Colorado § 26.5-1-110 - Unified application - child care, services, and education.

§ 26.5-1-110. Unified application - child care, services, and education.

(1) The department shall develop and implement the use of a single, unified electronic application for families to use in applying for all publicly funded early childhood programs and services that the department administers. The department shall design the application to enable equitable access; streamline the enrollment and eligibility-determination process for families, providers, and state, local, and tribal agencies; and meet the requirements specified in subsection (2) of this section. The department shall collaborate with other state, local, and tribal agencies as necessary in developing, and collecting feedback concerning, the application to ensure the least amount of duplication for families and state, local, and tribal agencies. The department shall ensure that the application is functional by July 1, 2023, for families seeking to enroll children in the Colorado universal preschool program pursuant to part 2 of article 4 of this title 26.5.

(2) At a minimum, the unified application must:

(a) Be available in multiple languages;

(b) Be accessible on mobile electronic devices and available in paper copy;

(c) Collect from families only the minimum information necessary to apply for programs and services and enable families to apply for a single program or service or for multiple programs and services simultaneously or over time;

(d) Adhere to all state and federal data privacy and security laws and regulations;

(e) Reduce duplication in and the complexity of the information collected from providers;

(f) Include consideration of all sources from which the applicant may be eligible for funding to ensure that all of the funding for which the applicant is eligible is combined and coordinated to the fullest extent allowed under state and federal laws and regulations in providing the programs and services for which the applicant is applying;

(g) Allow for customization as may be necessary for certain programs or services; and

(h) Coordinate with other agencies and programs, as appropriate, to ensure appropriate referral of children and families to early childhood programs administered by other departments.

(3) A county department shall not add additional required eligibility criteria to the application or redetermination process.

Source: L. 2022: Entire section added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 577, § 2, effective April 25. L. 2024: (3) added, (HB 24-1223), ch. 390, p. 2696, § 2, effective June 4.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 24-1223, see section 1 of chapter 390, Session Laws of Colorado 2024.