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EARLY CHILDHOOD CAREER ENGAGEMENT AWARD
Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families is excited to offer a $500 AWARD for up to 30 high school students who complete their high school's Early Childhood classes. Our goal is to help students continue their early childhood career pathway after graduation
by providing support and creating easy access into the field.
🔗 View Flyer + APPLY
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ADVANCING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS PROGRAM
Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families (JI) is excited to partner with Pikes Peak State College to offer a new program that includes $500–$800 in funding for YOU (depending on the track); monetary incentives for completion of credits, CEUs, and PDIS levels; personalized career navigation; and coaching to work in the field of Early Childhood Education. This program can take you from your unique starting point and get you on track to a rewarding career in early childhood!
Check out the informational flyers and APPLY TODAY:
Funding to launch this program was awarded to Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT) as a recipient of the Opportunity Now Colorado grant. To learn more about this award, click HERE.
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PYRAMID TRAINING POLL
Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families (JI) is seeking input from early childhood professionals related to Pyramid Model training.
Please take a moment to answer a few short questions. At the end of the poll, you will have the opportunity to enter your contact information and be entered into a drawing for a $50 VISA gift card.
🔗 Take Poll HERE by August 16th.
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UNDERSTANDING RESILIENCY IN YOUNG CHILDREN
Children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN) experience childhood adversities and trauma at a much higher rate (2X) than children without special healthcare needs. CYSHCN are more susceptible to trauma for a variety of reasons. Join us for this virtual training to learn about trauma and resiliency in CYSHCN and how to help them gain skills to face future adversities. You will have the opportunity to walk through examples of how to help this population to develop or reinforce resiliency. This training is being offered twice, and you may choose to register for either date. Instructor: Kyrsten Hall, MPH
August 20 | 🔗 Register HERE
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BEYOND THE ACES SCORE
In this interactive series, Parts 1, 2, and 3 build upon each other and provides training for early childhood educators to understand better the impact of childhood trauma and how to implement strategies to prevent or reduce the effects. Through building nurturing relationships, providing positive experiences, and offering safe environments for children to live, play, and learn, individuals can contribute to the healthy development and well being of all children in our community. For the full description of each training, click on the registration link.
Instructor: Paula Hergert, M.A.Ed.
Part 1 • September 19 | 🔗 Register HERE
Part 2 • October 3 | 🔗 Register HERE
Part 3 • October 17 | 🔗 Register HERE
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QUARTERLY PRE-LICENSING
October 21-24
9:30 am – 1:30 pm | Online
Instructor: Gwen Madrid
Becoming a Licensed Family Child Care Provider is an exciting career move that offers you the opportunity to provide appropriate care and guidance for other children in your community. Licensed Family Child Care Providers can earn income for their families while providing an invaluable service to the community.
NEW! Registration for Pre-Licensing is now through PDIS HERE. Make sure to fill out all the fields, including a personal phone number. Also, it is important to check on and update the email address listed in the My Profile>Personal area before requesting registration. Your registration cannot be approved if it is missing any information.
Register for July training in PDIS HERE | $50
For more information on building your career as a Family Child Care Provider, visit the JI website HERE.
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EQIT NEW DATES!
The 48-hour Expanding Quality for Infants and Toddlers (EQIT) curriculum provides a solid introduction to infant and toddler development, with a focus on providing quality group care for our youngest children. The curriculum builds on the knowledge and experience of infant and toddler caregivers through interesting, interactive, and fun activities. Please note that when registering for an EQIT training through PDIS HERE, make sure to fill out all the fields, including a personal phone number. Also, it is important to check on and update the email address listed in the My Profile>Personal area before requesting registration. Your registration cannot be approved if it is missing any information.
🔗 EQIT Schedule HERE.
🔗 Steps to registering in PDIS HERE. Cost is $50.
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PD CATALOG + CALENDAR
Joint Initiatives offers a PD Catalog with icons for easy viewing of the training details, QR codes and buttons for easy registration, and NEW information for how to connect with us on social media and through our website. The catalog also details the supports offered by our Foundations team, includes staff contact information, and has a link to schedule a chat with our Foundations Career Navigator. Check out the PD Calendar page for the calendar and catalog!
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WOULD YOU LIKE OUR CAREER NAVIGATOR TO HELP YOU?
Joint Initiatives offers free career navigation to help you determine the best early childhood career pathway, provide PDIS support, assist with college enrollment, answer CDA questions, offer portfolio support, and more! Download our Navigator Flyer for details or visit our BuildMyECECareer.com to schedule a free time to chat. If you know someone considering a career in early childhood education, this site has complete details for getting started, including inspiring videos highlighting those in the field! ¡Ofrecemos nuestros servicios en Español! For flyer in Spanish, click HERE.
