Larimer Child Care Fund

A Heavy Burden to Shoulder

Child care costs have skyrocketed throughout the United States, but few communities have felt that pain as acutely as Larimer County, Colorado. Larimer families spend roughly 12%-20% of their income on child care, the 5th highest average in the country. As a result, many families must make hard choices about their workforce participation. Per a McKinsey & Company 2021 report, nearly 46,000 Colorado parents are making career sacrifices due to issues with child care. County-wide, only 16% of infants and 36% of toddlers are enrolled in licensed care. To address these challenges, the Early Childhood Council of Larimer County (ECCLC) and the United Way of Larimer County (UWLC) worked together to establish the innovative Larimer Child Care Fund (LCCF) in 2021.

Joy Sullivan, President and CEO of United Way of Larimer County, helped lead the charge. “Having previously been the director of one of only two nonprofit early care and education organizations serving children ages zero to five in Larimer County,” she says, “I knew firsthand the need to expand access to scholarships for families and alleviate the administrative burden on providers. UWLC was uniquely positioned to launch the LCCF, building on its success in fundraising and administering childcare scholarships through its 15-year-old WomenGive program, which provides child care scholarships to single mothers.”

The LCCF plays a crucial role in bridging the child care affordability gap, increasing access to care for low-to-moderate-income families. The Fund was strategically designed to complement existing assistance programs, targeting families that fall just above the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP)’s income thresholds. In 2024-25, the fund served 57 families and 75 children with a nearly $500,000 investment. The long-term impacts of the fund include improved family stability, educational outcomes, child health, and more.

“The Early Childhood Council of Larimer County is proud to support the creation and administration of the Larimer Child Care Fund,” said Christina Taylor, ECCLC CEO. “...Together, we are helping build a stronger, more equitable early childhood landscape in Larimer County.”

Getting the Right Infrastructure in Place

As the primary administrator for the Fund, the ECCLC knew they needed a strong technology system to undergird the initiative. Not only did they want to make the process efficient and user-friendly for families and providers, they would also need to support transparent, audit-ready payment workflows, including blending and braiding of multiple funding sources. They ultimately settled on BridgeCare, a white-labeled early care and education platform with a dedicated Subsidy Management solution.

Heather Blanco, Chief Program Officer at ECCLC, was already a BridgeCare advocate when the Fund was still in its planning stages. “I saw [Jamee Herbert, BridgeCare CEO] give a presentation on the product and I immediately thought, ‘Larimer County needs this,’” she said. Not long after, in the fall of 2020, BridgeCare was brought in as the county’s child care search tool. ECCLC felt very comfortable with both the technology and the support they were receiving. When faced with the prospect of expanding their use of BridgeCare to support LCCF administration, Heather says, “It was kind of a no-brainer for us.”

Fund administrators, families, and providers all interact with BridgeCare’s role-based portals.

• Administrators can review, prioritize, and set the status of applications, while communicating with families and collaborating with other team members to ensure compliance with program requirements. In the Subsidy module, admins manage funding sources, allocate funds to providers, and facilitate agreements between the fund, families, and providers.
  
• Families search for participating providers, determine eligibility, apply for the LCCF, and enter into agreements with providers through an accessible, modern experience. Families have full visibility into the status of their application and the award amount they qualify for.
• Providers update information about their programs, manage their enrollment and attendance, and message families through a one-stop-shop profile and communications hub.

ECCLC uses BridgeCare daily to keep openings up to date, meet state requirements, and analyze data. Provider engagement has been a big focus for the organization, and they’ve seen an uptick in Family Child Care (FCC) usage as well. The organization has praised BridgeCare’s ability to support their continuous improvement through strategic guidance, training, and the implementation of new functionality. BridgeCare has been the “missing piece” that has helped connect the experience and skill sets of ECCLC and UWLC.

“I’ve seen firsthand how BridgeCare’s platform has strengthened our partnership with United Way and created new opportunities for families and providers across Larimer County. BridgeCare has truly ‘bridged’ every aspect of this initiative, making it easier than ever to support our community. As we move forward, this proven model positions us to expand our impact and secure additional funding. BridgeCare hasn't just improved our processes - it has helped create a sustainable framework for ensuring even more families can access the childcare they need." -Maribel Leon, Early Childhood Program Associate, Early Childhood Council of Larimer County

To learn how BridgeCare can support and modernize your child care data and technology infrastructure, connect with one of our specialists today.