As you begin the journey of opening a Family Child Care Home, there are many things to consider and you may wish to seek legal advice before you decide to use your own home for child care, purchase property or sign a lease agreement. These documents below provide things to consider:

• Do I Need a License? English Flyer | Spanish Flyer
• Are you Ready to Start a Child Care Business?
• Questions to Consider for Meeting Licensing Requirements
• Family Child Care Home License Submission Guide
• Small Business Development Center Resource Guide

Contact Zoning: Call the Zoning office to assure that your residence is zoned to operate a Family Child Care Home. This step is crucial as Zoning supersedes Licensing.

For zoning within the city limits, call Colorado Springs: 719-385-5905

City Administration Building
30 S. Nevada Ave., Suite 105

• City of Colorado Springs Small and Large Home Daycare Permit
• Download and Print Zoning Permit Application HERE

For zoning outside the city limits, call El Paso County: 719-520-6300

Additional Contact Information:

• City of Fountain: 719.322.2028
• Teller County: 719.687.3048
  
• Elbert County: 303.621.3135

Once you have complied with all local zoning, building or planning ordinances,  and any Home Owner Association or Community Covenants, the next step is reading the Child Care Rules and Regulations. These are provided below and available on the Department of Early Childhood website in English and Spanish.

Rules + Regulations:

• 2.100 – General Rules for Child Care Facilities
  2.200- Rules Regulating Child Care Centers
  2.300 – Rules Regulating Family Child Care Homes

It’s important to know that as a child care provider, you must meet new and ongoing training requirements. The Office of Early Childhood (OEC) has developed a 2022 licensed child care provider required training tool. The CDEC is working hard to offer all required training for free online through the Professional Development Information System (PDIS). 

Administrative Guides:

• Administrative Guide: General Rules Regulating Child Care Facilities(opens in new window)
• (Guia administrativa para el reglamento general del cuidado infantil) 
• Administrative Guide: Rules Regulating Child Care Centers(opens in new window) 
• Administrative Guide: Rules Regulating Family Child Care Homes(opens in new window) 

Foundations staff are here to assist you with PDIS when you reach this point. Visit the Quality Programs page for more information. See the next box for Pre-Licensing training and applying for your Child Care License.

JI offers a quarterly course for becoming a licensed provider. Cost is $50.

• • Where to start and what is important to consider when exploring the possibility of opening a family child care home – call us first if your considering enrolling in the Pre-Licensing classes!
  • Assistance with zoning and HOA needs
  • Support with completing the licensing application
  • Technical assistance and on-site support for setting up your learning environment.

The licensing process takes approximately 90 days once an application packet is received by the Division of Early Care and Learning (DECL). For information on how to apply for a Child Care License click HERE. The licensing process includes the following steps:

1. Complete and sign the Family Child Care Home Application and all necessary attachments. Detailed instructions are included in the Licensing Application Packet. The licensing application and rules and regulations can also be downloaded from the State site:
   • Visit the State Website
   • Direct Link to the Licensing Application Packet
2. Complete and mail your application materials. The application form and the fees must be submitted together in the envelope provided with your application packet to the Division of Early Care and Learning, CDHS.
   • Licensing Fee Schedule
   • For complete background check information, click here.
   • Due to changes implemented by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) will no longer offer non-criminal fingerprint services to the general public. All fingerprinting will be processed through two vendors, IdentoGO and Colorado Fingerprinting.
     Update:
     You will want to read important instructions HERE before navigating the IdentoGO site. For locations, hours and directions, visit this direct link on the IdentoGO.com website. For IdentoGO FAQs, click here.
   • Current health evaluations must be done for ALL those living in the home and must be signed by a licensed physician or licensed nurse practitioner. These forms are included in your licensing packet.  The health forms are NOT mailed into the state.

Mail to:

Application Processing
Division of Early Care and Learning, CDHS
1575 Sherman Street, 1st Floor
Denver, CO 80203-1714

• Once the licensing package is received and processed, a Licensing Specialist will contact the applicant to schedule an inspection of the home to verify compliance with licensing rules and regulations, and to determine if a license should be issued.
• Make the necessary preparations
• Start-up preparations will vary from one individual to another. Allow yourself plenty of time for planning, creating your policies and procedures, contracts, gathering supplies, and setting up your child care environment before your home visit is scheduled with the Colorado State Division of Child Care Licensing Specialist.

The Institute for Racial Equity & Excellence (IREE) is responsible for providing licensing services in Arapahoe, El Paso, and Pueblo counties. IREE uses the “Community Based Licensing” model created by President and CEO Dr. Rosemarie Allen.

