How Colorado sets in-home care hours: the Direct Care Services Calculator

Colorado now uses a tool called the Direct Care Services Calculator to decide how many in-home care hours a person gets. Soft caps on some services took effect April 1, 2026. If your child needs more time than the standards allow, there is an exception process.

What's changing

The Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing (HCPF) explains this in Operational Memo OM 26-001. Hours are now set with the Direct Care Services Calculator. It uses age-appropriate task standards. The current version for children is the July 2026 children's calculator.

Soft caps on services took effect April 1, 2026. One example is Protective Oversight, capped at 1,460 units a year. That is about 7 hours a week.

"Soft" matters. Hours above a cap need justification and review. They are not denied automatically. The formal exception process began January 15, 2026.

Who it affects (and who it doesn't)

This affects families whose in-home care hours under Community First Choice (CFC) or In-Home Support Services (IHSS) are assessed with the calculator, especially for children.

The standards are the default, not a ceiling. Documented needs above them go through the exception process instead of being refused outright.

Key dates

• January 15, 2026: The exception process began.
• April 1, 2026: Soft caps took effect.

What you can do

1. If your child's real care time is more than the standards, that is what the exception process is for.
2. Write down the real time each task takes.
3. Ask your case manager to submit an exception.
4. Keep a copy of your notes and of every notice you get.

You can read HCPF OM 26-001 on HCPF's website.