EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL OF LARIMER

Community/systems initiatives- we convene professionals, families and policy-makers to raise awareness about issues impacting children from birth to age eight. We facilitate or co-facilitate multiple community initiatives that focus on innovative solutions to support the health and development of the whole child. Our work increases community understanding of early childhood development, with an emphasis on the long-term societal impact of early childhood experiences. Current initiatives include promoting developmental screenings, supporting social emotional development and school readiness, and early childhood workforce initiatives. We provide early childhood resources to families and community members.

Child care resource services- we maintain a database with up-to-date information about all licensed child care programs in larimer county, and track and analyze data about available licensed child care in our community. To address the shortage of licensed child care in larimer county, we provide support, navigation and funding to new and emerging child care centers and family child care homes. Universal preschool (up)- our role is supporting both families in accessing available spots and financial resources, and child care programs in participating in the up program including enrollment, curriculum, and quality initiatives. As the lco, we also work to connect partners in county government, other non-profits, school districts, and family resource centers to ensure a strong mixed delivery system for families accessing other early childhood services and financial resources.