New Colorado law refunds families who sign up for childcare waitlists

For new parents in the Denver metro area, finding the right child care facility can be challenging and expensive. However, a new state law beginning this year can help ease some of the financial strain.

"I became pregnant in November 2023, and I started calling around in January 2024," said Emily Rinkel. "The last thing that I should have to worry about is where I'm going to get my childcare from."

Yet that is exactly the struggle Rinkel faced when she began searching for childcare facilities for her newborn.

"I put my name on the waitlist on one of the corporate facilities," she said. "It was $150, and non-refundable, and I had to pay it whether my child got into the center or didn't get into the center."

In cases like this, parents might wait months, if not years, before they're removed from the waitlist. But at places like Cribs to Crayons Childcare, parents are not being turned away.

"Ninety-nine percent of the time, I don't even charge my registration fee, because there's no need for such large amounts of registration fees," said Krystal Gastineau, owner of Cribs to Crayons.

Instead, she's using the fee to address another issue in the system: parents having to plan far in advance.

"I typically use mine to hold a long-term spot," said Gastineau.

A new state law taking effect this year will require childcare providers to refund waitlist deposits if a family is not accepted into the program within six months.

In a letter issued by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, providers will only be allowed to keep a reasonable amount of up to $25 of those fees.

"While I don't like that the government is able to tell me what to do with my money, or what to charge and where it goes in my business, I do understand why it's being put in place. Because these bigger centers are charging large waitlists and families are not guaranteed that spot, even after paying that large amount," said Gastineau. "It will help families focus more on child care facilities because those fees aren't outrageous, instead of going to the unlicensed in-homes or the neighbors, or things like that, where a child is put in a dangerous situation."

The Colorado Association of Family Child Care says it supports the new legislation and the protections it offers families, but notes that the $ 25 the child care centers can keep is not enough to "cover the administrative burden some programs face while managing waitlists."

CAFCC's president and legislative committee chair, Stacey Carpenter, said they don't believe the law is the right approach for reducing childcare costs.

"As licensed family child care home (FCCH) providers ourselves, we understand that child care services, tuition and fees is a complex issue that this bill did not directly address. Instead, this law addresses the costs and fees that families sometimes face when attempting to find and secure child care," a statement by the CAFCC explained.

They said the organization supports the bill's intent to ensure transparency regarding fees and procedures. They also expressed understanding of legislators' concerns and why the bill addressed refunds for families who were not offered placement in a program. However, they feel that the Colorado Department of Early Childhood didn't receive sufficient feedback from people affected by the legislation and that the fee facilities retain is too low.

"CAFCC is disappointed by the $25 administrative fee that was decided upon, but understands there was unfortunately low engagement in the Colorado Department of Early Childhood's (CDEC) process to engage stakeholders and a decision was made based upon the limited responses CDEC received. We do not believe $25 will cover the administrative burden some programs face when managing waitlists," the organization explained. "The changes from the introduced bill draft and signed law highlights that while legislators want to assist families and help with child care issues and costs, the child care industry and reasoning behind certain business practices is not always understood by those outside of the field."

They said that early childhood care is already heavily regulated, and that "adding more regulations will cause more burdens on programs." They also expressed concern that some child care programs may discontinue waitlists under this new legislation, making it harder for families to enroll their children in the program of their choice. They asserted that the issue of childcare costs is complex and requires further work to address.

While parents like Rinkel support the idea of giving families their deposits back, she says it's not enough to address the deeper issues with childcare access in the state.

"I think, really, it should come down to the fact that your kid needs to be born before you can put in an application. I have a feeling that people are putting their names in place and they're not pregnant," she said.

Meanwhile, Gastineau believes there are greater barriers to childcare access impacting families in the present, such as the recent freeze on new CCAP enrollees (Childcare Assistance Program). Without access to this program, which offers tuition assistance for low-income families, Gastineau worries some children are being left without the care they need.

"It's messing with the circle of life here, and that's where I think the focus should be," she said, "so families can work."