Quality Child Care: An Investment in Families, An Investment in Colorado’s Economy
In order for families to support themselves, parents must have access to jobs and the ability to consistently go to work to keep them. Current economic hardships highlight even more clearly this critical connection. One barrier that prevents many working parents from maintaining employment and supporting their families is access to child care. A strong child care industry is a cornerstone not only of these families, but of Colorado’s economic development and prosperity. While Colorado’s child care capacity is decreasing, the population of eligible children is increasing, creating a crisis that has implications for us all.
Quality Child Care: An Investment in Families, An Investment in Colorado’s Economy
Food for Thought, Health for Success: Pursuing Policy that Supports Student Wellness and Achievement
As schools work to ensure that all students have the skills and competencies to succeed in work and life, and with growing expectations for success on standardized assessments at the federal, state and local levels, education leaders increasingly understand the importance of student wellness to achieving these goals. This report outlines why wellness is related to student success, and how Colorado can promote policies and practices that promote physical activity and nutrition for students.
Food for Thought, Health for Success: Pursuing Policy that Supports Student Wellness and AchievementMoving the Needle: An Up-to-Date Look at What States Are Doing To Alleviate Hardship Among Children and Families
Moving the Needle on Poverty is designed to provide Colorado leaders with an up-to-date picture of the diverse strategies that states across the nation are pursuing to lift individuals, families, and communities out of poverty.
Moving the Needle: An Up-to-Date Look at What States Are Doing To Alleviate Hardship Among Children and FamiliesAlternative Compensation: Exploring Teacher Pay Reform in Colorado
This white paper examines the importance of alternative compensation reform, the state's role in compensation reform, issues to consider, and examples of alternative compensation systems in Colorado.
Alternative Compensation: Exploring Teacher Pay Reform in ColoradoFull-Day Kindergarten: The Need for Quality
This publication explores the benefits of full-day kindergarten, need for program quality standards that ensure full-day kindergarten programs are effectively using additional time, and considerations for school boards and administrators.
Full-Day Kindergarten: The Need for QualityChildhood Obesity in Colorado: A Growing Problem
Childhood Obesity in Colorado: A Growing Problem examines the impact of the childhood obesity epidemic in Colorado and offers recommendations for solutions.
Childhood Obesity in Colorado: A Growing ProblemUnderstanding Mill Levy Stabilization in Colorado
Without an understanding of the fiscal basis for the measure and the implications for our budget and our students, many Coloradans who care about education and the future of our state are left without the knowledge they need to fully understand the “Colorado Children’s Amendment.” Colorado fiscal policy is extremely complicated. This paper provides a general explanation of the mill levy stabilization proposal but does not answer all related questions about school finance.
Understanding Mill Levy Stabilization in ColoradoColorado Children's Budget 2005
The Colorado Children’s Budget 2005 is a comprehensive report on funding for children’s services in Colorado. This report provides a six-year funding history for more than 50 programs funded with state, local, and federal dollars. The Colorado Children’s Budget analyzes reductions in programs and services during the economic downturn.
The data in the Children’s Budget sends a clear message that Colorado is falling behind. Children today do not have access to the same opportunities they did just a few years ago. Funding has failed to keep pace with the rapidly growing child population and the rising costs of delivering services. Across the state, service providers have watched their budgets shrink and their service levels decline. They’ve cut staff, instituted waiting lists, delayed building repairs, reduced their hours, and, in some cases, closed their doors. Funding for some children’s services has declined more than others. Mental health, early care and education, local public health services, child care, youth crime prevention services, and income support for working families have suffered the greatest losses. Funding for children’s health insurance (Medicaid) and K-12 education, both of which have laws protecting their funding, have grown as more kids in Colorado enroll in public school and more low-income children enroll in Medicaid. Now more than ever, Colorado needs to reexamine its priorities and make the necessary changes to rebuild its social safety net for kids.
Colorado Children's Budget 2005The Economic Impact of Child Care in Colorado
n 2003, the Colorado Children’s Campaign commissioned a study to define and describe the relationship between early childhood care and education and the Colorado economy. Like other economic impact studies, we find that early care and early childhood intervention plays a significant role in Colorado’s economy by generating additional state revenues and employment.
The Economic Impact of Child Care in ColoradoColorado’s School Readiness Indicators: Making Progress for Young Children
Colorado’s School Readiness Indicators Project focuses on young children birth through eight years old. The intent of the project is to create a set of indicators to measure the readiness of the children themselves, their families, the communities in which they live, and the schools they will attend.
Colorado’s School Readiness Indicators: Making Progress for Young Children