Colorado child care assistance and free preschool: CCCAP, Colorado Shines and UPK (2026)

Who runs CCCAP: CDEC rules, 64 county offices

CCCAP pays part of the cost of care while you work, look for work, or attend school or training. Your child must be under 13, or under 19 if they have additional care needs or are under court supervision. You must live in the county you apply to, and you must have custody of the child for the hours you need care ⁠¹. The county pays the provider directly. You can use a licensed center, a licensed family child care home, or a friend, neighbor or relative who becomes a qualified exempt provider ⁠⁴. Since July 1, 2023, no county requires you to cooperate with Child Support Services to get CCCAP ⁠⁴.

Colorado Works (TANF) families use a separate track, Colorado Works Child Care. Your Colorado Works worker sends the referral, and work-eligible participants get at least 12 months of care. You pay no parent fee while your plan’s activity is something other than paid work ⁠¹.

Your county’s entry limit: four tiers from 185% to 300% of poverty

The rule bars CDEC from setting any county’s entry limit below 185% of the federal poverty level. CDEC bases each limit on the county’s self-sufficiency standard, and the exit limit is 85% of state median income (SMI) everywhere ⁠¹⁠⁷. CDEC posts these limits for applications made from October 1, 2026 ⁠²:

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CDEC’s chart also covers families of 6 to 9. For a family of three, the entry tiers equal about 41% (185% FPL) to 67% (300% FPL) of SMI. That is our calculation from the 85% SMI figure ⁠².

Counties use your last 30 days of gross income, or up to 12 months if that month is not typical ⁠¹. Once you are approved, you stay eligible for the full 12 months unless your income goes above 85% SMI ⁠⁴⁠¹.

Waitlists and enrollment freezes in 28 counties

CDEC can put a county on a waitlist once projections show it will spend 85% of its allocation. At 95%, CDEC can impose an enrollment freeze ⁠¹. CDEC’s county list, checked October 20, 2026, shows 16 counties with a waitlist and 12 with a freeze, holding 9,738 families with 14,366 children ⁠³.

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Thirty-six counties had neither a waitlist nor a freeze ⁠³.

On a waitlist, you fill out the full application. During a freeze, the county records you in its system if you look likely to qualify, and it can ask you to confirm every 12 months that you still want to stay listed ⁠¹. When money opens up, counties must enroll these groups first: households at or below 130% of poverty, children with additional care needs, families experiencing homelessness and families receiving TANF. After that, a county can add its own local priorities, such as teen parents ⁠¹.

Parent fees: the 1%-plus-14% formula Colorado keeps until 2028

The May 2026 federal rule removed the national requirement to keep copays at or below 7% of income ⁠⁸. In Colorado, the cap is set by state law. HB26-1260, signed May 29, 2026, moved the state’s 7% deadline from August 1, 2026 to August 1, 2028 ⁠⁶. CDEC’s August 2026 rule keeps the current formula through July 31, 2028 ⁠¹:

• At or below 100% of poverty, your monthly fee is 1% of gross income ⁠¹.
• Above 100%, it is 1% of income plus 14% of every dollar above the poverty line ⁠¹.
• Each additional child in care adds $15, but only for families above poverty ⁠¹.

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Our calculation using the rule formula and CDEC’s parent fee tool. Your county’s notice is the official figure ⁠¹⁠⁵.

Part-time care, meaning under 13 full-time units a month, costs 55% of the full fee. Your fee cannot go up during your 12 months. You pay it straight to the provider each month, and it can never exceed the CCCAP rate for your care ⁠¹. You pay no fee if you have no income, are in child welfare child care, or are in a homelessness stabilization period. Counties can waive fees for children dually enrolled in Head Start, and with CDEC approval can cut a fee to $5 for up to six months for hardship ⁠¹. If you leave fees unpaid, you can lose eligibility at redetermination until you pay or set up a payment plan ⁠¹. From August 1, 2028, the rule switches to marginal rates of 3%, 5% and 7% by income band ⁠¹.

