CLICS/CLICS2018A/commsumm.nsf
PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For UPDATE FROM THE EARLY CHILDHOOD LEADERSHIP COMMISSION
INTERIM COMMITTEE EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS
Date Jul 10, 2018
Location HCR 0112
Update from the Early Childhood Leadership Commission - Committee Discussion Only
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09:22:00 AM |
Kristina Heyl, Director of the Early Childhood
Leadership Commission (ECLC), came to the table to begin her presentation
[Attachment C]. She discussed the four previous ECSRLC bills that
passed during the 2018 legislative session. She provided an overview
of the ECLC, which she explained is a statutory commission charged with
ensuring and advancing a comprehensive service delivery system to help
pregnant women and children from birth to age eight. She stated that
the ECLC's mission is to advise and make recommendations to the General
Assembly, state agencies, and the ECSRLC, and to monitor and advance strategies
that increase access, quality, and equity of early childhood services and
supports across the state. Ms. Heyl discussed in further detail the
ECLC subcommittees and working groups.
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09:27:59 AM |
Ms. Heyl spoke about several of the ECLC's
latest accomplishments, such as the Colorado Early Childhood Workforce
2020 Plan. She stated that nationally over half of early childhood
workforce members are on public assistance, and explained the need to discuss
recruitment, retention, and compensation strategies for this population
across multiple agencies that support this workforce. Ms. Heyl discussed
the 11 recommendations given by the ECLC's Early Childhood Communications
Collaborative. She answered questions about how the ECLC is communicating
with parents and caregivers and about the need to involve health care providers
in the communications process. She talked further about the Early
Childhood Colorado Framework.
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09:37:20 AM |
Ms. Heyl stated that the ECLC's priorities
going forward include expanding early childhood awareness; communicating
statewide the importance of early childhood education; preparing and helping
to support new state leadership; supporting the early childhood workforce;
and continuing to align and coordinate to make sure families have the most
seamless transition from early childhood to K-12 schooling. She answered
questions about how to make access to early childhood more equitable across
the state, and about the need to reach across multiple state agencies and
local organizations to help promote and ensure access.
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09:43:04 AM |
Ms. Heyl answered questions about why early
childhood providers struggle to find qualified staff, and explained that
the 2020 Workforce Plan lays out six goals to help remedy the problem.
Senator Martinez Humenik spoke about the importance of all stakeholders
coming together to figure out a solution to the lack of available workforce
in a variety of industries, including early childhood.
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09:48:20 AM |
Representative Buckner spoke about the
need for strong parental involvement in early childhood education. Ms.
Heyl stated that there is an ECLC working group looking at innovative strategies
to increase the number of early childhood educators in Colorado.
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