SCAN Government Relations Manager Lauren Freemire and SCAN volunteer Kiki McGough with Colorado Rep. Faith Winter (left).
Today, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a bill into law that helps more families have access to high-quality child care. HB18-1208, the Expand Child Care Income Expenses Tax Credit, demonstrates lawmakers willingness to do more for early learning.
The bipartisan bill provides a refundable tax credit to families making $60,000 or less annually with child care expenses. Additionally, it brings in more than $3.5 million annually to support early childhood care and is expected to benefit more than 24,000 Colorado families.
Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) strongly supported the bill. Many volunteers and staff worked hard to get this bill across the finish line. Volunteers testified before state legislators on the importance of this bill, called and e-mailed their legislators urging them to support the legislation and published opinion editorials and letters to the editor on the importance of this bill.
Thanks to these efforts, thousands of Colorado’s children will benefit.
SCAN volunteer Kiki McGough attended the bill signing and thanked Governor Hickenlooper and the bill’s sponsors, House Speaker Crisanta Duran, Representative Faith Winter and Senator Martinez Humenik, for supporting this critical legislation.
“I’m thrilled lawmakers understand how important it is to invest in early learners,” said McGough, a retired educator from Arvada. “As the cost of living skyrockets in Colorado, parents must work. They have no choice.”
McGough said her own daughter, a local teacher, and her husband spend nearly as much on child care as they do on housing each month.
“This bill means kids like my own granddaughter can get the care, attention and nurturing they need even while parents work,” she said.
Anita Walker, a SCAN volunteer and an early childhood education coordinator in Aurora, advocated for the bill and is thrilled that it passed. She sees every day how important quality child care is.
“Kids who come to my center having had positive learning experience with care providers excel,” she said. “They do well early on, and all research shows they will continue to thrive in school.”