Community Based Licensing© focuses on providing licensing services that are culturally responsive using four Cs: Competence, Caring, and Compassion while ensuring Compliance.

Visit the IREE Website

For more information, see Licensing Resources section below.

JI may offer a scholarship for each upcoming session of the Pre-Licensing class required to become a licensed child care provider. 

• Substitutes for Infant/Toddler Family Child Care Homes and Large Family Child Care homes must be equally qualified (same qualifications as the primary provider).

• Per the 7.707.31 B clarification, – only Infant Toddler Home Substitutes are required to have taken EQIT: Equally qualified means that the provider, employee, or substitute provide has the same required training and qualifications as the primary provider as specified in Family Child Care rules. Each provider must have completed Expanding Quality for Infants & Toddlers training (EQIT).

WHAT IS CCCAP

The Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP) provides financial assistance to help pay for high quality early care and learning on behalf of Colorado families within three human services programs: Low-Income CCCAP, Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) and Child Welfare (CWCC). For Low-income CCCAP, eligibility is based on family income and activity (working, adult education, higher education, job search). For TANF and CWCC, CCCAP is a supportive service based on a referral from that program to CCCAP. These families need child care in order to continue their employment, higher education, job search, and their move toward self-sufficiency. As a child care provider, you will be working in partnership with counties to assist these families’ experiences with high quality early care and learning.

WHY ACCEPT CCCAP?

In our county, 25% of the 459 child care programs accept children and families who receive the CCCAP subsidy. Of those programs, only 50 are considered high quality early childhood settings.  This means that families needing this assistance only have 11%  of the options of those not needing this help and only half of the centers that do offer CCCAP are considered high quality early childhood settings.  Accepting CCCAP in your center creates a community in which each and every child is given the opportunity for a strong start.

Are  you operating an existing new early childhood program, a newly opened program, or are you in the process of considering opening a new program and want to serve CCCAP children and families?  Are you a program with a new CCCAP Fiscal Agreement?  If so, see below to learn about how AFK , in partnership with the El Paso County Department of Human Services, can support programs that qualify

• Technical assistance in opening a new early childhood center or Family Child Care Home
• Scholarships for Pre-Licensing and the Early Childhood Administrative Summit
• Start Up funds
• Coaching to get your program started off in the right direction
• Incentive funds for gaining a CCCAP Fiscal Agreement
• Incentive funds for getting a high quality rating (Level 3, 4, or 5)
• Reach out to Shay Almonte to learn more today

HOW TO BECOME A CCCAP PROVIDER

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood offers guidance for early childhood centers and family child care homes that are wanting to accept CCCAP.

• CCCAP Handbook for Providers October 2022 (English)
• CCCAP Handbook for Providers October 2022 (Spanish)

The county will send you a packet of information detailing the necessary documents and training including:

• A Fiscal Agreement, or the contract between you and the county, which outlines each party’s responsibilities, policies and the rate you will be reimbursed for child care services. You will need a Fiscal Agreement with each county that you will accept children from under the CCCAP program.
• A Form W-9 (IRS) used for identification purposes to report payments made by CCCAP. You will receive a 1099 Form (IRS) at the end of each calendar year for tax purposes.

Contact your county department of human/social services for information.

CCCAP SUPPORT SESSIONS

The State CCCAP Team is offering monthly support sessions for early childhood providers on the 4th Wednesday of the month from 12–12:45 pm. Sessions include CCCAP updates, Attendance Tracking System overview and demonstration, and time for Q+A.

Join the sessions via Google Meet HERE or dial 561.614.0668 (PIN: ‪240 371 957#)

REIMBURSEMENT RATES

• Reimbursement rates are subject to change yearly based on the annual Market Rate Survey. 
• For current El Paso County CCCAP information, this information is on the Colorado Department of Early Childhood website HERE.

ATTENDANCE TRACKING

We are thrilled to announce the release of updated Attendance Tracking System (ATS) training videos for both parents and providers! The previous ATS videos were created about 5 years ago and needed to be updated to include newer functionality in ATS. The new ATS Videos are housed on the Colorado Department of Early Childhood YouTube Channel. They can be found HERE. The videos are available in both English and Spanish. 

• ATS Information and Resources
• Call the ATS Help Desk at 844.447.4441 or email cdhs_ats_helpdesk@state.co.us
• El Paso County Department of Human Services (719) 636-0000

For complete details on becoming a UPK provider, visit our UPK page HERE.