Proposed Child Care Rules

Finding affordable and quality child care is a difficult and stressful task for many parents, especially during these difficult economic times. Unfortunately, finding child care for our children and grandchildren will get even more difficult and costly if proposed rules proposed for child care center by the Colorado Department of Human Services` go into effect.

The 98-page proposal would not only introduce sweeping, expensive changes to licensed day care centers around Colorado, but it would signal a profound erosion of the principles of limited government and the onslaught of a bureaucratic, micromanaging mudslide of regulation with significant economic consequences.

The slew of newly proposed rules from demonstrate a shift in focus on health and safety to standards that dictate every facet of child care centers, from the exact number of markers they must supply children under their care, to the number, placement, and content of pictures in a room, instead of focusing on the health and safety of our children.

The Department of Human Services` exhausting list of new rules and “one size fits all” approach risks forfeiting the diverse and innovative influences parents need to find a child care center that meets their specific needs.

Many of the changes mandated under the proposal to a center`s building structure, classrooms, playground, training, and staff requirements are not only exorbitantly expensive, but are intentionally duplicative or go beyond existing code. Simply put: many of the specifications listed in the proposal risk maintaining our state`s day care centers
economically viable. When day cares shut down, it gives parents fewer options, stress and may push children into unlicensed day care centers.

After the last round of licensing modifications, Greeley and Evans lost approximately 14 of the 24 day care centers in their area in a period of three years. Colorado loses jobs every time a child care center shuts down. However, most centers also pay commercial property taxes and sales taxes, in addition to their licensing fees. So when a center shuts down, Colorado loses both jobs and revenue while parents have a smaller, less competitive and less affordable options for their child care needs.

Proponents of the Department of Human Services` proposal point out that Colorado ranks 43rd in the nation for licensing standards by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies. They argue these rule changes will help improve this score, but they neglect serious reforms that leaders in the field like Susan Bright, who operates three day care centers in Weld County and has served on state boards to set licensing rules, have recommended for years.

Bright counted herself among the supporters for House Bill 1145, which I cosponsored and Gov. John Hickenlooper signed it into law in early May of this year. House Bill 1145 required child care center workers undergo background checks before caring for our children. Unlike the proposed rules, this was solid legislation that ensures the safety of our children.

Former Congressman Bob Schaffer, R-Ft. Collins, was a legislator when the law establishing the child care centers went into effect. In fact, then State Sen. Schaffer was the author of the legislation that calls for comprehensive review of rules for child care centers. Schaffer stated that the proposed rules go beyond anything the legislature ever intended, saying:

“The law was created to protect the health and safety of children — not to specify the color of toys, how many blocks a center has, or whether enough costumes are provided for toddlers. If anything, the three-year review process was intended as an opportunity to discard obsolete, superfluous regulations, not add them.”

I encourage the Department of Human Services to recognize the fact that their proposed regulations are harmful to Colorado`s families and children.

Together, we can develop rules that protect the health and safety of our children, while respecting the needs and wishes of parents and child care centers.

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