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QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GRANTS ARE OPEN
Colorado Shines Quality Improvement Grant funds are allocated based on program type (center/home), number of classrooms, and program quality level. These stipends support the provision of coaching to include in-person, intensive support offered by subject matter experts to enhance particular aspects of quality; non-consumable materials for the child care learning environment; or to compensate for professional development (qualifying Early Childhood Education college coursework, conferences, or training).
If you have any questions or need assistance with applying for this grant opportunity, please contact your Foundations Coach or Ashley Pomales.
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UPCOMING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
Let your professional learning continue over the summer months! View Upcoming Live Virtual and In-Person Training Events to learn about free and low-cost early childhood professional development opportunities happening through August. All certificates are issued through your PDIS account so there is no need to upload a document into PDIS. Any applicable social-emotional hours are also automatically counted.
PRÓXIMAS OPORTUNIDADES DE DESARROLLO PROFESIONAL
¡Deje que su aprendizaje profesional continúe durante los meses de verano! Vea los próximos eventos de capacitación virtuales y presenciales en vivo para conocer las oportunidades de desarrollo profesional para la primera infancia gratuitas y de bajo costo que se llevarán a cabo hasta agosto. Todos los certificados se otorgan cómodamente a través de su cuenta PDIS de Colorado Shines .
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PETEY'S TIP OF THE MONTH
WHAT'S NEW
LEARNING SPOTLIGHT
PDIS
EC PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIAL VERSION 3.0
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For guidance on scoring and additional support for early childhood staff new to the field, click HERE.
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Programs and Scholarships on the PDIS
With the new look that we launched in March of this year, we also launched a new page called Programs and Scholarships! This page lists different professional development opportunities that may be a good fit for where you are in your early childhood career. You can scroll through the page and see details of all opportunities, or use the Eligibility Check at the top of the page.
The Eligibility Check asks a few questions about where you are in your career and what opportunities you may be looking for. Once you submit your responses, opportunities that are aligned with your goals will show up. This can be used without signing in to the PDIS, but more opportunities may show up if you are logged in to your account.
Programas y Becas en el PDIS
Con la nueva apariencia que lanzamos en marzo de este año, ¡también lanzamos una nueva página llamada Programas y Becas ! Esta página enumera diferentes oportunidades de desarrollo profesional que pueden ser adecuadas para su situación en su carrera en la primera infancia. Puede desplazarse por la página y ver los detalles de todas las oportunidades, o utilizar la Verificación de elegibilidad en la parte superior de la página.
La verificación de elegibilidad plantea algunas preguntas sobre dónde se encuentra en su carrera y cuales oportunidades puede estar buscando. Una vez que envÃe sus respuestas, aparecerán oportunidades que estén alineadas con sus objetivos. Esto se puede utilizar sin iniciar sesión en el PDIS, pero pueden aparecer más oportunidades si inicia sesión en su cuenta.
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Visit the Early Childhood Workforce page of the JI website below for information on earning a Child Development Associate, becoming Early Childhood Teacher qualified, as well as connecting with scholarship opportunities, coaching, grants, training, Family Child Care Provider supports, and resources related to health and wellness, safety/emergency, kindergarten transition, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation, and MORE!
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JI/FOUNDATIONS SCHOLARSHIPS
JI/Foundations Applications are closed and will reopen at a future date TBD. Joint Initiatives/Foundations Career Navigators are here to help students navigate the path toward advancing their education and finding other state scholarship funding.
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FUNDING FOR WOMEN-OWNED BUSINESSES
The Small Business Administration has announced the release of funding to provide entrepreneurial development services to women-owned child care businesses. Eligible organizations that are selected will be awarded up to $150,000 to open and operate a WBC. Questions about grant opportunities may be directed to the Office of Women’s Business Ownership at owbo@sba.gov.
🔗 Read Announcement HERE.
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ECSE APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM
The UCCS College of Education is pleased to announce its new ECSE Apprenticeship program. Federally- and state-registered apprenticeships are a nationally recognized work-based learning model that provides workers with job experience, mentorship, supportive services, and wage increases for credential and degree attainment. Learn more HERE.
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NEW TOOLKIT FOR PROVIDERS
This valuable toolkit for early childhood programs is a wealth of information with sections that include Building Strong Early Relational Health, Recognizing and Responding to Your Own Well-Being, Family Engagement, Trauma-Informed Settings, Preventing Removals, Partners to Support Your Learning, and Training + Resources. The sections offer articles, reports, videos, resources, social media graphics, and website links. This project was supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDG B-5) Grant.
🔗 View the Toolkit HERE.
