Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.Stormi Kujawa was at a prenatal doctor’s appointment to check on her high-risk pregnancy when she got good news. It wasn’t about her baby. It was about a program that could help pay for childcare for her toddler daughter, Presley. A local program was available for Larimer County families like hers, a social worker told her. Kujawa was so excited that she applied on her cellphone before even leaving the doctor’s office. A week later, she and her husband, Riley, were approved.“I was shocked,” said Kujawa, who’d been on the waitlist for the state childcare subsidy program for more than two years. “I could not believe it.”Languishing on a long waitlist for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, or CCCAP, is a familiar experience for thousands of low-income parents who need help paying for childcare so they can work or go to school. But the Kujawas’ story shows how one community is working to address that problem with a locally funded assistance program. The program, which is currently funded by United Way, is small, serving several dozen families. But it’s about to get much bigger. In January, the Kids Thrive Fund will launch using proceeds from a new county sales tax increase approved by voters last November. The tax — 25 cents on every $100 purchase — is estimated to raise around $28 million a year for a variety of early childhood initiatives. All families will be eligible for some aid, but lower-income families will get the most. Larimer County is one of several Colorado counties, cities, or regions where voters have approved new taxes to support childcare efforts in recent years. The Kujawas, who live in Fort Collins, and other families in the United Way program will transition to the Kids Thrive Fund in 2027. The goal is to help 800 to 1,000 families through sliding-scale awards based on income, said Christina Taylor, CEO of the local early childhood council, Northern Colorado Kids Thrive.It won’t be enough to satisfy local demand for childcare aid, but it represents “a huge step forward,” she said. “The amount of revenue that we can dedicate to tuition is amazing,” Taylor said. “Like 800 to 1,000 families is nothing to sneeze at.” State childcare assistance programs are underfundedIn 2025-26, CCCAP, Colorado’s $159 million childcare subsidy program, served more than 21,000 children, a spokesperson for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood told Chalkbeat. More than 14,000 Colorado children are still waiting.Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of children were on waitlists for their states’ childcare subsidy programs last spring, according to an analysis by The Associated Press. Childcare assistance, funded by the federal government with help from states, is supposed to aid working parents who have low incomes, are homeless, or care for foster children. But waitlists have ballooned since 2023, when eight states had them, according to the AP analysis. Reporters collected waitlist and enrollment data from 47 states and the District of Columbia. Many of the waitlists emerged after $28 billion in pandemic aid expired in fall 2024. The Republican-led Congress declined to extend the extra money. Some states have increased funding to try to fill the gap, but families’ need for childcare assistance has only grown as they’ve faced mounting costs for food and gas. While eligible families sit on waitlists, untold numbers of adults are sidelined from education or the workforce because they can’t afford childcare. Parents who remain in school or keep working make difficult tradeoffs. In interviews with the AP, parents described forgoing necessities, falling behind on bills, or relying on acquaintances to watch their children. Unable to find viable childcare, some have resorted to bringing their children with them to work or class.Presley, who turns 2 in November, will attend a childcare center in Fort Collins. Stormi Kujawa, who also has two school-age daughters, used to bring Presley to her job as a peer support specialist for mothers recovering from addiction. It worked when Presley was an infant and slept contentedly in her car seat, but not when she became a wiggly toddler. That’s when Kujawa stopped working. Kujawa often called or emailed the county to see if she was close to moving off the CCCAP waitlist, but it never happened. Things got more challenging when her doctor placed her on bed rest because of preeclampsia, a serious pregnancy-related blood pressure condition. Riley Kujawa paused his job with a moving company a couple of months ago to stay home with Presley.Looking toward the futurePresley, who will be 2 in November, proudly wore a lanyard with her father’s keys around her neck as the two played on the family’s apartment balcony on a recent sunny afternoon. Stormi Kujawa sat at her kitchen table, contemplating the future. In the middle of the table, a blood pressure cuff served as a reminder of the constant medical monitoring her pregnancy requires.When the Kujawas found out earlier this month they’d been approved for childcare assistance, they rushed to tour nearby childcare centers with Presley. They chose the one Presley didn’t want to leave. It had a modern security system and strict rules governing who could enter.Presley will start there Oct. 1, about a week before the new baby is due. Tuition is $1,200 a month, but the Kujawas will only pay about $142 through the county program. Riley will return to work shortly after the new baby arrives, and the family will be able to start catching up financially. “I’m so stoked,” Stormi Kujawa said. “I’m nervous, but I’m really grateful I got the opportunity for this to happen.” Ann Schimke is a senior reporter at Chalkbeat. Contact Ann at aschimke@chalkbeat.org.
