4BB02A8DF2E7A23D87258440006BBD2A Hearing Summary CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf PUBLICBILL SUMMARY For EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCEINTERIM COMMITTEE EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESSDate Jul 23, 2019 Location SCR 357 Early Care and Education Workforce - Committee Discussion Only Attachment Tag File Name Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/032B5300AABF...$File/190723 AttachG.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachG.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/C3A6AAC516E0...$File/190723 AttachI.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachI.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/F8E38187CFBC...$File/190723 AttachH.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachH.pdf 01:37:02 PM Senator Story invited Kristina Heyl, Director, Early Childhood Leadership Comission (ECLC) and Kacee Miller, Project Director for Transforming the Early Childhood Workforce in Colorado, to the table to begin their presentation. A copy of their presentation can be found as Attachment G. Ms. Heyl discussed some of the issues facing Colorado's Early Childhood workforce, such as: staff shortages and difficulty filling vacant positions, low wages, and high demand. She stated that by 2025 there will be a 33 to 43 percent increase in demand for early child care. She discussed issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in the early child care industry. 01:47:47 PM Ms. Heyl spoke about the Early Childhood Workforce 2020 Plan, which is a three-year roadmap for a professional development system that promotes a high-quality, effective, diverse early childhood workforce for Colorado. She said that the six focus areas of the plan are recruitment and retention, workforce development, compensation, leadership, finance, and data and continuous improvement. She discussed the Early Childhood Professional Development Advisory Group under the ECLC, which is charged with guiding the implementation of the Early Childhood Workforce 2020 Plan. 01:58:22 PM Ms. Miller discussed the need for continued public-private partnerships and spoke about four key levers for change: targeted recruitment, career pathways, compensation, and working conditions. She provided more detailed information about the 2018 and 2019 innovation grantees tasked with testing different innovative models in each of the four key areas mentioned above. Ms. Miller answered questions about the funding of the grant program. 02:17:53 PM Diane Price, President and CEO of Early Connections Learning Centers, and Pamela Harris, President and CEO of Mile High Early Learning, came to the table to begin their presentation, a copy of which can be found as Attachment H. Ms. Harris provided background information about Mile High Early Learning and the comprehensive services it provides, including health, dental, mental health, disabilities and family support, child screenings and development assessments, parent engagement, meals and nutrition education, and ongoing supervision. Dr. Harris spoke about the need for early child care to implement trauma-informed care (teacher-to-child focus), reflective supervision (adult-to-adult focus), and improved working conditions. 02:42:02 PM Ms. Price provided background information on Early Connections Learning Centers, which have been providing child care to low-income families since the late 1800s and currently have five centers in addition to working with Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care networks. She discussed shared service partnerships in the community and what her organization has done to attract and retain teachers and how that corresponds to quality care. She explained that she added three behavioral health specialists to her staff which has led to a decrease in staff turnover. She discussed the positive impacts of implementing Pyramid Plus providing classes in positive parenting techniques to parents and providing leadership training to her center directors. 03:00:42 PM Dr. Harris and Ms. Price answered questions from the commission members. 03:19:17 PM Julia Brink, Quality Improvement Program Coordinator, Child Care Innovations, Red Rocks Community College, came to the table to begin her presentation, a copy of which can be found as Attachment I. She explained that the program is the only federally registered apprenticeship program in early child care. She provided a history of the program and explained that the requirements for the child care development specialist apprenticeship are to be at least 16 years old, pass a background check, complete a set amount of education hours, complete a set amount of on the job learning hours, be supported by a mentor teacher, receive a wage increase every six months upon completion of specified goals, participate in an evaluation, do monthly check ins with apprenticeship staff, complete a formal individual professional development plan, and upload all of the required documentation into the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System. 03:27:10 PM Ms. Brink continued to discuss the apprenticeship program and the funding needs of the program in order to continue and grow. She answered questions from the commission.