August 14th, 2023

Two of ECC SLV's very own were highlighted in the CDEC ECMH Newsletter!

Two New ECMHC Intensive Training Scholarship Awardees

Congratulations to Kristen Love and Kathryn Trujillo, ECMH consultants at the Early Childhood Council of the San Luis Valley, on their recent scholarship to participate in a Masters in Human Services: Social and Community Services from Capella University! Kristen and Kathryn shared that, "We are most excited about expanding our knowledge of our consulting roles and learning new skills that we can use to best support our families and providers. We both value learning and understand the importance of meaningful relationships with others. This degree will help us understand the most effective ways to connect and support our families through our knowledge of systems and the complexities of interrelationships."

View more here.

Universal Preschool Colorado-Updates

With the start of school just around the corner, there are still slots available for care across the valley!

While some providers have filled some classrooms, there are still many options out there! Families can apply through Home Page (colorado.gov) at any time.

Matching will continue on a weekly basis, with families receiving notification at the end of each week about requested matches.

Families with IEP’s that have questions regarding their UPK application please contact your school district’s Special education director. We can assist with contact information for those individuals at the number/email below.

For help or assistance with your UPK application or anything else, please contact [email protected] or call 719-214-6202

Coaching

Attention!

The EQIT registration deadline has been extended to Tuesday, August 15, 2023.

If you are interested or know someone interested in taking the Expanding Quality in Infant Toddler Care Fall 2023 course, please register through your PDIS account by August 15^th, 2023. Make sure to list your PDIS email address when registering.

This course is required for staff providing Early Head Start services to families with children birth to 3 years old and anyone curious about providing responsive care in a way that ensures infants, toddlers, families, and caregivers are valued in healthy and thriving relationships.

Remember to use your PDIS email address when completing the registration form.

A tip you should know about when looking for this ECCSLV EQIT course:

Select Show More at the bottom of the Upcoming Sessions and then scroll down to see the ECC of SLV session.

If you have any questions, please contact Tina Esquibel at 719-937-4010 ext. 107 or by email at [email protected].

Click here for the EQIT Informational Fall Flyer.

Click here for EQIT Fall Schedule.

Upcoming PDIS Help Session Schedule:

Click here for full size schedule.

Health & Safety

Valley Wide Health Systems is offering a FREE BASIC eye exam and glasses on August 25^th and 26^th!

Call the number on the flyer below now to schedule an appointment!

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) Family Voice Council is now accepting interest forms!

Do you or someone you know have a passion for programs and services that support young children and their families? Share your thoughts and help make services better for your community by joining the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) Family Voice Council!

The CDEC Family Voice Council is a group of parents and guardians of young children birth through eight from across Colorado. The purpose of the Council is to provide input in the design and delivery of early childhood programs and services that meet the needs of children and families in Colorado. Council members come together virtually every month to learn, provide input, and improve services for children and families. Compensation is available for members.

If you or someone you know would be interested in serving on the Family Voice Council please have them complete our online form (available in English or Spanish) or download and share our flyer (in English and Spanish).

Please reach out to [email protected] with any questions. Thank you!

Click here to fill out an interest form.

Haga clic aquí para completar el formulario de interés.

Personal Development - Career opportunities and financial supports for you!

High quality early childhood settings begin with well-trained and well-prepared educators. The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) currently offers several state-wide scholarship and grant opportunities for students who would like to earn a degree, certificate, or credential in early childhood education, and for home-based providers who are seeking funding to start up, expand, or maintain consistent operations for their family child care home facility:

ECCLA’s Back to Work Scholarship Program provides 1:1 career and college navigation and scholarship awards up to $2,500.00 that can be used for several different types of expenses (like books, supplies, child care, and more!)
ECCLA’s Concurrent Enrollment Scholarship is for high school students interested in earning college credits and experience in Early Childhood Education.
ECCLA’s Early Childhood Coach Credential Scholarship is available to help recipients complete the training requirements to earn a Colorado Coach Credential.
ECCLA’s Family Child Care Home Improvement Grant is available to help home-based providers start up, expand, or maintain consistent operations for their family child care home facility.
ECCLA’s Rural R.U.N. Scholarship Program provides career counseling and tuition support to early childhood professionals in rural communities seeking to earn early childhood credentials like ERS®, CLASS®, National Director Credential, Coaching Credential, and any of the ECE College Certificates.
ECCLA’s T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Colorado Scholarship Program offers early childhood professionals a pathway to pursue higher education.
ECCLA’s Early Childhood Coach Credential Scholarship, in partnership with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), ECCLA offers a scholarship opportunity for early childhood professionals seeking an Early Childhood Coaching Credential.

