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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20050376 RESOLUTION RE: APPROVE APPLICATION FOR 2005-2006 CHILD CARE QUALITY EXPANSION GRANT AND AUTHORIZE CHAIR TO SIGN WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, Colorado, pursuant to Colorado statute and the Weld County Home Rule Charter, is vested with the authority of administering the affairs of Weld County, Colorado, and WHEREAS,the Board has been presented with an Application for the 2005-2006 Child Care Quality Expansion Grant from the County of Weld, State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Social Services, to the Colorado Department of Human Services, commencing July 1, 2005, and ending June 30, 2006, with further terms and conditions being as stated in said application, and WHEREAS,after review, the Board deems it advisable to approve said application, a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference. NOW,THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County,Colorado,ex-officio Board of Social Services,that the Application for the 2005-2006 Child Care Quality Expansion Grant from the County of Weld,State of Colorado, by and through the Board of County Commissioners of Weld County, on behalf of the Department of Social Services, to the Colorado Department of Human Services be, and hereby is, approved. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by the Board that the Chair be, and hereby is, authorized to sign said application. The above and foregoing Resolution was,on motion duly made and seconded, adopted by the following vote on the 2nd day of February, A.D., 2005. BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS lE/G�� WELD COUNTY, COLORADO 1861 ( Oy.T. /�� William H. Jer , Chair *� • �"� lerk to the Board ZçfroTem Deputy Cler to t e Board D 'd . Lor� RO D AS TO Robe D. Masden o y ttorney/J Glenn Vaa Date of signature: a 3 6-5- 2005-0376 eel =55 (/ ) SS0032 - 5-o .?ra_/0d5 lity: ip....•; \ DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES /' P.O. BOX A r�' GREELEY, CO. 80632 Website:www.co.weld.co.us Administration and Public Assistance(970)352-1551 IIIIIDChild Support(970)352-6933 O MEMORANDUM • COLORADO TO: William H. Jerke, Chair Date: January 31, 2005 Board of County Commissioners FR: Judy A. Griego, Director, Social Services LgV RE: Child Care Quality Expansion Grant Application for f SFY 2005-2006 Enclosed for Board approval is a Child Care Quality Expansion Grant Application for SFY 2005- 2006. The grant application was discussed and reviewed at the Board's Work Session of January 31, 2005. The Department, on behalf of United Way of Weld County and its subcontractor, Aims Community College, is submitting this grant application. The Department acts as the pass- through for these funds through an Agreement with United Way of Weld County. 1. The term of the grant is July 1, 2005 through June 30, 2006. The grant request is $62,360 of Child Care Quality and Expansion Funds, which are statewide competitive grant funds. The local match will be provided by United Way and its subcontractor, Aims Community College. 2 The major goals of the grant are as follows: ' A. Provide on-going in-depth trainings for child care professionals to improve the quality of care for children in child care throughout Weld County. United Way will hire a training specialist who will coordinate the trainings;provide ten English and two Spanish trainings; and provide a county-wide conference. B. Provide ECE-CARES trainings to child care professionals to address the social, emotional and developmental needs of children in child care. Training will be provided for 70 center and home child care professionals and two Weld County trainings will be certified in ECE-CARES. C. Support new and existing child care home providers through distribution of licensing packets; collaborative orientations for new providers, and enrolling 20 new providers into the 6-month mentor/mentee program. United Way will create 160 new slots through 20 new child care providers. D. Provide Professional Development Opportunities for home,center, and legally exempt child care providers. Scholarships will be provided at Aims Community College and two sessions will be provided on First Aid and Infant Child CPR classes. E. Improve quality of child care in Weld County by providing assessments and technical assistance for homes and centers. United Way will assist two homes and two centers to be accredited; and two homes to obtain quality star rating through Qualistar Early learning. F. Evaluate the effectiveness of grant objectives. If you have any questions,please telephone me at extension 6510. 2005-0376 ATTACHMENT 4 PAGE 1 OF 2 APPLICATION SUMMARY FORM Legal Name of Organization: (please give full departmental name): Weld County Department of Social Services Address: 315 North 11th Avenue City/State/Zip: Greeley,Colorado 80631 Contact Person: Judy Griego (The person who can answer questions about the application) Phone Number: 970-352-1551 ext. 6510 Fax Number: 970-353-5215 E-Mail Address: griegoja@co.weld.co.us Amount Requested: $62,360 Federal Employer Identification Number(FEIN): 84-46000813 Funds will be used for (check all that apply) New child care facility startup Minor renovation to meet licensing requirements Expansion of existing facility X Equipment/supplies X Training X Consumer Education Resource and referral Provider retention X X X Provider/staff training X Costs to meet licensing requirements Staff/operating: Detail how you plan to continue staff costs after grant ends in your response to Section D-Continuation X Expanding quality of care in target community(ies) CHECK ALL THAT APPLY TO THE PROPOSED PROJECT X Early childhood program Children of teen parents School-age(Out of School)program Children of homeless families X- Children with special needs X- Infants/Toddlers Public school site Colorado Pre-school Program Migrant and seasonal workers Children in Chapter 1 local school districts X Private-for-profit center Family resource center/school X Evening/weekend care X Full-week care - Wrap-around child care(part-day) - Other(specify): Area of high poverty I certify that the information provided in this application is, to the best of my knowledge, complete and accurate. If the award is made, the applicant commits to project implementation in keeping with the proposal content and budget and to adhere to all assurances, certifications, terms, conditions, and other requirements contained in this application and in the RFA. Authorized name and signature: FEB 0 2 2005 � William H. Jerke, Chair 11r-N. k , 7 "j ._z Print Name Signature Date SECTION A: Need for the project Communities to be served and gaps: The goal of this project is to improve the quality of child care in all of the 22 communities in Weld County, which has a population of 202,875. There are 56,650 children under the age of 18 (Kids Count CO, 2004) and 16,309 children under the age of 5 according to the Colorado Children's Campaign Kids Count Report (2004). Of those children, 14.3% (down from 14.9% in 2003) live in poverty. Weld County continues to have a higher poverty rate and lower median household income than other Front Range counties. Weld County's unemployment rate continues to climb, with the December 