Pulse development · 1 cited source · September 22, 2026
Kids Thrive Fund Aims to Help 800 to 1,000 Families
A voter-approved sales tax will support a January fund aiming to help 800 to 1,000 families, though local leaders say it will not meet all demand for child-care aid.
In January, the Kids Thrive Fund is expected to launch using proceeds from a county sales-tax increase approved by voters last November. The tax — 25 cents on every $100 purchase — is estimated to raise around $28 million a year for a variety of early childhood initiatives. The fund expands on a United Way-funded local assistance program that currently serves several dozen families. Stormi Kujawa, a Fort Collins resident, had been on the state child-care subsidy waitlist for more than two years before her family was approved for the local program. Kujawa and other families in the United Way program will transition to the Kids Thrive Fund in 2027. The state subsidy waitlist is a familiar experience for thousands of low-income parents seeking child-care help so they can work or go to school.
All families will be eligible for some aid, while lower-income families will get the most. Kids Thrive Northern Colorado’s goal is to help 800 to 1,000 families through sliding-scale awards based on income. Local early-childhood council CEO Christina Taylor said the fund will not satisfy local demand, even as she called the revenue available for tuition “amazing.” In 2025-26, Colorado’s $159 million CCCAP subsidy program served more than 21,000 children, while more than 14,000 Colorado children were still waiting. Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of children were on state child-care subsidy waitlists last spring.
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- Kids Thrive Fund Aims to Help 800 to 1,000 Families
- A voter-approved sales tax will support a January fund aiming to help 800 to 1,000 families, though local leaders say it will not meet all demand for child-care aid.
- In January, the Kids Thrive Fund is expected to launch using proceeds from a county sales-tax increase approved by voters last November.
- The tax — 25 cents on every $100 purchase — is estimated to raise around $28 million a year for a variety of early childhood initiatives.
- The fund expands on a United Way-funded local assistance program that currently serves several dozen families.
- Stormi Kujawa, a Fort Collins resident, had been on the state child-care subsidy waitlist for more than two years before her family was approved for the local program.
- Kujawa and other families in the United Way program will transition to the Kids Thrive Fund in 2027.
- The state subsidy waitlist is a familiar experience for thousands of low-income parents seeking child-care help so they can work or go to school.
- All families will be eligible for some aid, while lower-income families will get the most.
- Kids Thrive Northern Colorado’s goal is to help 800 to 1,000 families through sliding-scale awards based on income.
- Local early-childhood council CEO Christina Taylor said the fund will not satisfy local demand, even as she called the revenue available for tuition “amazing.”
- In 2025-26, Colorado’s $159 million CCCAP subsidy program served more than 21,000 children, while more than 14,000 Colorado children were still waiting.
- Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of children were on state child-care subsidy waitlists last spring.