The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance (ECCLA) is committed to the process of ensuring equity, dismantling systems of racism, and supporting young children, families, and early childhood professionals to have a voice as their true selves in our early childhood system. ECCLA’s Justice, Equity, and Belonging (JEB) Collaborative has created a Resource Collection that can support you in creating inclusive environments for children, families, and educators. We have resources created by ECCLA, resources for caregivers and educators, administrators and program leaders, and other community and state stakeholders, along with a list of Equity Trainings and Trainers. Check out ECCLA’s JEB page to see how you can create inclusive environments for children, families, and educators!

Click here to Apply

Click here for Resources

Calling All Colorado Parents and Guardians with Young Children! YOU'RE INVITED!

Are you a parent or caregiver living in Colorado who is pregnant or has a child under the age of six? We invite you to participate in a virtual focus group to share your ideas on what resources and supports have been helpful and what is needed to support you and your family to thrive.

Focus groups for families are being held on:

Saturday, 8/19 @ 10:00 AM
Tuesday, 8/22 @ 7:30 PM
Saturday, 8/26 @ 10:00 AM (in Spanish)

You will receive $30 upon completion of the focus group. To join us, please sign up here.

If you have any questions, please email: [email protected]

ECE Educator Loan Forgiveness

The ECE Educator Loan Forgiveness program is for ECE Educators to receive loan forgiveness. Round 3 opens this Friday, August 4!

The Round 3 application link will be open Friday, August 4 through Tuesday, August 31, 2023. There will be limited spots available!!

ECE Educator Loan Forgiveness | Higher Education (colorado.gov)

Resource and Referral

The Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance has announced a new grant for Family Child Care Home Providers. The Family Child Care Home Facilities Improvement Grant. Below are the eligibility requirements.

· Must be a licensed home-based child care program.

· Funds must be used to serve children from birth to five years old.

· Funds must be utilized to address health, safety, or licensing issues through physical improvement to a facility’s learning environments or maintain or increase capacity.

· Funds cannot be used for retirement of debt, salaries, or consultants and cannot be used as a reimbursement. If you complete the project before being awarded the grant, grant funds cannot be used as a reimbursement for the project.

· Applications that request $2,500 or more must own the facility or provide a letter of landlord support.

· The maximum amount requested is $5,000.

· Applicant must complete all fields of application and submit all required supporting documentation including “before” photos.

· A child care program may receive only one FCCH Facilities Improvement Grant from ECCLA during a 12-month period.

· Applicant must submit a six-month progress report and a 12-month completion report that includes “after” photos of the funded project.

· Applicant must submit copies of at least two bids for the project. If your project does not require bids, you will need attached pictures of what you wish to purchase.

· If opening a new family child care business, must be in the pre-licensing stage or completed pre-licensing.

· If application is not selected, the applicant may resubmit in the next round.

Click on the link to learn more on how you can start up, expand, or maintain your family child care home. www.ecclacolorado.org/fcchgrant

Opportunities with deadlines

Emerging & Expanding Child Care Grant Application Is Now Open

The Emerging & Expanding Child Care Grant application is open through August 25. Interested programs must have a childcare license number and can access the application on the provider hub. For more information related to the award please review the Frequently Asked Questions.

Programs are strongly encouraged to partner with their licensing specialist and local early childhood council prior to submitting the application.

Colorado Shines Quality Improvement Funds

Colorado Shines Quality Improvement funds are now available for licensed childcare programs that are rated at a Colorado Shines Level 1 or higher. Quality Improvement funds are allocated based on program type (center or home-based), the number of classrooms and Colorado Shines quality rating level.

If you need additional information please contact Monique Bosch at [email protected]

The Possibilities Are Now Possible-The Nonprofit Infrastructure (NPI) Grant Program

Receive up to $100,000 in funding. Apply by August 31, 2023.

With so many still struggling to recover from the pandemic, our communities need your aid now more than ever. Yet we know the pandemic set your organization back as well.

For us all to thrive again, we need you. So we’re here to accelerate your rebuild.

Through the Nonprofit Infrastructure (NPI) Grant Program, the State of Colorado has $33,100,000 in grants to award to non-profits to help expand their infrastructure and capacity. The Community Foundation of San Luis Valley is proudly collaborating with the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to select recipients in our region and administer their grants.

If your organization was impacted by the pandemic and operates with an annual budget between $150,000 and $2,000,000, we encourage you to apply before August 31, 2023. It’s easy and there is more than enough money to go around!

Visit our website to learn how organizations qualify and how the funding may be used.

Do you have something you would like to share in our newsletter?

If individuals and organizations in the community want to share relevant information through this email list, ECCSLV will do its best to include the information in the next available e-newsletter.

ECCSLV considers requests based on relevance, capacity, and timeliness. We do not guarantee that all information will be shared.

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