Colorado § 26.5-2-204 - Early childhood councils - applications - community strategic plans - rules.

§ 26.5-2-204. Early childhood councils - applications - community strategic plans - rules.

(1) A newly established or newly identified council shall submit to the department an application to become part of the statewide system of early childhood councils. The department shall develop and distribute the application form and criteria and an explanation of the process for joining the statewide system of early childhood councils. The department shall provide support for the preparation of applications.

(2) A new council shall designate on its application the following information:

(a) The intended service area;

(b) The counties to be involved in the council;

(c) Participating mandatory stakeholders;

(d) The entity that serves as the original fiscal agent for the council; and

(e) The signatures of the chair or chairs of the board or boards of county commissioners for the counties involved in the council, the legal signatory for the counties, and the president of a school district board of education involved in the council.

(3) An existing early childhood council seeking to be newly identified as a council shall designate on its application a restatement of the following information:

(a) The designated service area;

(b) Current members;

(c) Any additional stakeholders required to meet the membership requirements of section 26.5-2-205;

(d) The designated fiscal agent; and

(e) Signatures of the current organization leadership, the fiscal agent, the chair or chairs of the board or boards of county commissioners of the counties involved in the council, and the president of a school district board of education involved in the council.

(4) Each council shall develop a strategic plan based upon an assessment of the early childhood needs in the designated service area that includes:

(a) A council infrastructure, including a plan for hiring a council director;

(b) A technical assistance plan and an annual budget for developing a local early childhood system and infrastructure to improve and coordinate early childhood services; and

(c) A plan for evaluating program performance and council process and effectiveness as it relates to the council's strategic plan.

(4.5) (a) Beginning on or before July 1, 2026, a community strategic plan developed pursuant to subsection (4) of this section must foster access for families to, and robust participation by providers in, early childhood and family support programs and services and must address accessibility and quality improvements that are consistent with the early childhood Colorado framework.

(b) The community strategic plan must include:

(I) The manner in which the council will assist families in accessing referrals and resources for early care and education, in applying for early childhood and family support programs and services, and in enrolling children with early care and education providers;

(II) The manner in which the council will coordinate with other entities, including, but not limited to, other councils, county departments, school districts, local and regional service providers, and tribal agencies to integrate outreach efforts;

(III) The manner in which the council will recruit and coordinate with providers to ensure that families can choose among providers, within the mixed delivery system in the council's service area, that participate in publicly funded programs, including the Colorado universal preschool program and the Colorado child care assistance program; and

(IV) A plan for facilitating access to workforce training and education for service providers and for identifying and implementing recruitment and retention strategies.

(c) The community strategic plan may include:

(I) The manner in which the council will facilitate access to early childhood and family support programs and holistic services that include food, cash assistance, health care, and county child welfare services, as defined in section 26-5-101, including implementation of the federal "Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018"; and

(II) The council's strategies for identifying and securing, as feasible, additional local resources and funding to support early childhood and family support programs and services in the community.

(5) The executive director shall promulgate rules to define the standards for acceptance of applications made pursuant to this section. Acceptance of an application is automatic if the application is complete, the signatures are in order, and it meets the standards set forth by the executive director pursuant to this subsection (5).

Source: L. 2022: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 22-1295), ch. 123, p. 596, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2026: (4.5) added, (SB 26-019), ch. 104, p. 415, § 4, effective May 5.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 26-6.5-103.3 as it existed prior to 2022.