HB 26-1260

House Bill 26-1260, which has been signed into law, delays until August 1, 2028, the implementation of certain updates to Colorado’s child care assistance programs. These updates include capping family copayments for child care at 7% of their income and paying providers in advance. The bill also limits administrative costs for counties receiving funds for these programs to no more than 5%, and requires reporting on how these funds are spent. This affects families using the program, child care providers, and local governments managing the assistance.

Official Summary

Under existing law, the implementation dates for capping family copayments for child care at 7% of family income, for paying child care providers in advance of the provision of services, and for utilizing grants and contracts to improve access to child care for underserved populations is August 1, 2026. The bill extends the implementation dates to August 1, 2028.      The bill clarifies that no more than 5% of money allocated to counties for child care assistance may be used for administrative costs. The bill modifies existing reporting requirements to include the total amount of child care assistance program (CCCAP) allocation that is spent by the department and each county on administrative expenses, county indirect expenses, program implementation costs, and direct service expenses.(Note: Italicized words indicate new material added to the original summary; dashes through words indicate deletions from the original summary.)(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)

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