Work, school, job search and homelessness rules

Colorado sets no minimum work hours, but your pay divided by your hours must equal at least the federal minimum wage. If you started self-employment in the last 12 months, you can get six months of care while the business gets going ⁠¹. Other activities that count ⁠¹:

• Job search: at least 13 weeks of care each time you lose a job or end an activity.
• Post-secondary or vocational training, up to a first bachelor’s degree: at least 104 weeks in your lifetime, and up to 208 weeks in counties approved for it.
• Basic education: up to 52 weeks. Teen parents have no time limit.
• Substance use disorder treatment at the intensive outpatient level or higher: up to one year per episode, effective July 1, 2026.

Report any change in your activity within four weeks ⁠⁴. Families experiencing homelessness get a stabilization period of at least 60 days, with no activity requirement and no parent fee, to gather proof for ongoing care ⁠¹. If you move counties, care continues until your redetermination, when you reapply in the new county ⁠⁴.

Colorado Shines levels and what they do for your fee

Colorado Shines is CDEC’s quality rating system. Every licensed program starts at Level 1 (licensed and in good standing) ⁠¹⁰. In 2026, CDEC paused the observation part of the ratings while it rebuilds the system. A Provisional Level 3 application opened in fall 2026, and Level 4 now requires a recognized accreditation, such as NAEYC, or Head Start standing ⁠¹⁰. The family FAQ still describes Levels 1-5 and calls Levels 3-5 high quality ⁠¹¹. CCCAP gives a 20% fee reduction when at least one of your providers is in the top three levels. Those providers also get higher tiered rates and are paid for at least four absences a month, compared with three for Levels 1 and 2 ⁠¹⁠⁷.

Colorado Universal Preschool: 15 hours in the year before kindergarten

Your local school district’s kindergarten cutoff decides which year is your child’s “year before kindergarten.” If your provider is in a different district, that district’s cutoff applies ⁠¹². The rule guarantees 10 hours a week and lets CDEC fund 5 more. CDEC’s 2026-27 family handbook promises at least 15 funded hours a week for the August to May year ⁠¹²⁠¹³. If funding allows, children in poverty, and low-income children who also have a qualifying factor, can get 15 more hours, for a 30-hour full day ⁠¹³⁠¹². Qualifying factors include homelessness, learning English as a second language, an IEP, and foster or kinship care. Families awarded full-day hours have 30 days to accept a full-day seat ⁠¹².

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Source: 8 CCR 1404-1, rule 4.105 ⁠¹².

Funded hours are free. Providers must list any other fees and cannot charge UPK families more than others ⁠¹³. For 2026-27, 3-year-olds register mainly through their school district’s targeted program. Funding permitting, a 3-year-old who is low-income or has a qualifying factor gets at least 10 hours a week ⁠¹³⁠¹². Children with IEPs are placed according to their IEP ⁠¹².

Applying through PEAK and your county office

1. Check your county’s status first

   Look up your county on CDEC’s waitlist and freeze list, and find your entry limit in the table above ⁠³⁠².

2. Apply online or on paper

   Use Colorado PEAK, or take a paper application to your county office in person or by mail. A licensed provider or Head Start program can help you file it ⁠⁴⁠¹.

3. Gather proof

   You need proof of residence, 30 days of pay stubs or self-employment records, your work or school schedule, any custody order, and immunization records if you use an unrelated exempt provider. Your child’s citizenship and age are accepted on your signed statement unless something conflicts ⁠¹⁠⁴.

4. Watch for the county’s notice

   Within 15 calendar days, the county must approve, deny, or tell you what is missing. You then have 15 days to send it, and an application stays valid for 60 days ⁠¹.

5. Get your provider authorized before care starts

   Give the county the provider’s name, address and phone number. If care starts before authorization, you may owe the provider yourself ⁠⁴.

6. Check in daily and pay your fee

   Use the Attendance Tracking System kiosk with your PIN, and pay your parent fee to the provider at the start of each month ⁠⁴.

7. Renew every 12 months

   The county mails a redetermination form at least 45 days before the due date. Return it with current pay stubs and your schedule ⁠¹⁠⁴.

8. Contest a denial or cut

   You get written notice 15 days before an adverse action. Ask for a county dispute resolution conference before the effective date, or appeal directly to the Office of Administrative Courts. You can also appeal if the county does not act on your application within 15 days ⁠¹⁠⁹.

9. Register for preschool separately

   Go to upk.colorado.gov. The 2026-27 matching rounds ran February 16 and March 16, 2026. Families can still enroll directly with a provider while seats last ⁠¹³.

Compare child care assistance in other states.