Help with childcare available for qualified Boulder County families

 

Funds from Ballot Initiative 1A continue to boost childcare program and promote self-sufficiency

 

Boulder County, Colo. – Boulder County Families who need help with childcare and who meet eligibility requirements are once again being invited to sign up for childcare assistance. The Colorado Childcare Assistance Program (CCAP) waitlist is open for applications. CCAP is a program that supports individuals and families at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty level, helping them access quality childcare so the parents or guardians can remain employed or in educational programs. For low-wage working parents and guardians, or parents enrolled in school or technical training, childcare can represent an extraordinary expense.

 

As economic conditions have worsened, the need for childcare assistance has increased dramatically in Boulder County.  Not only are more families in need of this help, but also declining wages and job losses have made more families eligible for CCAP benefits. In 2010, the Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services suspended enrollment for CCAP because need was outpacing resources for the program. Later that year, Boulder County voters approved Ballot Initiative 1A, which was designed to help backfill deficiencies in state funding for county human services programs. Among other things, money from 1A, also known as the Temporary Safety Net, has been used to reopen the CCAP waitlist and to expand the program itself. More than 40 percent of the $5.1 million raised by 1A in 2011 is being used to meet additional childcare needs in Boulder County.

 

In order to qualify for CCAP, parents or guardians must be Boulder County residents, and must have a job, be searching for a job, or be in school or seeking training. Income caps for qualification are based on family size. As examples, a family of three with a monthly gross income of less than $2,857 or a family of four with a monthly gross income of less than $3,346 could take part in CCAP. Families who qualify pay a portion of the childcare costs based on income. A full list of requirements and more information on CCAP is available on the Boulder County website or by calling community partner Aspen Family Services (which administers CCAP’s application process) at 303-604-1043, ext. 2828.