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4BB02A8DF2E7A23D87258440006BBD2A Hearing Summary




PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION WORKFORCE

INTERIM COMMITTEE  EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS
Date Jul 23, 2019      
Location SCR 357



Early Care and Education Workforce - Committee Discussion Only

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.






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