Child Care Innovations, formerly a department of Red Rocks Community College, has existed for more than thirty years, providing training and support to child care providers, building child care capacity, and developing programs to enhance quality. Child Care Innovations continues to manage diverse funding provided by state, federal, county, private contracts, and tuition and fees.

• Helping parents find child care –
  We help parents take the guesswork out of choosing care by giving them referrals to local child care providers, information on state licensing requirements, availability of child care subsides and other pertinent information. We provide guidance by phone, in person, fax, mail and Internet.

• Supporting families to raise healthy children-
  Through workshops, hot lines and newsletters, we reach out to parents with trusted, local information that enables them to make informed choices about all aspects of care for their children.

• Building the supply of child care –
  We provide an entry point to the child care field, helping providers meet licensing requirements and become informed on health and safety, business practices and child development. We also work with local and state governments and the private sector to leverage resources for building and maintaining the supply of quality child care.

• Improving the quality of child care-
  We provide ongoing professional development opportunities to child care providers and staff. By supporting accreditation and credentialing programs, helping create financial incentives for education, and advocating for better compensation for providers, we improve the quality of care for all children.

• Bridging child care and education-
  We strive to create child care settings that help children grow and learn. Educating parents about early learning and the components of quality care is a major part of our services.

• Documenting child care needs and trends-
  We are the primary source of information about the local supply and cost of child care. With our comprehensive, well-maintained database, we are able to track trends about the changing needs of families.

• Engaging new partners-
  By reaching out to business leaders, law enforcement, school teachers and others, we help make child care an issue the entire community care about. We collaborate with other family support services to promote a holistic vision of child care that includes health, literacy and special needs.

• Telling the child care story
  By providing resources, documenting community needs, and creating new ways to meet those needs, we bring the voices of children, families and child care providers to the public.

Child Care Resource and Referral:

We work to help improve access, availability, and affordability of child care. Capacity building efforts include recruitment, provider support, community collaboration, and maintenance of the data base of licensed facilities in the counties of Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Douglas, Gilpin, Jefferson, and Park. Families may receive free referrals of licensed centers and family child care homes by contacting the centralized call center operated by Colorado Shines Referrals at Mile High United Way. Referrals may be obtained by calling 1- 877-338-CARE or via the internet at www.coloradoshines.org. Referral Specialists can provide consumer education and referrals tailored to meet individual family needs. In some situations, our staff may assist in providing enhanced child care referrals for children with special care concerns.

Child Care Licensing Support Services:

We partner with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood to facilitate licensing recommendations and related follow up for care facilities in the counties of Adams, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Jefferson, Weld, and Larimer. Licensing staff are also available to respond to questions about licensing processes and assist in interpretation of regulations. For more information, call 720 912-5573.

Professional Development:

Child Care Innovations provides a variety of on-going and customized workshops, seminars, conferences, and other educational opportunities. We offer a “one stop shop” for meeting child care licensing training requirements including pre-licensing, medication administration, universal precautions, First Aid/CPR, and ongoing training related to the Colorado Core Knowledge content areas. Programming includes registered apprenticeship programs of Early Learning and Home Visitor professionals. In addition, we offer on-site or community based customized professional development. For information on scheduled trainings or to register call 720 912-5699 or to schedule a customized training call 720 677-2105

Grants:

Based on State and local county initiatives, Child Care Innovations manages a variety of programs to provide scholarships, grants for startup of family child care homes, program quality assessments, and related quality improvements.

Early Care and Education Coaches: Child Care Innovations contracts with individual child care facilities and community agencies to provide on site technical assistance for quality improvement. Services include assistance in development and/or implementation of formal quality improvement plans in alignment with various accreditations, Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System, or for correction and improvement of licensing violations.

Triad Early Childhood Council:

Child Care Innovations provides primary staffing for activities of the Council serving the counties of Jefferson, Clear Creek, and Gilpin. Early Childhood Councils work to coordinate, collaborate, and consolidate programming to improve the access and quality of early childhood services across the domains of early care and education, health, mental health, and family support. Services are aligned with the Colorado Early Childhood Framework and Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System. The Child Care Innovations Executive Director also serves as the Executive Director of the Triad Early Childhood Council. For more information, call 720 677-2285.