Bilingual Child Care Licensing Resources

The bill requires the department of early childhood (department) to provide education and information in plain language and in prevalent languages to help individuals complete the paperwork required to meet child care licensing compliance requirements.

The bill also requires the department to provide services in prevalent languages to individuals seeking to open or otherwise participate in the operation of an early childhood program or facility licensed by the department.

The bill defines prevalent languages as the 2 most prevalent languages spoken in Colorado.

The bill creates the bilingual licensing unit to help the department satisfy its duties and requires the general assembly to appropriate $235,000 from the general fund to the department for the 2024-25 state fiscal year and for each year thereafter to pay the costs of the bilingual licensing unit's activities.

The bill also requires the general assembly to appropriate $45,000 from the general fund to the department for the 2024-25 state fiscal year to pay costs associated with updating the department's mobile licensing application.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)