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    Durango 4-C Council, Inc.
Quality Early Childhood Programs
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Proudly serving Southwest Colorado

Tri-County & Early
Head Start

 

Early Childhood Council  La Plata County
 

Early Childhood Professional Training Project

Child Care Resource & Referral
 

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Early Childhood Council of
La Plata County

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The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County evolved from the Consolidated Child Care Pilots established by the Colorado General Assembly in 1997. The program was designed to help meet the need for full-day, full-year, quality early childhood services as a partner to welfare reform.

  Durango and Ignacio were two of the first twelve statewide pilots. In 2002, these pilots merged to become the La Plata County Consolidated Child Care Pilot. The Durango 4-C Council, Inc., acts as fiscal agent for this program.

 In 2004, our agency began offering childcare resource & referral services to 5 counties in southwest Colorado. In December 2005, we became a founding partner of Smart Start Colorado the statewide alliance working together to build a better future for Colorado's children.

 With the passage of House Bill 1062 in 2007, Colorado expanded  the statewide alliance to 31 Councils in 57 counties.

 Our local mission is to support families by increasing the availability, accessibility and reliability of affordable high quality comprehensive services for all young children and families .

For more information contact:
Tamara Volz, Early Childhood Manager
P.O. Box 259, Durango CO 81302
Phone:970-247-5960 x22
Fax: 970-247-5979
tamarav@earlychildhoodprograms.org

Activities

Providing professional and workforce development to early childhood professionalin Southwest Colorado through access to:

    • Community Based Training and Materials Workshops
    • College courses, scholarships, consultations and  substitute support 
    • Expanding Quality in Infant/Toddler Care Training and Coaching
    • Social Emotional Development Workshops
    • Colorado Early Childhood Professional Credential
    • Medication Administration, Universal Precautions, First Aid / CPR, Getting Ready for Ratings and Pre- licensing Training


Increasing the quality and availability of comprehensive early childhood care and education services through the

    • Distribution of Mini-Grants to expand the  capacity and quality  of full year/full day programs for infants & toddlers
    • Environmental Rating Scale Assessments (ERS)

Educating parents and the community about the importance of the early years through:

    • Public Engagement Media Campaign
    • Childcare Resource & Referral
    • Early Childhood State Systems Team Task Force involvement
    • Community Strategic Planning and Forums
    • The Early Childhood Training Center
    • It's About Kids Steering Committee
    • Southwest District CAEYC Week  of the Young Child 
    • Parenting Education
       

Establishing community wide working partnerships to:

    • Create a high quality comprehensive early childhood system that coordinates funding, services and partnerships to benefit all young children and their families
    • Connect early care & education, health, mental health and family support services to create a strong network at the state and local levels.

What is
the Early Childhood Council?

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 We are a collaborative team of advocates dedicated to a vision. Through leadership and open communication our team contributes to creating an inclusive community that provides all children and families with the opportunity to be life long learners, understands and supports comprehensive early childhood services, and nurtures hope, caring and respect for self and others. 

 We commit to a plan of action that will result in a community that recognizes and values children as our future.

The local Early Childhood Council is part of several statewide partnerships that are working to incorporate the four domains of early childhood development: health care and medical home, early care and education, mental health, and family support services. We recognize that the child and family are at the center of this system and that it operates within the context of the community. For more information about early childhood systems building  in Colorado visit these web sites:
www.SmartStartColorado.org

www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/picccpilotrfp.htm

Colorado Early Childhood Council Contacts Directory

http://www.cde.state.co.us/cdeprevention/download/pdf/2007eccouncilsdirectory.pdf

 

Our Community Partners:

Tri-County Head Start /Early Childhood Programs
Southern Ute Montessori Head Start & Early Head Start
La Plata County Department of Human Services
Colorado Preschool Program (School Districts 9R, 10J & 11J)
Adult Education Center
Bayfield Early Education Programs
Child Care Center Directors
Community Connections
Division of Child Care Licensing Specialist
Family Home Child Care Providers
Fort Lewis College Teacher Education
La Plata Family Centers Coalition
Parent Representatives
San Juan Basin Health Nurse/Family Partnership
San Juan Board of Cooperative Services
San Juan Kids, Early Childhood Connections (part C)
Southwest District of CAEYC
Southwest Colorado Mental Health Center
Southwest Colorado Office of Childcare Resource & Referral
Special Quest
Temple Hoyne Buell Professional Training Project

Contact Us:

Physical Address:
1315 Main Avenue, Suite 121
Durango, CO 81301

Mailing Address:
P.O. Box 259
Durango, CO 81302

Phone: (970) 247-5960
Fax: (970) 247-5979
info@earlychildhoodprograms.org

If you experience problems with this web site, please contact webmaster@earlychildhoodprograms.org