DENVER, CO — Today, Michael Bennet released a new policy platform to ensure every Colorado family has access to high-quality, affordable child care. His proposal combines innovative financing, smarter regulation, and investment in the child care workforce to expand access statewide. As governor, he will cut costs for families, ensure child care workers are paid a fair wage, and cut red tape to make it easier to start and operate a child care facility, without compromising health and safety.
“Every Colorado kid and family deserves access to affordable and high-quality child care,” said Michael Bennet. “Although we’ve made progress, parents still pay an average of $20,000 every year for child care. Colorado is the best state in the country – it should be the best place to raise a kid, too, but business as usual isn’t working for working families. As Governor, I will tackle this crisis head-on by working directly with child care providers, parents, local governments, the private sector, and philanthropy to scale models we know work, ensure our regulations are smarter and less burdensome, and invest in the providers who care for our kids.”
Colorado’s child care is among the most expensive in the nation, ranking fifth overall for infant care. The state has only enough licensed child care slots to serve 20 percent of Colorado’s infants and toddlers. This lack of affordable care affects not only families but also the broader economy. By some estimates, the deficit is costing Colorado $2.7 billion each year in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue.
Michael is committed to making Colorado a model for the rest of the country on how to deliver affordable child care. Key commitments in Michael’s “Affordable Childcare for Working Families” platform include:
- Cutting Costs for Families: Michael will make child care more affordable for working families by expanding access, spurring innovation, and lowering costs to affordable child care throughout the state. He’ll launch a Child Care Infrastructure Revolving Loan Fund to provide flexible, low-interest financing for providers to start, improve, or expand. He’ll partner with local governments to scale successful local models, like the Denver Preschool Program, and stimulate private-sector investment by modernizing tax credits. Michael will also empower home-based providers with better regional support and connections, and repurpose unused buildings to reduce overhead and expand child care capacity.
- Supporting Colorado’s Child Care Workforce: Michael will ensure child care workers have access to affordable health insurance and fair pay while expanding career opportunities. He’ll launch a statewide health insurance cooperative for child care providers to secure better rates and benefits, make the Care Worker Tax Credit permanent to provide ongoing financial relief, and expand apprenticeship and credentialing programs so early childhood educators can earn degrees and certificates through on-the-job experience.
- Making Regulations Smarter Without Compromising Quality and Safety: Michael will cut red tape and streamline regulations so providers can focus on delivering high-quality care, not navigate bureaucracy. He’ll lead a comprehensive overhaul of Colorado’s child care licensing system to align state and local requirements, simplify compliance, and maintain strong safety standards. He’ll also create a pre-approved child care housing model and master lease with local governments, and launch a locally-driven statewide parents’ portal with a common application system to make finding and enrolling in child care easier.
“I’m grateful for Michael Bennet’s forethought and recognition that the early childcare industry in Colorado is a critical economic driver and deserves robust funding and smart policy. Our state has been an innovator, but the work is not done, and children of our communities are relying on our future Governor to be their champion”, said Heather Hawk, Executive Director, Early Childhood Council of La Plata County.
“More families than ever are struggling to access affordable, high-quality early childhood education and child care. This isn’t just a concern for parents; it should worry business leaders, too. If families can’t find child care, they can’t come to work. Sen. Bennet has a deep understanding of this issue and a bold vision for how communities, employers and providers can unite to solve this problem for American families and our nation’s economy,” said Christine Benero, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mile High United Way.
“Michael’s plan makes clear that child care is not a side issue but core economic infrastructure. Through my ongoing work at the local level to tackle Westminster’s child care crisis and in conversations with Senator Bennet, I’ve seen how aligned leadership can turn this challenge into an opportunity. By tackling cost, workforce stability, and access together, this proposal will meaningfully improve lives across Colorado,” said Obi Ezeadi, Westminster City Councilor.
“Access to high quality child care is essential to Colorado’s infrastructure. Advancing child care capacity means smart regulations, prioritizing the early childhood workforce and creating sensible pathways to expand both family child care homes and center-based programs. Michael’s plan will help us invest in these models, expand parent choice, create sustainable businesses and ensure that every community (rural, frontier and urban) can sustain its local workforce and create opportunities for children and families to thrive,” said Kathleen Merritt, Community Leader.
“The lack of child care in Colorado costs the Colorado’s economy almost $3 billion dollars a year in lost earning, productivity, and revenue. We are excited about Senator Bennet’s passion and interest in meaningfully addressing this challenge — and in his desire to bring the business community in as a partner in moving us forward,” said Althea Gomez, Colorado Executive Director of Executives Partnering to Invest in Children.
Michael is committed to driving down costs for Colorado families – from housing to child care. Last month, he released his plan to tackle Colorado’s housing crisis, committing to a 30% increase in state-supported housing, support for first-time homebuyers, less bureaucracy, and lower construction costs.
Learn more about Michael’s vision for Colorado at www.michaelbennet.com/priorities.
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