Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS

Date:06/22/2015
ATTENDANCE
Time:01:07 PM to 03:01 PM
Marble
*
Merrifield
E
Place:SCR 356
Singer
*
Wilson
X
This Meeting was called to order by
Pettersen
X
Senator Martinez Humenik
Martinez Humenik
X
This Report was prepared by
Rachel Kurtz-Phelan
X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call
Bills Addressed: Action Taken:
Welcome, introduction and presentations
Discussion of changes to existing statutes and public comment
Discussion of future meeting dates		Committee Discussion Only
Committee Discussion Only
Committee Discussion Only


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


02:27 PM -- Discussion of changes to existing statutes and public comment

Senator Martinez Humenik opened the floor for public comment.

02:29 PM -- Former state senator Evie Hudak, representing herself, came to the table to talk about previous legislation and provide additional information about the history of ECSRLC and ECLC. She talked about prior bills relating to scholarships for early childhood educators, specifically House Bill 10-1030 and House Bill 15-1001. She stated that the intention of HB 10-1030 was to increase funding for the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) scholarship program, which is authorized at the federal level and run through Qualistar, but that the money allocated to the program was through the Early Learning Challenge Grant and the state was not awarded the grant funds. She told the commission that House Bill 15-1001 was supposed to fix the issues with HB 10-1030, but it was postponed indefinitely. She recommended that the commission clean up the issues that arose from these two bills. Senator Hudak answered questions from the commission about funding for early childhood programs. She stated that there are very specific quality requirements for child care centers, including small teacher to student ratios; minimum teacher education standards; and environmental health, safety, and developmental standards. She told the commission members that early childhood councils around the state are charged with the implementation of quality standards and initiatives.










02:50 PM -- Discussion of Future Meeting Dates and Topics for Discussion at Future Meetings

The committee discussed and finalized the dates for future meetings, which will be posted to the commission's web page, as well as ideas for future discussion and presentation topics.


03:00 PM

The committee adjourned.