Denver’s universal child care plan is moving from campaign promise to policy test

Denver turns promise into policy test

Denver has moved universal child care from a mayoral promise to a policy process. The shift matters because families face high prices and few openings.

Mayor Mike Johnston officially launched the Haynes-Gary Task Force on July 27. Its recommendations and a planned fall 2027 pilot will determine whether his idea can become a workable citywide policy.

A shortage raises the stakes

Denver faces a severe child care shortage. Johnston said the city has 31,000 children under age 4 but fewer than 5,000 available licensed child care slots.

He also said families pay about $25,000 a year on average for one child. High costs and limited availability can force parents to juggle work schedules, care options, and household budgets.

The idea grew beyond the campaign

Johnston’s 2023 campaign promised wider access to affordable child care. His platform proposed workplace centers, converted commercial space, stronger worker training, and changes to subsidy eligibility.

The 2026 proposal goes further, aiming for affordable care from birth through age 5. Denver has created an advisory process; however, it is not an entitlement that families can use today.

A broad task force takes shape

The Haynes-Gary Task Force includes educators, child care providers, business and nonprofit leaders, state and city officials, philanthropy representatives, and City Council member Diana Romero Campbell. Members will meet monthly to develop recommendations.

Its work focuses on access, affordability, workforce development, and quality, informed by community feedback from Denver’s listening tour.

Little-known fact: Denver voters made the preschool program’s dedicated 0.15% sales tax permanent in 2023 with 78.18% of the vote.

Residents get the first word

Denver’s first test is a listening process rather than a finished benefit. Five sessions are scheduled between August 11 and September 19 at recreation centers and an early learning center.

Families and providers can also complete a survey. Their feedback will shape recommendations about high costs, long waits, limited hours, staffing shortages, and neighborhood access.

Three challenges must move together

The task force has three central jobs. It must reduce regulatory barriers, build a pipeline of trained, better-paid caregivers, and make quality care affordable across Denver.

These goals are closely connected because lowering prices without adding workers and classrooms could lengthen waitlists. Expanding supply without stable pay could leave providers unable to retain qualified staff.

Little-known fact: In 2025, 403 Denver Preschool Program scholarships covered 100% of recipients’ preschool tuition.

Preschool provides a working base

Denver already has a preschool base, but the ambition covers younger children. The Denver Preschool Program supports families with 4-year-olds and qualifying 3-year-olds across the city.

In 2025, DPP supported 4,333 Denver families with a 4-year-old, and its average monthly tuition credit was $518. DPP currently works with more than 270 preschool providers.

The largest gap starts much earlier

Colorado Universal Preschool provides up to 15 hours of free preschool each week for children in the year before kindergarten, while qualifying 3-year-olds may receive state support.

Denver families can combine UPK with DPP tuition credits. The largest affordability gap begins earlier, when infant and toddler care is typically more expensive and harder to supply.

The subsidy safety net is frozen

Low-income families cannot depend solely on the subsidy system. Denver County’s Child Care Assistance Program remains under a new-enrollment freeze amid funding constraints.

Current customers may retain their benefits if they complete the required renewals on time. New families can submit a screening form for the freeze list, but no reopening date is guaranteed.

Worker pay could decide capacity

Caregiver pay matters for capacity and quality. Colorado’s median early childhood workforce wage was $15.06 an hour in 2022, below the $18.07 living wage for a single adult.

Johnston wants a pipeline of well-trained, well-paid caregivers, but no wage target has been announced. Higher compensation can improve recruitment and retention while increasing the resources needed to operate the system.

Denver cuts one layer of red tape

Denver has already removed one provider rule. Effective July 17, it no longer requires a separate local child care business license, aligning with Colorado law.

That change does not erase state licensing or health and safety oversight. It may simplify opening or operating a program, but paperwork alone cannot solve major shortages involving facilities, workers, and financing.

Funding remains the hardest question

The largest unanswered question is who pays. Johnston says Denver plans to design and evaluate a fall 2027 pilot before estimating the full system cost and identifying the revenue sources needed.

Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) requires voter approval for tax increases. If Denver chose a new local tax, a tax-rate increase, or an extension of an expiring tax to fund child care, that option would require voter approval.

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New Mexico offers a nearby model

Denver is studying New Mexico, which launched no-cost Universal Child Care on Nov. 1, 2025, removing income limits and copayments for families who work or attend school. Johnston has consulted officials there about implementation.

The comparison is useful but imperfect because New Mexico operates statewide, whereas Denver is a single city within Colorado’s existing system. Denver must coordinate local dollars, state rules, providers, and preschool benefits without duplicating them.

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Should Denver use public funding to make child care affordable for every family, even if it requires higher taxes? Share your thoughts in the comments.

This slideshow was made with AI assistance and human editing.

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