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DENVER, CO – The House passed a bill to save families money on child care. SB22-213 invests $50 million of federal pandemic relief dollars toward increasing child care capacity and boosting the professional child care workforce.
“The pandemic has made it even more difficult for families to find affordable, high-quality childcare and as a result, many parents, especially moms, are leaving the workforce to care for their kids,” said Rep. Kerry Tipper, D-Lakewood. “We’re investing $50 million toward expanding Colorado’s child care facilities and training more professionals to bring down the cost of child care. This bill will help us provide critical support for working families who’ve been stretched thin to ensure their children have a safe place to learn and thrive during the workday.”
“Colorado’s child care system has been stretched thin for years, so we’re taking the initiative to fill funding gaps and make child care more affordable and accessible,” said Rep. Alex Valdez, D-Denver. “Our bill invests federal pandemic relief dollars toward training more child care professionals and expanding our state’s child care capacity so families can more easily access quality care.”
Child Care Support Programs: SB22-213, sponsored by Representatives Kerry Tipper and Alex Valdez passed the House by a vote of 41 to 22. This bill aims to boost Colorado’s economy and make it easier for families to access child care by increasing capacity across the state and better developing the workforce to help Coloradans get the training they need to provide that care. This bill utilizes $50 million of federal pandemic relief dollars to boost child care capacity by providing $16 million in grant funding to open a new child care center or expand capacity at an existing licensed childcare facility. It will also invest $10 million to support the employer-based child care facility grant program, which will help business owners and other employers provide convenient, high-quality child care on-site while parents are at work.
SB22-213 also adds $15 million to the successful workforce recruitment and retention grant program and provides $7.5 million to support and train license-exempt informal caregivers working with young children in their communities.