Daycare providers aren’t happy about this new Colorado law

New law took effect in January

Colorado families have a new way to get money back from childcare programs that never come through.

A law called SB25-004 took effect on Jan. 1, 2026, and it requires childcare providers to refund application, deposit, or waitlist fees if they don’t offer a child a spot within six months. Parents just need to send a written request, like an email.

Providers can keep up to $25 to cover administrative costs. Gov. Jared Polis signed the bill on March 26, 2025.

Three types of fees now qualify

The law covers application fees, deposit fees, and waitlist fees. That $25 the provider can keep isn’t a cap on what they charge upfront.

It’s the amount they can hold back from the refund. If a child does enroll, any deposit the family paid goes toward the first month of tuition.

One important detail: only fees paid on or after Jan. 1, 2026, count. So the earliest any family could actually get a refund back is July 2026.

Some families won’t qualify for refunds

Not everyone can use this law. If a provider offers your child a spot and you turn it down, you don’t get a refund.

Once a family enrolls and signs a contract, that contract controls the fees, not this law. Public programs are also off the table.

Universal Preschool, the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), and Head Start all fall outside the law’s reach. It only applies to private childcare programs.

Lawmakers say families spent thousands searching

Democratic lawmakers pushed for this bill after hearing from parents who paid $100 or more in fees to a dozen or more childcare centers just trying to find an open spot.

Sens. Janice Marchman and Faith Winter sponsored the bill in the Senate, and Reps. Lorena Garcia and Jenny Willford carried it in the House.

Supporters said families shouldn’t have to spend thousands of dollars on programs that never offer their child a seat.

Childcare costs keep climbing in Colorado

The numbers tell the story. Full-day childcare in Denver runs about $1,600 a month.

Registration fees at Colorado centers range from $50 to $200, and some providers ask for waitlist deposits between $40 and as much as half of one month’s tuition. That can mean $800 or more before a child even has a spot.

Colorado ranks among the most expensive states in the country for childcare, and these upfront costs add up fast.

Original bill was scaled back after pushback

The first version of SB25-004 went further. It would have capped all waitlist and application fees at $25 and forced providers to post their tuition and fee information publicly.

Both provisions got scaled back during the legislative process after childcare providers pushed back. The final version dropped the fee cap entirely and replaced it with the six-month refund rule.

Providers also don’t have to post fees on their websites.

Providers say refunds add real burdens

Not everyone supports the law. Several childcare providers told lawmakers that waitlist fees cover real costs like marketing, technology, staff time for tours, and follow-up calls.

Smaller providers said processing refunds adds work they may struggle to handle.

The Colorado Association of Family Child Care said the $25 administrative fee won’t cover what some programs actually spend managing waitlists.

The group also said low participation in the state’s feedback process shaped the final outcome.

Providers must now share pricing upfront

The law adds a transparency piece. Childcare programs now have to share their tuition, fees, and refund process with families at key moments: when a family asks about pricing, joins a waitlist, enrolls, or when the provider changes its fee schedule.

The information has to be clear and easy to understand. But providers still don’t have to post fees publicly on their websites.

Families will need to ask directly to get the details.

State inspectors will check for compliance

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood will watch for violations during its regular inspections of childcare programs. The department will also step in if a family files a complaint about fees.

If a provider falls out of compliance, they get 30 days to fix the problem. First-time violations and honest mistakes won’t draw penalties.

The department said enforcement will focus on providers who deliberately ignore the rules.

Families need to follow specific steps

Getting a refund takes a few steps. First, families must wait at least six months from the date they paid the fee.

Then they send a written request to the provider, like an email. The provider issues the refund minus the $25 administrative fee.

After that, the provider can remove the family from its waitlist.

Families should keep records of every fee they pay and save copies of any written communication with their providers.

Colorado faces a much bigger childcare gap

This law tackles one piece of a much larger problem.

Colorado has about 232,000 children under age 6 with all parents working, but licensed childcare capacity covers only about 157,000 kids, according to a 2023 Bell Policy Center report.

Several Colorado counties have frozen new CCAP enrollments since early 2025 because of state and federal funding shortfalls. Infant childcare in Denver costs about $25,000 a year.

The refund law helps, but the bigger gap remains.

Law gives families a new tool going forward

The law gives Colorado families something they didn’t have before: a way to recover money from programs that never offered their child a spot.

It may push some providers to rethink how they structure fees, though it doesn’t limit what they can charge. Families who paid fees before Jan. 1, 2026, aren’t covered.

The transparency rules could also help parents compare costs across programs more easily as they search for care.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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