Program Highlights

• Child Care Referrals

• Coordinated Alliance of Resource Exchange Services (CARES)

• Professional Development

• Grants

• HUD Homeless Voucher Program

• Air Force Quality Family Child Care Partnership

• Triad Early Childhood Council

Child Care Referrals:
Families may receive free referrals of licensed centers and family child care homes. Using a comprehensive database of over 3,000 facilities, Referral Specialists can provide consumer education and referrals tailored to meet individual family needs.

Referrals may be obtained by calling 1.877.338.CARE or via the internet at www.qualistar.org. Through this service, Child Care Innovations serves an annual average of 6,000 families.

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Coordinated Alliance of Resource Exchange Services (CARES):
Because we believe in the inherent right of all children to reach their fullest potential, this program provides support to families and early childhood professionals caring for children who have special needs.

A dedicated staff position, the Inclusion Specialist, is available to provide enhanced child care services, connect families with supportive community services, and broker on site services to early childhood professionals to assist in meeting the care needs of the individual child. The Inclusion Specialist works with the family until care is found or resources are exhausted.

CARES provides on site and technical assistance by phone, with an average of 25 receiving on site Resource Visits by a mental health professional to address the needs of children exhibiting emotional or behavioral concerns.

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Professional Development:
Child Care Innovations provides a variety of 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. Each year over 1,500 early childhood professionals have taken advantage of professional development opportunities conducted or sponsored by Child Care Innovations.

In addition, we operate a Child Care Apprenticeship Program, where participants receive college credit training, on site support, complete the requirements for the Colorado Early Childhood Professional Credential, and receive from the U.S. Department of Labor, a designation as Child Development Specialist. Participants also receive a student support package to assist with the cost of transportation, books, child care, and related expenses.

Child Care Innovations is also available to provide customized on site workshops, seminars or consultation to early childhood programs, community agencies, and employers on a wide range of topics related to child care and work-life issues.

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

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HUD Homeless Voucher Program:
Working in partnership with case managers, we pay for up to thirty days of child care for eligible families meeting the federal definition of homelessness.

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Air Force Quality Family Child Care Partnership:
Child care Innovations contracts with the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies for replication of the military model of family child care.

Providers are recruited, trained, supported, and monitored to serve military or civilian employees of the Department of Defense, with a particular focus on those working at Buckley Air Force Base.

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The Colorado General Assembly originally established the Consolidated Child Care Pilots in 1997 and in 2007 expanded statewide the concept of local early childhood councils. These local councils work to coordinate, collaborate, and consolidate programming to improve the access and quality of early childhood serves across the domains of early care and education, health, mental health, and family support.

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