(1) Except
as otherwise specifically provided in this part 3, a person shall not operate an
agency or facility defined in this part 3 without first being licensed by the
department to operate or maintain the agency or facility and paying the prescribed
fee. A license issued by the department is permanent unless otherwise revoked or
suspended pursuant to section 26.5-5-317.
(2) The department may issue a provisional license once for a period of six
months to an applicant for an original license, permitting the applicant to operate a
family child care home or child care center if the applicant is temporarily unable to
conform to all standards required under this part 3, upon proof by the applicant
that the applicant is attempting to conform to the standards or to comply with any
other requirements. The applicant has the right to appeal any standard that the
applicant believes presents an undue hardship or has been applied too stringently
by the department. Upon the filing of an appeal, the department shall proceed in
the manner prescribed for licensee appeals in section 26.5-5-314 (5).
(3) (a) The department shall not issue a license for a child care center until
the facilities to be operated or maintained by the applicant or licensee are approved
by the department of public health and environment as conforming to the sanitary
standards prescribed by said department pursuant to section 25-1.5-101 (1)(h) and
unless the facilities conform to fire prevention and protection requirements of local
fire departments in the locality of the facility or, in lieu thereof, of the division of
labor standards and statistics in the department of labor and employment.
(b) A child care center that provides child care exclusively to school-age
children and operates on the property of a school district, district charter school, or
institute charter school may satisfy any fire or radon inspection requirement
required by law by providing a copy of a satisfactory fire or radon inspection report
of the property of a school district, district charter school, or institute charter
school where the child care is provided if the fire or radon inspection report was
completed within the preceding twelve months. The department shall not require a
duplicate fire or radon inspection if a satisfactory fire or radon inspection report of
the property was completed within the preceding twelve months.
(4) (a) (I) The department shall not issue a license to operate a family child
care home or a child care center if the applicant for the license, an affiliate of the
applicant, a person employed by the applicant, or a person who resides with the
applicant at the facility has been convicted of:
(A) Child abuse, as specified in section 18-6-401;
(B) A crime of violence, as defined in section 18-1.3-406;
(C) Any offenses involving unlawful sexual behavior, as defined in section 16-22-102 (9);
(D) Any felony, the underlying factual basis of which has been found by the
court on the record to include an act of domestic violence, as defined in section 18-6-800.3;
(E) Any felony involving physical assault or battery;
(E.5) Any felony involving a drug-related offense within the five years
preceding the date of application for a license;
(F) A pattern of misdemeanor convictions, as defined by department rule,
within the ten years immediately preceding the date of submission of the
application;
(G) Any offense in any other state, the elements of which are substantially
similar to the elements of any one of the offenses described in subsections
(4)(a)(I)(A) to (4)(a)(I)(F) of this section.
(II) As used in this subsection (4)(a), convicted means a conviction by a jury
or by a court and also includes a deferred judgment and sentence agreement, a
deferred prosecution agreement, a deferred adjudication agreement, an
adjudication, and a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
(b) The department shall determine the convictions identified in subsection
(4)(a) of this section according to the records of the Colorado bureau of
investigation, the Colorado state courts data access system at the state judicial
department, or any other source, as set forth in section 26.5-5-316 (1)(a)(II). A
certified copy of the judgment of a court of competent jurisdiction of such
conviction, deferred judgment and sentence agreement, deferred prosecution
agreement, or deferred adjudication agreement is prima facie evidence of the
conviction or agreement. The department shall not issue a license to operate a
family child care home or a child care center if the department has a certified court
order from another state indicating that the person applying for the license has
been convicted of child abuse or any unlawful sexual offense against a child under
a law of any other state or the United States, or the department has a certified
court order from another state that the person applying for the license has entered
into a deferred judgment or deferred prosecution agreement in another state as to
child abuse or any sexual offense against a child.
(5) The department shall not issue a license to operate an agency or facility
defined in this part 3 if the person applying for the license or an affiliate of the
applicant, a person employed by the applicant, or a person who resides with the
applicant at the facility, has been determined to be insane or mentally incompetent
by a court of competent jurisdiction and a court has entered, pursuant to part 3 or
part 4 of article 14 of title 15 or section 27-65-110 (4) or 27-65-127, an order
specifically finding that the mental incompetency or insanity is of such a degree
that the applicant is incapable of operating a family child care home or child care
center. The record of the determination and entry of the order are conclusive
evidence of the determination.
(6) The department and the department of education shall streamline all
paperwork that licensed early care and education programs and early childhood
educators must complete to meet child care licensing and early childhood educator
credentialing compliance requirements. The state agencies shall identify ways to
share information and reports across the agencies to reduce the administrative and
paperwork burden on early care and education programs and educators. The
streamlining process must include a systems scan of programs and initiatives,
identification of overlapping reporting requirements, and ways to reduce the
administrative and paperwork burden on programs and educators.
(7) (a) The department shall, to the extent practicable, provide essential
resources in prevalent languages to help child care providers and prospective
providers complete the necessary paperwork to meet child care licensing
compliance requirements. The department shall review existing resources and
ensure that the English versions are written in plain language to facilitate the
translation of these resources into prevalent languages. The department may
provide essential resources in additional languages as needed in order to meet the
needs of Colorado communities, subject to available appropriations.
(b) The department shall, to the extent practicable, engage in outreach and
maintain communications in prevalent languages with local stakeholders who
provide, are considering providing, or advocate on behalf of those providing
licensed early care and education programs to foster a more culturally and
linguistically diverse provider population.
(c) The department shall 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.
(d) (I) The department shall update its mobile licensing application to provide
essential information in prevalent languages in accordance with the requirements
of this subsection (7). For the 2024-25 state fiscal year, the general assembly shall
appropriate forty-five thousand dollars to the department from the general fund to
pay costs associated with this subsection (7)(d).
(II) This subsection (7)(d) is repealed, effective June 20, 2026.
(e) (I) On or before March 30, 2026, the department shall submit a report to
the joint budget committee, the health and human services committee of the house
of representatives, and the health and human services committee of the senate, or
any successor committees, concerning barriers faced by individuals who speak a
language other than English in becoming licensed child care providers.
(II) This subsection (7)(e) is repealed, effective June 20, 2026.