WASHINGTON – About 130 children in La Plata County rely on the Child Care and Development Funds for access to local day care centers, said Heather Hawk, executive director for the Early Childhood Council of La Plata County.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that federal funding for the Colorado CCDF would be temporarily frozen, along with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Social Services Block Grant. The freeze also applied to four other Democratic-led states. Since the announcement, two separate federal judges delayed the freeze first to Jan. 23, then again to Friday.
The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, said it is part of its “Defend the Spend” activation and has concerns that funds are being used to benefit individuals who are not eligible under federal law. ACF did not indicate how long funds would be frozen, but just said they would remain unavailable until they could determine that the states comply with federal requirements.
“We have a responsibility to protect taxpayer dollars and ensure these programs serve the families they were created to help,” said Assistant Secretary for ACF Alex Adams in the news release announcing the freeze.
The release contained no evidence of fraud occurring under the programs.
Martha Johnson, director of Human Services for La Plata County and director of Social Services for San Juan County, said she understands there is always a risk of fraud, but believes it has not been an issue in these programs.
“There are really strict eligibility criteria that we have to verify to determine if people are truly eligible,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of checks and balances with the Colorado computer system that interfaces with other systems just to make sure what people are reporting is accurate.”
While eligibility criteria vary between the programs, Hawk said families that make 185% less than the poverty rate would be covered by CCDF. However, only about 9% of eligible families receive funds, Hawk said. That is primarily due to a lack of child care providers in the county.
The freeze requires states to submit justification and documentation of funds before any federal money is restored. Hawk said that even a temporary stoppage to CCDF could have devastating impacts for families and child care providers in La Plata County.
“In a pretty short time, we would see families scrambling to either find a way to pay for the full cost of care, or they would be forced to withdraw their children from the care,” Hawk said. “Centers would likely have to either consolidate classrooms, furlough teachers, or scramble to bring new families into the programs to keep their doors open.”
Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, along with six Colorado representatives from both sides of the aisle, signed a letter Jan. 16 urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to work with Colorado to release the $300 million in funds for the state. Reps. Jeff Hurd and Lauren Boebert were the only two Colorado lawmakers who did not sign the letter.
“These programs support American families. In a state like Colorado, the fifth most expensive state for child care, these dollars have a real effect,” the lawmakers said in the letter to Secretary Kennedy.
In La Plata County, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families supports more than 100 families while Social Services Block Grant receives more than 30 requests a month for referrals about adult protection and around 100 child protection referrals, Johnson said.
“Using child care as a political weapon against Colorado families is just plain cruel,” Sen. Hickenlooper said in a post to X on Jan. 23.
Going forward, Johnson is confident that, at least at the state level, progress is being made toward a solution.
“I know at the state level they’re working very hard to make sure that these really vulnerable folks don’t experience a crisis,” Johnson said. “People will have to quit their jobs so they can watch their children; it would have a multiplying economic impact for the families and the community.”
Hawk shared a similar sentiment.
“I am confident that our state government is trying very hard to find a solution, and I’m confident that our representatives are advocating for this funding,” Hawk said. “Preventing fraud is absolutely a priority of the state and the county, but the families that we are caring for are members of our community, they’re just trying to go to work.”
Jake Mittleman, a junior at American University in Washington, D.C., is an intern for The Durango Herald. He can be reached at jmittleman@durangoherald.com.