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CREDIT FOR PRIOR LEARNING
Do you have experience working in early childhood education? Learn more about an exciting opportunity for students involved in the Early Childhood Education profession: Credit for Prior Learning (CPL). This program offers a unique chance to leverage accumulated knowledge and skills in the field and PDIS Certificates to earn college credit. At Pikes Peak State College, you can earn up to 12 college credits for your work experience with their easy, prompt, no-cost process! Get program information HERE, view the flyer HERE, or reach out to Deborah Palarino to request information at Deborah.palarino@pikespeak.edu or 719.502.3463.
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FREE ECE COURSES AT PPSC TO EARN CERTIFICATES AND ASSOCIATE DEGREES
Enroll in the Pikes Peak State College Career Advance Colorado program! The program includes tuition/fees/books for students in Early Childhood Education certificate AND associate degree programs. View the full Career Advance Colorado flyer HERE. View student requirements HERE.
PPSC certificates and associate degrees are outlined here: Early Childhood Education Degree Options | PPSC (pikespeak.edu). Students can pursue one or more ECE certificates or associate degrees to help them enter the field and upskill for new ECE roles. View the Associate of Applied Science flyer HERE.
Need guidance? Contact JI’s Foundations Career Navigator, Mel Lopez, at Mlopez@jointinitiatives.org. ¡Ofrecemos nuestros servicios en Español!
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FUNDING ASSISTANCE FOR TRANSCRIPT EVALUATION
Funding is available through the Colorado Department of Education’s (CDE) Career Navigation work to facilitate and pay for international transcript evaluations. At this time funding is available until September 2024. Their focus is on individuals in the ECE field looking into applying for an Early Childhood Professional Credential. This transcript evaluation may help providers receive a higher ECPS level; therefore, they will receive a higher tax credit. Transcripts are being transcribed from many different languages.
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T.E.A.C.H. EARLY CHILDHOOD COLORADO SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES
To learn more about all the scholarship models and eligibility guidelines click HERE. For questions contact
Shannon Hall, Director of Direct Services, at 720.899.3047 shannon@ecclacolorado.org
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COMMUNITY TRAINING + EVENTS | |
CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM SUMMIT
The National CACFP Association is offering workshops on nutrition, program administration, operations, financial and nonprofit management, and more. Can't make it to the live sessions? Recordings will be available to view on-demand through August 29, 2024. Earn up to 16.5 hours of CEUs.
🔗 View Flyer HERE
🔗 Details + Registration HERE
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PROJECT INCLUDE
Project Include provides training, support, and equipment to assist licensed Colorado family child care homes, child care centers, and preschools in developing learning environments and curriculums that are more inclusive for all children, including those with delays and disabilities. Learn more HERE.
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PYRAMID SUMMIT
The Pyramid Summit provides an annual opportunity for Pyramid practitioners, at all levels, to come together for shared learning and storytelling, networking, resource sharing, and celebration. Everyone interested in or currently implementing the Pyramid Model is invited to the Pyramid Summit and Reception.
Take advantage of the early bird rate, available until August 16. Register now and be part of this inspiring event!
🔗 Details + Registration HERE
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FAMILY CHILD CARE RESOURCES | |
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"ASK THE NAVIGATORS" IS BACK!
Weekly office hours will resume on August 7th from 1:30-2:30 pm via Microsoft Teams! Download the flyer HERE for a link/QR code to join the meeting.
Two Family Child Care Home Navigators are here to help you
- Access available program benefits and consultative supports
- Provide technical assistance in completing applications for grants
- Stay up-to-date on government changes that impact your business
- And more!
They also support individuals seeking to open a Family Child Care Home business, and can answer any questions before or after completing Pre-Licensing training. (See Pre-Licensing dates above.)
Contact a Navigator Today!
Renee Sasse | 719.381.4806
Aldria Mann | 719.381.4813
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With the launch of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and preparation for Universal Preschool in the 2023-24 school year, there is a lot happening in early childhood! To stay connected sign up for newsletter or follow on social! | |
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â–¶ Latest CDEC Newsletter

CHILD CARE CONSTRUCTION GUIDEBOOKS
NEW! The Colorado Department of Early Childhood has published new Child Care Construction Guidebooks. The two guides are available for child care centers and family child care home providers. The purpose of the guides is to inform and assist in navigating the many layers of construction projects as they relate to building and/or expanding child care. You can find the guides linked below. Please reach out to Emily at emily.wengrovius@state.co.us with any questions.
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood is excited to share two new Business Guides. Each guide focuses on relevant information on the operational functions of a small business for providers depending on the type of setting they use to provide early care. The Business Guides include information on:
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Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families is the Local Coordinating Organization (LCO) for Universal Preschool (UPK) in El Paso County. Learn more here and/or sign up for JI's UPK Newsletter HERE. | | | | |
