Our lead allies in Colorado are Clayton Early Learning and the nonprofit, non partisan, research, policy, and advocacy organization Colorado Children’s Campaign. Clayton prepares young children for school through family-centered classrooms and home-based practices, research/program evaluation, and professional development. The Colorado Children’s Campaign is a policy, advocacy and research organization that partners with an extensive statewide network of child advocates and serves as the leading voice for kids at the state capitol. The two organizations partner closely with a wide array of advocates to advance well-being for children throughout the state.
State early childhood policy progress is dependent both on the state’s policy environment and the numerous efforts — by those listed on this page and many others — who worked both independently and collaboratively to achieve wins for young children.
Research shows that family economic security is foundational to children’s overall wellbeing. Research also shows that widespread disparities in opportunity (especially by race) drive wide disparities in outcomes. States with policies that offer strong support to young children and their families are more likely to see 1) declining numbers of children in low-income households and 2) low racial disparity among those children.
Young Children in Low-Income Households: Declining
Approximately 30% (173,000) of the state’s children 0-8 live in households below 200% FPL (2021). This number represents a decrease from 34% (209,000) in 2016.1
Racial Disparity Among Young Children Living in Low-Income Households: High
Black, Hispanic/Latino, and/or Native children aged 0-8 are significantly more likely to be living in households below 200% FPL than are Asian and non-Hispanic White children.2
State General Fund Appropriations: Growing
Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed the state’s fiscal 2024 budget bill into law on May 1. The budget includes $41.5 billion in operating appropriations from all funds and $15.1 billion in general fund operating appropriations. This represents a 5.6 percent increase in total fund spending and a 11.6 percent
increase in general fund spending over fiscal 2023 levels. After accounting for rebates and other expenditure adjustments, transportation and capital projects, and transfers and diversions, general fund spending obligations in the budget total $16.6 billion, a decrease of $1.4 billion from fiscal 2023. The enacted budget leaves an ending balance in the General Fund Reserve of $2.5 billion. The budget is based on a gross general fund revenue forecast of $16.7 billion for fiscal 2024.3
Key Revenue Sources:
Political Alignment: Aligned Democrat
During the 2023 session, the state’s Senate and House were both Democrat controlled. The state’s Governor was also a Democrat.4
Types of Common Ballot Measures Available:5 Six
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Organizations Include:
Early Childhood Policy Advocacy Multi-State Initiatives Include:6
A Colorado coalition of advocates is working with Child Care NEXT funding on a sustained effort to pursue bold transformation for the state’s child-care ecosystem.
Highlights from the state’s early childhood policy advocacy community include:7
HB23-1091: Child Care Contribution Tax Credit Renewal: Renews the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit (CCTC) for an additional three years. Child care providers rely on the donations incentivized by the CCTC (an estimated $60 million yearly, statewide) to fund their core programs, increase quality and wages, improve access to care for families, expand their capacity, and provide professional training and career pathway support for staff.
HB23-1290: Retain Revenue for Universal Preschool: Refers a question to November 2023 voters about whether to retain excess revenue raised from Proposition EE, a ballot measure Coloradans passed overwhelmingly in 2020. Prop EE raised taxes on tobacco and nicotine products to fund a free, voluntary universal preschool program. Retaining the additional revenue will allow Colorado to provide universal preschool services and extend additional preschool programming to more children, especially those with qualifying factors who need it most.
SB23-269: Colorado Preschool Program Provider Bonus Payments: Gives participating providers in universal preschool a much-needed financial boost, and the bonus structure is targeted to make the most impact possible with a fixed amount of funding. The bonuses provided by this bill will support providers new to participating in state-run pre-k, providers who maintain or expand their infant and toddler slots, and providers in “low-capacity preschool areas” – areas of the state that are not currently able to meet the demand for universal preschool.
HB23-1300: Multi-Year Continuous Eligibility for Medicaid and CHP+ : Allows the state to provide continuous Medicaid and Child Health Plan Plus (CHP+) coverage to children from birth to age 3 and to provide 12 months of coverage for Coloradans leaving state prison. The bill also creates a study of how to improve the state Medicaid program to support Coloradans’ health, food security, and housing stability. Extending Medicaid and CHP+ coverage for young kids and people leaving carceral settings builds on a successful pandemic-era policy, improving oral and behavioral health, well-being, and access to health services for thousands of Coloradans during critical life periods.
SB23-017: Additional Uses of Paid Sick Leave: Expands on Colorado’s paid sick leave law and explicitly added school and place of care closures to the list of allowable reasons for an employee to use paid sick leave. Notably, this bill does not require the family member attending a school or place of care to be a minor child and will cover adults in care as well.
HB23-1006: Employer Notice of Income Tax Credits: Requires Colorado employers to notify employees of the availability of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, the state Earned Income Tax Credit, the federal Child Tax Credit, and the state Child Tax Credit. Colorado families are missing out and leaving money on the table- this bill will provide employees notice once a year from their employer, so they are better able to identify their eligibility potential.
HB23-1246: Support In Demand Career Workforce: Will provide a no cost credential option for people entering the field of early childhood education to create a strong incentive for new teachers to explore opportunities.
The Alliance’s lead grantee in Colorado, Colorado Children’s Campaign, is working to advance early childhood policies in several areas:
Preschool and Pre-K
Child Care
Child Care Workforce
Maternal Health
Infant & Child Health
Family Economic Security
Early Childhood Governance
Click here for more information on advocates’ policy agenda.
Colorado allies forged new advocacy relationships for bold and ambitious changes for their communities. As a result, a plethora of legislative bills passed to strengthen equity and access by addressing critical issues facing Coloradans.
NOTES:
1 Kids Count Data Center, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, November, 2022
2 National Center for Children in Poverty, Children Ages 0 to 8 Below 200 Percent Poverty, March 2023, NCCP analysis of ACS 1-Year Estimates – Public Use Microdata Sample 2021
3 National Association of State Budget Officers, Summaries of Fiscal Year 2024 Enacted Budgets, October 11, 2023.
4 National Conference of State Legislatures, 2023 State & Legislative Partisan Composition, February 28, 2023.
5 Ballotpedia, Ballot Measures by State, Kids Count Data Center, retrieved May, 2023.
6 Alliance for Early Success, Multi-State Initiatives for Early Childhood Policy Advocacy, April, 2022.
7 Alliance for Early Success, State-Wide Advocacy Highlights Survey, April-August, 2023.
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© 2024 Alliance for Early Success
The Alliance for Early Success does not endorse or advocate for specific legislation or candidates.
