Guest blog from The Women’s Foundation of Colorado

Tax Changes and Funding Cuts Hurt Middle- and Low-Income Women

Status of Women: Colorado Snapshot with the Institute for Women’s Policy Research

In January, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado and the Institute for Women’s Policy Research released a new report. The Status of Women: Colorado Snapshot looks at how women across the state are doing financially.

The report says it is important to protect programs that help women and families, such as:

• Medicaid
• The Family Affordability Tax Credit
• The Equal Pay for Equal Work Act

Snapshot takes big state data and connects it to policy solutions

The report looked at four key areas of women’s lives: family and caregiving, education and job opportunities, fair work and wages, and health. Researchers wanted to track what is happening to women across the country. They also looked at how laws are changing in real time. Here is what they found in Colorado:

• Medicaid helped nearly one in six Colorado women between 2019 and 2023. In 2023, Medicaid paid for more than one in three births in the state. For Black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander women, Medicaid paid for more than half of all births.
• Between 2019 and 2023, nearly 20% of families led by single women were living in poverty. This is more than twice the rate of families led by single men. Two out of three single Black and Hispanic mothers with children under 18 were living at or below the poverty line.
• In 2023, home-based infant care cost about $12,750 per year. Center-based infant care cost $19,753 per year. That is about one-third of what the average woman earns working full time for a year.
• Women working full time between 2019 and 2023 earned about 80.9 cents for every dollar men earned.
• In 2023, women 62 and older had only 65% of the retirement income of men their age. They also received only 68.6% of what men their age received from Social Security.

Data tells us that cuts to Medicaid will affect pregnant mothers

“Women in Colorado need stability and resources to raise healthy families,” said Louise Myrland, vice president of programs for The Women’s Foundation of Colorado.

Tens of thousands of women, especially single mothers of teens, could lose benefits. This is due to new rules that require people to work in order to receive Medicaid and SNAP (the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program).

“Four out of five mothers who we work with have Medicaid,” said Birdie Johnson, founding director of Mama Bird Doula Services, a nonprofit that serves pregnant people of color. “Taking away Medicaid from Colorado women will harm the Black community. I have no doubt the chances of low-birthweight and preterm births will increase, and c-section rates will rise.”

Single women living in poverty need The Family Affordability Tax Credit

Federal tax cuts for the wealthy could eliminate tax credits that working families depend on, like the Family Affordability Tax Credit.

State tax credits helped cut child poverty in Colorado by 40.5% in 2025. But families may stop receiving the Family Affordability Tax Credit when they file taxes in 2027. This is because the state needs to cut $850 million from its budget in 2026.

“Having the extra boost in my tax return gave me the ability to purchase things my family really needed, like a bed for my son and shoes and jackets for all my children,” said Delilah Lopez. A single mom of five in Fort Collins who is working toward her MBA, Delilah adds, “People do not realize what a big difference it makes for a family. And knowing I have an extra bit of savings feels really good.”

2026 Priority: Protect tax credits and programs that support all

During the 2026 Colorado legislative session, the Women’s Foundation of Colorado will push to protect programs and credits that help women and their families to build financial stability. This includes:

• Renewing the Child Care Contribution Tax Credit (CCTC) and supporting policies that strengthen Colorado’s early childhood system.
• Protecting family tax credits and restoring the Family Affordability Tax Credit so Colorado families can save money.
• Protecting women and gender-expansive people from discrimination. This is critical as more companies use AI and algorithms to make decisions about hiring, pay, and prices.
• Making sure the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act is followed and that employers are open and honest in their hiring.
• Supporting policies that improve the health of Black mothers and protect the rights of transgender people.

Promoting progress depends on continued access to data

“We are living in an age when our information systems are under threat, and when data disappears, so does our ability to promote progress,” said Emily Maistrellis, director of the Status of Women in the States Initiative at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research.