This initiative proposes a dedicated local funding source, that would generate approximately $30 million annually to make child care more affordable, expand the number of licensed infant and toddler slots, and stabilize the early childhood workforce in Boulder County. 

The plan was developed by a community task force composed of providers, employers, parents, and local leaders who have been meeting since December 2024.

The proposal is for a property tax at 2.579 mills.

For the typical residential home, this tax would cost between $110-$120 per year, or $10 a month.

Commercial property is subject to a different tax rate. If you are a business owner and would like to know your estimated tax rate, email kheadrick@eccbouldercounty.org

Child care in Boulder County is at a breaking point: families can't afford it, providers can't find enough qualified staff to keep classrooms open, and there simply aren't enough licensed spaces for the babies and toddlers who need care.

• $20K–$23K — Average annual cost of infant or toddler care, per year, per child in Boulder County

• 24–35% — Share of household income Boulder County families spend on child care¹

• 30% — Annual turnover rate among Boulder County early childhood educators¹

• 26% / 53% — Share of infant / toddler demand met by licensed slots in Boulder County²

• $780M — Lost annually by Colorado employers to child care–related turnover and productivity loss³

• 34% — Colorado parents who have quit or turned down a job for lack of child care⁴

The bottom line: This current system is not working for children, parents, employers and is having negative impacts on our overall economy and community wellbeing.

• Child Care Affordability

  • Funding the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and establishing a new tuition assistance program for families earning up to $150,000/year.

• Child Care Accessibility & Quality

  • Expansion funds that providers can access to help them expand infant/toddler slots, plus additional program quality programs and services.

• Workforce Stability

  • A workforce investment fund driving ECE workforce retention. Grants for providers to assist with retention bonuses, credentialing, and professional development, plus shared-services infrastructure (group insurance, payroll support) for small providers.

• Infrastructure & Administration capped at 10%

  • Program oversight, compliance, and reporting

Boulder County families who have children under the age of five and make approximately $0-$150,000 would be eligible for child care subsidy through this program.

Licensed Boulder County child care providers would be eligible to access expansion funds for infant and toddler expansion. Licensed Boulder County child care providers and licensed-exempt Family Friend and Neighbor (FFN) providers would be eligible to access workforce stabilization funds.

Taxes would begin to be collected in January of 2027. Distributions are anticipated to begin midyear 2027, with full program implementation by January of 2028.

Federal and state child care funding has become less predictable,  through funding freezes, budget shortfalls, and policy shifts. Consider just in the last state legislative cycle when legislators had to cut $1.5 billion out of the budget. A dedicated local funding stream is insulated from those swings. 

Colorado does have Universal Preschool, however, it is only 15 hours a week for 4 year olds. This leaves children under the age of 4 and families who need full-time care still struggling with child care.

Because everyone relies on someone who relies on child care. The nurse who treated you at the ER, the contractor who fixed your roof, the teacher at your grandchild's school, the barista who made your coffee this morning, someone made it possible for them to be there. Child care is essential infrastructure that keeps the whole community running, the same way roads and bridges do.

Colorado loses $2.2 billion a year in unrealized economic potential because of child care shortfalls, and employers lose $780 million annually to the productivity hit that comes with it. One in three working parents in this state has already had to cut back their hours because they couldn't find or afford care, which means fewer people staffing local businesses, less spending in the local economy, and real costs that land on everyone, not just parents.

There's also a precedent you're already living with: you likely pay property taxes that fund K-12 schools whether or not you have a child enrolled, because a well-educated community benefits everyone. This works the same way, just one stage earlier investing in a child's first five years, when brain development happens fastest. A community with stable, accessible child care is a community with a stronger workforce, better-prepared kids, and a healthier local economy for everyone in it, kids or not.

Yes. The Denver Preschool Program, funded by a dedicated 0.15% city sales tax since 2006, has supported over 82,000 children and distributed more than $200 million in tuition credits. Independent evaluations have found participating families see improved economic stability and participating preschools become more financially sustainable, the same kind of outcomes this initiative is designed to produce at the county level.

In addition, in 2025 multiple counties and municipalities across the state of Colorado passed child care investment initiatives. Including our neighbor to the north, Larimer County, and the first-ever special tax district for child care was established in Garfield, Pitkin and part of Eagle County.

Boulder County would hold fiscal and legal oversight of all revenue collected. Some elements (like Child Care Assistance Program - CCAP) would continue to be administered directly by the County; others could be contracted out to qualified community partners through a competitive process.

• Regular independent audits

• Annual public reports and dashboards showing how funds were used and what impact was achieved

• Equity monitoring — data broken down by income, geography, and race/ethnicity to confirm resources are reaching the families who need them most

• Required financial and program performance reporting from any contracted partners

If fully funded, within the first 3 years of full implementation our goals are:

• Out-of-pocket child care costs for participating families reduced to 7–15% of household income

• Licensed infant/toddler slots increased by at least 30%, prioritized for areas of highest need and fewer infant/toddler programs closing year over year

• Annual educator turnover reduced to 18% or less, alongside higher average wages

1. Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, Childcare Availability and Need Survey (August 2025).

2. Early Childhood Council of Boulder County, Childcare Availability and Need Survey (August 2025) —licensed capacity as a share of estimated demand.

3. Council for a Strong America / ReadyNation, $2.7 Billion: The Growing, Annual Cost of the Infant-Toddler Child Care Crisis in Colorado (2024).

4. CPR News, "Raising Colorado: The untold costs of a broken childcare system" (2026), citing an annual state survey of parents of one-year-olds.