Colorado Department of Early Childhood

This document provides an update to the Colorado Shines Brighter Strategic Plan, detailing revisions based on ongoing needs assessments, stakeholder feedback, and continuous quality improvement. It outlines the process for updating the plan, which includes analyzing the current landscape, engaging diverse stakeholders, and convening a working group. The updated plan focuses on strategic pillars such as aligning and coordinating early childhood systems, maximizing family engagement and support, ensuring meaningful and equitable access to services, strengthening business practices for providers, and improving the overall quality of early care and education environments and workforce. The aim is to enhance high-quality early care and education options for low-income families, improve care quality, streamline administrative infrastructure, and optimize funding efficiencies.

The meeting featured updates on child care resource and referral services, specifically the ability for providers to update their availability via phone, text, or email. The FFN Advisory Council announced an upcoming meeting to discuss emotional and mental health support for FFN providers and training opportunities. Finance representatives provided guidance on invoice submission, the use of updated templates, and adjustments to indirect cost rates for ENE contracts. Additionally, the meeting included a review of the Preschool Development Grant's local organizational capacity work, showcasing a video evaluation of efforts to support families with infants and toddlers.

The meeting included discussions on billing procedures for base funding for emerging and expanding programs, the posting of the triennial presentation on the CDEC website, and updates on the Military Child Care in Your Neighborhood program, specifically addressing utilization rates and provider enrollment. Additionally, the meeting covered an updated orientation process for level three to five ratings, including a new informational video and streamlined meeting procedures. Health and safety protocols were also reviewed, noting that mask usage for observers is now optional unless requested by a program. The meeting concluded with a presentation of rating results from 2022 and ongoing scheduling updates for programs.

The meeting focused on guidance for merit awards, emphasizing the necessity of having memorandums of understanding in place. There was a discussion regarding a past audit of the Sugar CRM system, which led to updated processes and documentation for capital improvement and quality spending. The session also covered the introduction of new user roles in the PDIS system to support administrative tasks, including PDIS administrator, workforce manager, training manager, and background check manager. Additionally, staff changes at Clayton were announced, specifically regarding leadership updates in the department quality assessment services.

The meeting provided updates on the office relocation of the Department of Early Childhood and discussed the stabilization survey for child care providers. Key agenda items included administrative procedures for media contact, fiscal year budget revisions and funding for ARPA, and instructions on assigning Qi Navigator roles in Salesforce. The session also covered updates on child care business training seminars, upcoming virtual training series and regional convenings, and the availability of Preschool Development Grant renewal reports. Finally, updates regarding the employer-based child care grant program were provided.