regulations in Section 98.32-33 clearly states that inspections and posting of inspections must take place for "substantiated" complaints. While we know that states are allowed to make more stringent rules and policies than the federal requirements, we assert that this particular policy does several things that are not in anyone's best interest:

1) The time it takes for Licensing specialists to do these Stage II's is extensive. Furthermore, many specialists in subcontracts are told what they must cite for before they ever go out to "investigate" based on what the county representative included in the report. At some point statements in reports that don't identify who said what should merely be considered hearsay. If you can't prove yourself, as a licensing specialist, that something specific has occurred by following up with the individual who stated it then you should not be able to cite for it.

2) They create a system of fear that may prevent reporting by a program.

A program may choose to not report something to the county because they know that it accepted for investigation will result in not only a county investigation but also in a licensing inspection. If they fail to report, they get cited for failure to report. Automatic stage II's on unfounded stage I's cause every provider to think about this. If they've had disgruntled staff or family trigger these inspections and then something happens that the provider needs to report, it's only natural for them to stop and consider whether they should.

3) Licensing is an authority figure in our state. Parents may look at posting of Stage II investigations as a follow up on unfounded Stage I investigations as evidence that something really bad is happening at a location. It can cause irreparable harm to a program financially. A Director cannot explain to a prospective family what resulted in the avalanche of inspections if they never walk in their door to begin with. Reporting a situation like this to your Licensing Specialist in advance changes nothing. The inspections still occur because they are SOP.

We started a poll with members mid-week this week. Here's the FIRST thing that members say is negatively impacting their business:

On the enrollment issue. We separated out the school district and community based programs. What we saw there continues to shake our industry. Only 36.9% of community based programs reported their programs to be at a likely profitable level of enrollment. We know that overall capacity is increasing in the system, in large part because school district programs are expanding. The graphic below shows a bleak future for our state economy and parent's range of options for child care and early education in our state.

We know from the 2025 Kids Count release that while school district settings are 36% of the total slots, they are serving 56% of the children in UPK. That is hurting programs. Especially when previously they had so many fewer children in their system.

It's simple. Community based programs need a stronger partnership with CDEC in protecting the public perception of their programs. Anything that undermines public perception of a program undermines enrollment. CDEC must understand that by making Stage II investigations automatic whether or not the Stage I investigation was founded or unfounded can cause severe and sometimes irreparable harm to the public perception of a program. We understand that CDEC must ensure the safety of children. We also understand that you want to preserve the child care industry so that we can better support families statewide. Stage II's on unfounded Stage I's are overregulation and undermine business. For those reasons we are asking you for a change to your Stage II SOP's.

Thank you,

Dawn Alexander

Executive Director

ECEA Of Colorado (coloradoecea.org)

303-860-7174

Schedule with Dawn

If you are in membership with ECEA THANK YOU! If you are not PLEASE JOIN US! Together...Bolder, Braver, Stronger!

NOTE: Carin says she will check in with her leadership team when they return next week and let us know what they think.

YOU TOLD US YOU WANT TO TELL CDEC WHAT YOU THINK OF THEIR SERVICES (Good & Bad) and THIS Is what you do???? COME ON PEOPLE!!

Provide input to help to evaluate and shape the future of CDEC!

The Colorado Department for Early Childhood (CDEC) has contracted with Public Consulting Group (PCG) to conduct an independent evaluation examining CDEC’s progress since its launch in 2022.

The CDEC Independent Evaluation Webpage has information regarding how various constituent groups can sign up to participate in virtual focus groups and links to take an online survey both in English and Spanish. These groups include:

Families: Includes parents, foster parents, and primary caregivers for children should complete this survey.
Early Childhood Professionals: Includes members of the workforce who deliver direct services to young children and/or families, such as home visitors, mental health providers, classroom teachers, family child care home providers, early interventionists, and others.
Early Childhood Agency Leaders: Includes directors/administrators/owners of public, private for-profit, or nonprofit organizations/businesses that provide direct early childhood and/or family support services for young children and/or families that are funded and/or regulated by the CDEC.
Community Partners: Includes intermediary organizations that otherwise support or connect the early childhood system, e.g. LCOs, EC Councils, Family Resource Center, counties, philanthropic/advocacy, associations, professional preparation, etc. This includes both organizations that receive funding from the CDEC, as well as partner organizations not funded by the CDEC.

Here are flyers that you can share with your networks and communities:

If you have questions, email [email protected].

IF you have things to say, asks to make, concerns and delights to express NOW is the time! All focus groups and surveys close at the end of the month. Block time out on your calendar and DO IT!!

CO PYRAMID STARTS TOMORROW! Last Chance to register is TODAY!

Flyer: https://drive.google.com/file/d/11oub9JyeiaEYMqXk7ZJRvlavcJuvDRZH/view?usp=sharing

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Our Early Childhood Trade Show and Family Fun Fair is ALMOST HERE! Save August 9th as a great day to be around families for a ton of fun! We will have flyers out for you to share by the end of the month because we are fine tuning all of the AMAZING FUN THINGS that will be there!

Are you missing an opportunity to promote your business to families with young children? You are if you aren't a vendor at the event! Rates increase at the end of June so reserve your spot today!

https://www.coloradoecea.org/events/co-early-childhood-tradeshow-and-family-fun-fair