Colorado § 26.5-1-102 - Legislative intent.

§ 26.5-1-102. Legislative intent.

(1) It is the intent of the general assembly that the department of early childhood shall work with other state and local agencies, public and private early childhood providers, head start agencies, nonprofit organizations, and parents and families to:

(a) Provide high-quality, voluntary, affordable early childhood opportunities for all children in Colorado;

(b) Coordinate the availability of early childhood programs and services in Colorado to meet the needs of all families;

(c) Establish state and community partnerships that provide for a mixed delivery of child care and early childhood programs through school-based and community-based providers;

(d) Ensure that parent and community input are prioritized in the continuing design and implementation of programs and policies affecting children and families;

(e) Maximize the efficient use of resources to ensure that parents, children, and early childhood program and service providers are prioritized and receive the greatest level of investment and financial support with the lowest possible administrative burden;

(f) Prioritize the equitable delivery of resources and supports for early childhood;

(g) Unify within the department the administration of child care and early learning programs to effectively and efficiently support a streamlined parent and provider experience and to support a diverse array of providers of early childhood care and learning services. Unification of the programs must include:

(I) Development of a common program application process, which, to the extent practicable, is accessible in families' preferred languages, to streamline the eligibility and enrollment experience for families;

(II) Quality program standards that support child development and successful transitions to elementary education and are aligned and integrated with standards from other early care and learning programs; and

(III) Focus on recruitment and retention strategies, including strategies designed to recruit and retain individuals from different cultural backgrounds, and compensation strategies for the early care and learning workforce to elevate and support the workforce across all care and learning settings; and

(h) Improve outcomes for children and families through:

(I) Strategies that support recruitment, training, and compensation of the early childhood workforce, including strategies designed to recruit and retain individuals from different cultural backgrounds;

(II) Implementation of evidence- and practice-based best practices in education, family support, and child development with a focus on continuous improvement and innovation;

(III) Program evaluation for continuous improvement, including monitoring metrics that promote transparency and efficiency of administration, program quality assessment, and child and family outcomes and accountability, which are reported annually and must address removal or reduction of access barriers, realization of administrative or financial efficiencies, and progress toward achieving the department's mission;

(IV) Alignment with state and federal requirements under the state "Exceptional Children's Educational Act", part 1 of article 20 of title 22, and part B and part C of the federal "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act", 20 U.S.C. sec. 1400 et seq., as amended; and

(V) Education and training regarding how to identify and address child and family trauma and support a trauma-informed approach to early childhood.

Source: L. 2021: Entire title added, (HB 21-1304), ch. 307, p. 1847, § 4, effective July 1, 2022.