The Early Childhood Leadership Commission and Transition Group Recommendations
The implementation of the Department is still in progress. Partners from across the state continue to support the implementation of the Department, as recommended by the Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) and the Transition Advisory Group (TAG) The ECLC was tasked with creating a Transition Plan to the new Department, and guiding the implementation of the state’s universal preschool program. In order to ensure that community voice across the state was captured and elevated, the ECLC engaged a variety of diverse stakeholders throughout the process, including parents, providers, caregivers, educators, school districts, and human services leaders, among others.
In November 2021, the ECLC unanimously approved the Transition Plan for the new Department. This plan has already been presented to the General Assembly. The executive summary of the transition plan is also available in Spanish and Arabic.
The final Universal Preschool recommendations were unanimously approved in January 2022. The Universal Preschool Recommendations are also available in Spanish and Arabic, and have been submitted to the Governor and General Assembly. The main tenets of both sets of recommendations include:
Simple and Unified Family Application
DEC will work to develop a single, equitable, and unified application for families to access all publicly-funded early childhood services and over time, relevant family support programs. This will streamline enrollment and eligibility processes for both families and providers.
Eligibility and Prioritization for Funding
DEC will work with stakeholders and experts to create a base rate for universal preschool and additional adjustments or incentives that can help ensure access for all children. This rate will need to balance the tensions between universally funding quality preschool for 10 hours a week and providing additional hours for the Colorado children and families with the greatest need.
Quality and Evaluation
DEC will work with a representative group of affected community members, stakeholders, and experts to review the existing Colorado Preschool Program (CPP) standards and other local and national standards to create a unified set of program standards for universal preschool. These standards will layer on top of minimum licensing standards, and remove barriers for providers that hinder progress toward universal quality preschool.
Building and Strengthening Colorado’s State and Local Early Childhood Infrastructure
The new Department will support policies that will improve early childhood system infrastructure, including leadership, capacity, workforce, resources, and more. Colorado will also support local leaders empowered to work toward equitable outcomes across providers in their communities.
Workforce
Colorado needs more educators, mental health specialists, home visitors, special education practitioners, and related service providers. DEC will support the workforce with increased compensation, including a living wage and benefits; aligned professional development supports; and other innovative strategies to ensure the early childhood workforce is valued, healthy, and thriving.
Special Education
DEC will partner with Colorado Department of Education (CDE) to ensure all children with disabilities are served equitably in the universal preschool program, have access to inclusive classrooms, and ensure that the universal preschool program operates in accordance with all federal and state regulations.
Implementation efforts will now be led by the Department of Early Childhood’s new leadership team members as they are hired and take on the important work of implementing the vision of a unified and elevated early childhood system. Learn more about this process by visiting the Department of Early Childhood interim website.
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