3.2 Calculation of Co-Payment

Lead agencies must calculate a family’s contribution (or co-payment), taking into account income and family size, and Lead Agencies may choose to consider other factors in their calculation. 3.2.1 Family co-payment calculation a. How is the family’s contribution calculated, and to whom is it applied? Check if the fee is a dollar amount or if the fee is a percent of income below, and then check all that apply under the selection, as appropriate. i. [ ] The fee is a dollar amount and (check all that apply): [ ] The fee is per child, with the same fee for each child. [ ] The fee is per child and is discounted for two or more children. [ ] The fee is per child up to a maximum per family. [ ]No additional fee is charged after a certain number of children. [ ] The fee is per family. [ ] The contribution schedule varies because it is set locally/regionally (as indicated in 1.2.1). Describe: [ ]Other. Describe: ii. [x] The fee is a percent of income and (check all that apply): [ ]The fee is per child, with the same percentage applied for each child. [ ]The fee is per child, and a discounted percentage is applied for two or more children. [ ]The fee is per child up to a maximum per family. [ ]No additional percentage is charged after a certain number of children. [ ] The fee is per family. [ ]The contribution schedule varies because it is set locally/regionally (as indicated in 1.2.1). Describe: [x] Other. Describe: Copays are assessed based upon a marginal rate increase of fourteen percent (14%) for every dollar of gross countable household income above one hundred percent (100%) of the federal poverty guidelines (FPG). Eligible households with countable income that is at or below the one hundred percent (100%) of the FPG have a copay assessed at one percent (1%) of their income. Eligible households with countable income that is above one hundred percent (100%) of the FPG have a copay assessed at one percent (1%) of their income plus a marginal rate increase of fourteen percent (14%) for every dollar of gross countable household income above one hundred percent (100%) of the FPG. An additional fifteen dollar ($15) fee shall be added to the copay for each additional child when households are requesting care for more than one child and have income above one hundred percent (100%) of the FPG. If care is only requested for one (1) child, the additional fifteen dollar ($15) fee does not apply. Additionally, if the child attends a high-quality provider (a provider at a level 3, 4, or 5 of the QRIS) the household receives a 20% decrease in their parent fee. Colorado will be adjusting our parent fee formula to ensure that the fee does not exceed 7% of the family's income, regardless of the number of children in care, by April 1, 2026, which will allow time for the appropriate technology changes to be completed to meet full implementation by August 1, 2026. b. Does the Lead Agency use other factors in addition to income and family size to determine each family’s co-payment? (Lead Agencies may not use price of care or amount of subsidy payment in determining co-payments). [ ] No. [x] Yes. If yes, check and describe those additional factors below: i. [x] Number of hours the child is in care. Describe: The copay is assessed at 55% of the calculated full-time fee for part-time care. Part-time care is defined as an average of less than 13 full-time equivalent units of care per month. ii. [x]Quality of care (as defined by the Lead Agency). Describe: A 20% reduced copay is applied for children attending high-quality care, which is defined as child care programs that have attained a Colorado Shines quality rating of Level 3, 4, or 5. iii. [ ] Other. Describe: c. Describe any other policies the Lead Agency uses in the calculation of family co-payment to ensure it does not create a barrier to access. Check all that apply: i. [ ] Base co-payments on only a portion of the family’s income. For instance, only consider the family income over the federal poverty level. ii. [ ] Base co-payments on the number of children in the family and reduce a portion of the co-payments as the number of children being served increases. iii. [ ]Other. Describe: