Denver committee advances bill to drop local child-care license

Denver’s Health and Safety Committee voted 4-0 on June 17 to advance Council Bill 26-0852, which would eliminate Denver’s child-care business license requirement.

The proposal would still leave state child-care licensing in place, along with other local oversight tied to zoning, fire and public health. The committee agenda describes the bill as amending Chapters 11 and 32 of the Denver Revised Municipal Code to repeal outdated child-care establishment provisions and align city code with state law and regulations.

At the June 17 committee meeting, city staff said the measure would remove a duplicative local licensing step rather than roll back safety standards. Staff said the ordinance would remove city license language, update definitions, strike an outdated provision on wooden play structures and preserve Denver Department of Public Health and Environment authority to inspect for health and sanitation issues.

Staff also said providers would still need state child-care licenses, zoning clearance and any required fire and public-health inspections that are part of the broader regulatory process. During the same committee discussion, Councilmember Paul Kashmann said he supported the change because the state already conducts inspections and the city license added another step. Councilmember Kevin Flynn asked what authority Denver would retain if a family child-care home never sought a city license.

Staff said during the hearing that the city would still be able to inspect under public-health authority, issue cease-and-desist orders in egregious cases and refer providers to the state, which retains authority over license suspension or revocation.

The bill now heads to the full City Council, though the public records reviewed for this story did not clearly identify the date of a final council hearing or any separate effective date.

City officials also tied the proposal to Denver’s broader child-care shortage and affordability problems. Staff said in the committee presentation that infant and toddler care costs about $20,000 a year on average and that Denver has roughly 31,000 children ages 0 to 3 but only about 4,000 licensed slots.

Those figures were not independently verified in the city records reviewed for this story. For broader context, says Colorado has licensed spots for about 20% of infants and toddlers and lists average 2024 prices of $20,978 for infant center-based care and $17,479 for toddler center-based care. says child care in Denver County consumes 18.3% of the average monthly wage, above the federal affordability benchmark of 7% of family income.