Date: 06/22/2015

Final
Welcome, introduction and presentations

EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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01:08 PM -- Welcome, introductions by commission members, and presentations

Senator Martinez Humenik, chair, welcomed the members of the Early Childhood and School Readiness Legislative Commission (ECSRLC) and audience to the meeting and explained the commission's purpose and mission. Copies of the commission charge memo were distributed to the members (Attachment A). The members of the commission took turns introducing themselves. Senator Martinez Humenik welcomed Mary Anne Snyder, Director, Colorado Office of Early Childhood (OEC), and Sheryl Shushan, Manager, Early Childhood Leadership Commission, to the table to begin their presentation. Copies of their power point slides were distributed to the commission members (Attachment B). Ms. Snyder provided an overview of the history and purpose of the OEC, and explained that the three key outcomes the office seeks to achieve are: school readiness; safe, stable and nurturing environments for children; and resilience in early childhood. She stated that the needs of early childhood require strong public private partnerships, and explained that her office is responsible for inspecting, licensing, and monitoring child care facilities across the state. Ms. Snyder talked about a new program providing micro loans and micro grants to facilities in order to increase slots for infants and toddlers, with a focus on rural communities and other areas with a high need for infant and toddler slots.

0622EarlyChildhoodAttachA.pdf0622EarlyChildhoodAttachA.pdf0622EarlyChildhoodAttachB.pdf0622EarlyChildhoodAttachB.pdf

01:19 PM

Ms. Snyder discussed the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), and explained that CCCAP serves approximately 11,000 families per day. She talked about the changes made to CCCAP by House Bill 14-1317 and Senate Bill 14-003, including making the requirements for small businesses easier, providing easier access for families, and establishing opportunities for a parent to access childcare for his or her kids while her or she is in school. She spoke in detail about the Cliff Effect Pilot Program implemented by SB 14-003, and answered questions from Representative Pettersen about how many counties are participating in the pilot program. She told the commission about the infusion of dollars from the Early Learning Challenge Grant of $44.8 million dollars over a 5-year period, and discussed the School Readiness Quality Improvement Program which provides funding for early childhood facilities that feed into low performing elementary schools. She talked about the Colorado Shines program, which is a quality rating and improvement system for early care and education programs with 4,858 licensed child care programs currently participating. She said that her office is working on rules revisions for child care centers, and improving flexibility for certain requirements.

01:33 PM

Ms. Snyder continued talking about child care quality initiatives, including the distribution of $6.8 million in FY 2014-15 to child care providers to invest in facility improvements and professional development opportunities for teachers. She told the commission that an additional $8 million in Race to the Top funding will be invested in FY 2015-16. Ms. Snyder talked about Division of Community and Family support within the Office of Early Childhood, and about the collaboration between her office and Head Start, which is viewed as the gold standard for high-quality early education. She stated that her office is working on increasing the availability of mental health services for children ages 0-5, including services for development screening, developmental assessment and evaluation, consultation, parent services, and kindergarten readiness. She talked about the early intervention services provided by the state for children ages 0-2 who have developmental delays or disabilities, as well as the child maltreatment prevention unit which offers support to families at risk of entering the child welfare system. She spoke about SelfCare Colorado, which is a voluntary, in-home parent education programs providing direct skills training in an effort to prevent entry or re-entry into the child welfare system, and about the Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) program which seeks to prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families. She discussed the funding for Home Visiting Program, which includes the Nurse Home Visitor Program and the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program.

01:49 PM

Ms. Shushan provided an overview of the Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC) which is the state's early childhood advisory council that was re-authorized by House Bill 13-1117. She spoke about the different subcommittees of the ECLC, and about the types of projects and issues on which the subcommittees are working. Ms. Shushan answered questions regarding the role of the ECLC in relation to the ECSRLC. She stated that she hopes the ECSRLC will seek counsel from the ECLC when working on bills to send to Legislative Council. Ms. Snyder and Ms. Shushan answered questions from the commission about funding for the ECLC.

02:00 PM

Ms. Snyder concluded her presentation by talking about the office's goals going forward and the need to look at program efficiencies. She discussed the need for a two-generation approach to program and service delivery, and answered questions from the commission about grant funding and early childhood program curriculum.

02:13 PM

Senator Martinez Humenik invited Bill Jaeger, Vice President of Early Childhood Initiatives, Colorado Children's Campaign, to come to the table to begin his presentation. Copies of his presentation were distributed to the commission (Attachment C). Mr. Jaeger provided an overview of the legislation that previous ECSRLC commissions considered. He explained that between 2009 and 2014, 14 pieces of legislation were moved forward by the commission: six of which became law, and eight of which were postponed indefinitely. He explained that two of the six bills that passed were never implemented because they were contingent upon gifts, grants, and donations that were never received. He stated that another bill was folded into a larger bill that made changes to CCCAP. Mr. Jaeger went into further detail about the 2009, 2013, and 2014 interim bills that passed out of the General Assembly, as well as those that failed. Mr. Jaeager answered questions from the committee about his recommendations for how to ensure the legislation passed by the commission this year has the best chance of moving forward through the entire process.

0622EarlyChildhoodAttachC.pdf0622EarlyChildhoodAttachC.pdf