Colorado § 26.5-1-109 - Department functions - operating principles.

§ 26.5-1-109. Department functions - operating principles.

(1) The department shall execute the following functions and operate programs and provide services associated with those functions as described in this title 26.5 and authorized by federal law:

(a) Promote child physical, oral, and behavioral health and use multigenerational and culturally and linguistically appropriate strategies to support child and parent outcomes that improve overall family well-being;

(b) Identify and address child and family trauma and support a trauma-informed, as defined in section 19-1-103, approach to early childhood;

(c) Provide support to families for healthy early childhood development;

(d) Promote access to quality early childhood care and education, including monitoring and increasing the capacity of quality early childhood care and education programs to support the availability of said programs for children throughout the state;

(e) Promote and support access to a coherent and aligned system of preparation and ongoing professional development opportunities for persons who provide early childhood and family support programs and services;

(f) Support state and local infrastructure for providing early childhood and family support programs and services, including early childhood care and education and physical, oral, and behavioral health care for children;

(g) Collaborate formally and informally with all state departments and local and tribal agencies that administer or otherwise provide support for early childhood and family support programs and services to ensure effective and efficient administration of said programs and services, including combining and coordinating the funding for said programs and services that are under the jurisdiction of the department to the fullest extent allowed under state and federal laws and regulations, and to ensure consistency in the experience of families who benefit from these programs and services and promote whole-child and whole-family well-being;

(h) Collaborate with other state departments and local and tribal agencies to set, and assess achievement of, statewide goals for quality, availability, capacity, and delivery of early childhood and family support programs and services and statewide goals for support and development of the workforce that provides early childhood and family support programs and services, including physical, oral, and behavioral health care for children;

(i) Collaborate with other state departments, local and tribal agencies, and early childhood councils to safely collect and share data, eliminating duplication of data collection when possible, while ensuring privacy and security for children and families, to enable the department to gauge the statewide quality, availability, capacity, and delivery of early childhood and family support programs and services;

(j) Evaluate the quality of early childhood and family support programs and services throughout the state using identified outcome metrics and provide support for early childhood providers and the workforce that provides early childhood and family support programs and services, including physical, oral, and behavioral health care for children;

(k) Collaborate with other state departments to promote the overall effectiveness of early childhood systems in the state by jointly identifying metrics that all departments use to monitor early childhood outcomes throughout the state, which must include outcomes in health, including physical, social-emotional, and dental; learning; and overall well-being;

(l) Support innovation in methods and strategies for accessing and providing early childhood and family support programs and services through research and review of programs and systems implemented within Colorado and in other states and countries; and

(m) In coordination with the department of human services and county departments, as defined in section 26.5-4-103, integrate outreach for early childhood and family support programs and services into efforts to provide families access to a wide range of services and resources, including access to food, cash assistance, and health care.

(2) In executing the functions described in subsection (1) of this section and implementing the programs and providing the services related to those functions, the department shall ensure to the greatest extent possible that:

(a) Early childhood and family support programs and services are:

(I) Implemented and provided across functions rather than being siloed as individual programs, which includes providing a seamless application experience for families and providers as described in section 26.5-1-110, increasing the efficiency of programs and services, and reducing duplication and administrative burden;

(II) Designed with a focus on the user experience of families, children, providers, and other end-users and designed to serve the whole family and the whole child;

(III) Available statewide and provided on an equitable, affordable, and culturally and linguistically responsive basis to all families who choose to use the programs and services;

(IV) With regard to early childhood programs and services, provided through child care providers; a mixed delivery system of school- and community-based preschool program providers; and a diverse workforce of licensed, voluntarily credentialed, and informal childhood caregivers and educators; and

(V) With regard to family support programs and services, provided through a mixed delivery system of public and private providers and a diverse workforce; and

(b) Funding for programs and services is combined and coordinated at the state level, when possible and to the fullest extent allowed under state and federal laws and regulations, before distribution to local and tribal agencies, families, and providers; and

(c) Resources are used with maximum efficiency to ensure that parents, children, and early childhood program and service providers are prioritized and receive the greatest possible level of investment and financial support with the lowest possible level of administrative burden; and

(d) The department works in partnership with families, public and private providers, and local early childhood communities.

(3) To assist the department in executing the functions and meeting the requirements specified in this section, the executive director shall ensure that there is at least one staff member among the upper management levels of the department whose job responsibilities include ensuring that staff support and communicate, interact, and partner with the counties and the county departments, as defined in section 26.5-4-103.

(4) In executing the functions described in subsection (1) of this section, the department shall collaborate with the departments of education, higher education, human services, public health and environment, and health care policy and financing to strengthen coordination and promote alignment among education, higher education, human services, health care, and mental health care in serving and supporting children, families, providers, and the early childhood workforce.

Source: L. 2022: Entire section added, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 574, § 2, effective April 25. L. 2026: (1)(i) amended, (SB 26-019), ch. 104, p. 423, § 12, effective May 5.