San Miguel County warns federal rule changes could push CCAP budget $95,000–$124,000 over in next two years

San Miguel County human services leaders told the Board of County Commissioners on Jan. 29 that changes to federal and state child‑care rules are likely to push the county’s Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) into multi‑year deficits, with staff projecting an overspend of about $95,000 this fiscal year and $124,000 next year under current enrollment.

The county’s human services director, Linnea Edwards, told the commissioners that a new federal requirement for continuous enrollment and a state decision to raise provider rates without additional funding are the main drivers. “We’re going to be struggling in CCAP, that we will be overspent, more than we typically are,” Edwards said.

County staff framed the issue as a combination of larger payments per enrolled child and more days paid for absent children under continuous enrollment rules. Edwards presented staff projections showing the county was estimating a roughly $95,000 shortfall for the current state fiscal year after an anticipated TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) offset, and a projected $124,000 overspend the following year if enrollment holds at roughly 31 open authorizations. “So as of as of yesterday, we were projecting 95,000 overspent, but that includes our projected TANF,” Edwards said.

Why it matters: CCAP pays subsidized child care for low‑ and moderate‑income families. Staff said the combined effect of the state audit of provider costs, the state requirement to raise provider reimbursement rates, and the federal continuous‑enrollment rule (which pays for authorized days even when a child is absent) will increase per‑child costs from roughly $6,000 per year historically to an estimated $15,000–$16,000 at the end of the three‑year implementation window.

What staff presented and recommended County staff described two formal levers used by other counties to limit program cost exposure: a freeze (stopping new enrollments as of a public notice date while continuing service for children already enrolled) and a wait list (accepting applications but placing new eligible families on a queue to fill slots when they open). Edwards and deputy director Alexandra Van Sickle explained operational differences: “A freeze would tell us that we are stopping enrollment for CCAP. Every child that’s on CCAP will stay on CCAP, but we were no longer accepting any more enrollees,” Edwards said. She added that a wait list requires demonstrating an expected 85%+ spend of allocation, while a freeze typically follows a 95% threshold.

Bright Futures and Strong Start, county early‑childhood partners, said they will continue monthly coordination with county staff and providers to explore “stacking” rather than “braiding” funding sources (stacking uses different sources for different hours so the same hour is not paid twice). Kathleen Merritt, executive director of Bright Futures, said the organizations “will continue those meetings and make sure that every dollar is being spent and not braided, but stacked.” Kathy Barber, program coordinator for Strong Start, confirmed Strong Start funds are being used for tuition assistance and capacity building and said the group is willing to explore matches or adjustments.

Board reaction and next steps Commissioners asked where the state and other counties were positioned. Edwards said larger counties have been pushing back at the state Department of Early Childhood and that the state identified $10 million in the long bill to help statewide shortfalls; county staff said San Miguel County is among the smaller counties projecting the smallest absolute overspend but still faces notable gaps.

Jared (county manager) asked for formal direction from the board at a future regular meeting, noting that today was a work session. “Obviously, today’s a work session, so we’re not asking you to make any decisions,” he said. Staff requested direction about whether to pursue a wait list, a freeze, or neither (in which case the county would backfill deficits from the general fund). Staff said a wait list provides softer public messaging and allows targeted bypasses for priorities such as child‑welfare or Colorado Works (work‑support) cases.

No formal vote was taken. Commissioners asked staff to return with a recommendation and clearer budget impacts at a forthcoming regular meeting so the board can consider formal direction.

Speakers - Anne Brown, Commissioner and Chair, San Miguel County Board of Commissioners - Galena Gleason, Commissioner, San Miguel County Board of Commissioners - Lance Waring, Commissioner, San Miguel County Board of Commissioners - Linnea Edwards, Director, San Miguel County Department of Human Services - Alexandra Van Sickle, Deputy Director, San Miguel County Department of Human Services - Jared (last name not specified), County Manager, San Miguel County - Kathleen Merritt, Executive Director, Bright Futures (San Miguel County Early Childhood Council) - Kathy Barber, Program Coordinator, Strong Start (mill levy early childhood program) - Douglas Tooley, Resident (public commenter)

Authorities - {"type":"other","name":"Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)","referenced_by":["Linnea Edwards"]} - {"type":"other","name":"Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) / Colorado Works","referenced_by":["Linnea Edwards"]} - {"type":"other","name":"Department of Early Childhood (state agency guidance on provider rates)","referenced_by":["Linnea Edwards","Kathleen Merritt"]} - {"type":"other","name":"Universal Pre‑K (UPK) program (state funding, 3–4 year olds)","referenced_by":["Linnea Edwards","Kathleen Merritt"]}

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Clarifying details [{"category":"current_year_projection","detail":"Projected overspend after TANF offset","value":95000,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Linnea Edwards"},{"category":"next_year_projection","detail":"Projected overspend if enrollment holds (~31 open authorizations)","value":124000,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Linnea Edwards"},{"category":"open_authorizations","detail":"Open CCAP authorizations used for projections","value":31,"units":"cases","approximate":false,"source_speaker":"Linnea Edwards"},{"category":"per_child_cost_estimate","detail":"Estimated annual CCAP per‑child cost at end of three‑year federal rule implementation","value":15000,"units":"USD","approximate":true,"source_speaker":"Linnea Edwards"}]

Proper_names [{"name":"San Miguel County","type":"agency"},{"name":"Bright Futures","type":"organization"},{"name":"Strong Start","type":"program"},{"name":"Department of Early Childhood","type":"agency"}]

Community_relevance {"geographies":["San Miguel County"],"funding_sources":["state CCAP allocations","TANF reserves","county general fund"],"impact_groups":["families with young children","child care providers"]}

Meeting_context {"engagement_level":{"speakers_count":9,"duration_minutes":210,"items_count":1},"implementation_risk":"medium","history":[{"date":"2024-10","note":"State required provider rate increases began; counties warned of shortfalls"}]}

Searchable_tags:["CCAP","childcare","TANF","Bright Futures","San Miguel County"],

provenance:{"transcript_segments":[{"block_id":"s1306.6849","local_start":0,"local_end":112,"evidence_excerpt":"We wanted to come and speak with the board in regards to our Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, and some of the financial struggles that are happening across the state that are, in turn, going to affect specifically San Miguel County as well.","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"s3360.3699","local_start":0,"local_end":103,"evidence_excerpt":"And, obviously, today's a work session, so we're not asking you to make any decisions. But this is we'll do that the background information so that perhaps at your upcoming regular meeting in Feb. 0, you could give that formal direction, which path you would be most supportive of.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]}

salience:{},

topics:[{"name":"childcare","justification":"Main topic: county CCAP budget, state/federal policy changes, and local financial options","scoring":{"topic_relevance":1.0,"depth_score":0.85,"opinionatedness":0.05,"controversy":0.40,"civic_salience":0.90,"impactfulness":0.85,"geo_relevance":1.00}}]},{"id":"equity-survey","headline":"County staff present equity survey showing geographic and class divides among employees","shortSummary":"An external consultant summarized results of an employee equity, diversity and inclusion survey and focus groups, finding strong department‑level cohesion but geographic and class‑based gaps in connectedness and communication; the county will convene an 'equity architects' group to craft a blueprint." ,