2004 rate at 6.3%up from last year's rate of 6.1%. The per capita income in 2000 was $42,555 compared to $47,505 for Colorado, making Weld one of the largest and poorest counties in the state. (Kids Count CO 2004) Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) located at United Way of Weld County works with licensed child care centers and home providers throughout the county. There are 258 licensed homes and 47 centers including before and after school programs. In 2004, CCR&R received 492 calls from parents seeking assistance in locating child care, a 66% decrease from 2003. Since July 2004, 93 licensing packets have been issued to potential new providers. Of these, 13 are participating in the mentoring program, which will increase the number of quality child care slots. The CCR&R Program was not eligible to apply for a Learning Clusters Grant because we are not a consolidated pilot community. This funding had previously assisted in providing structured trainings related to Colorado Quality Standards for Early Childhood Care and Education Services. Aims Community College's Early Childhood Education program has a long standing history of providing current, relevant training for pre-service and in-service child care professionals in the region. The program offers 7 certificates and an Associate of Applied Science degree. Aims college has a history of successful grant management. Current projects include: FACET—a Head Start Hispanic Latino Service Partnership Institutions grant(ACYF), Infant Toddler Quality Improvement project and an English Language Learning initiative through the Colorado Department of Education. Our collaborating agencies (Weld County Department of Social Services, Aims Community College and United Way of Weld County) remain dedicated to improving the quality of care offered in centers and homes. While existing child care services seem sufficient in number, the quality of those services to children and families has some gaps. The goals of this project are to improve the quality of child care in Weld County by: 1) Provide on-going in-depth trainings for child care professionals to improve the quality of care for children in child care throughout Weld County. Existing and new providers continue to request early childhood training. Attendance at 2003-2004 trainings increased significantly, with a total of 227 individuals participating to date. Pre and post evaluation scores of the Literacy: More Than Letters Workshop showed that 71 percent of participants gained additional knowledge from the training. Ten trainings will be offered throughout Weld County and two of those will be duplicated in Spanish. 2) Bringing ECE-CARES, a highly effective child, parent and teacher training program into Weld County; A survey of teachers and child care providers reports that 20% of Colorado children, zero to eight years of age, have emotional and behavioral problems serious enough to disrupt classrooms and distress teachers. Teachers report that many more children are coming to school worried about violence, acting aggressively, lacking social skills to get along with others and not ready to learn. The social and emotional needs of all children are of major concern in this situation. 3) Support new and existing child care home providers through distribution of licensing packets; collaborative orientations for new providers; and enrolling 20 new providers into the 6-month mentor/mentee program. These efforts are being done in order to create and maintain a quality child care environment and retain providers in the field. The existing CCR&R collaborative orientation program and mentor/mentee program have been successful in recruiting and supporting family child care providers. The focus of these programs is to 2 provide stability in the number of providers and improve the quality of care provided. 4) Provide Professional Development Opportunities for home, center and legally exempt child care providers through relevant and interactive trainings. A primary indicator of quality in child care is the training level of the staff or providers. Their skills and professionalism is dramatically improved when they participate in on-going professional development. Past efforts in this area have contributed to stability and retention in staff at participating sites. We will provide scholarships at Aims Community College to home providers enrolled in the mentor/mentee program (10 participants total), and center child care professionals (15 participants each semester). Each participant will submit a Professional Development Plan outlining his/her intention for course completion. Our survey of legally exempt providers indicated a desire for access to low-cost safety trainings. Thus, we will offer two sessions of First Aid and Infant Child CPR classes to a total of 30 legally exempt home providers. 5) Improve quality of child care in Weld County by providing assessments and technical assistance for homes and centers. We will assist 2 homes through the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) accreditation and 2 centers through the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation. In accordance with the quality improvement recommendations of Qualistar Early Learning (the merged entities of Colorado Office of Resource and Referral Agencies, CORRA, and Educare Colorado) 2 additional homes will be Quality Star Rated. 6) Evaluate the effectiveness of grant objectives. The Quality Assurance Grant Evaluation Committee will meet quarterly to evaluate the activities and measure project outcomes. The need for these goals has been determined through continuous communication with the child care provider communities, both home-based and center-based providers. County agencies including mental health, school districts and child care providers have used the CCR&R Program to express concerns and unmet needs. Center directors were surveyed regarding the need for specific programs to 3 address the social and emotional needs of children. There are several examples of children being expelled from centers because of their behavioral issues. This situation is difficult for providers, but even more detrimental to the child and his or her family. Finding alternate care and placing the child in a new environment slows developmental progress and negatively impacts school readiness. The impact of these kinds of stresses is readily apparent in the behavior of young children. One in six children ages zero to eight years has emotional and behavioral problems serious enough to disrupt classrooms and distress teachers who have had little training in how to effectively work with these children and their families. Weld County needs specific strategies for addressing these critical issues. Through research the ECE-CARES program was identified and has been proven to: 1) help providers promote emotional well-being; 2)reduce disruptive classroom behavior; and 3) enhance children's social competence and school readiness by promoting positive social, emotional, and behavioral development. The comprehensive nature of this program will have a positive impact on the social and emotional development of children in care and improve their school readiness. There is currently a community—wide effort to train child care providers affiliated with Family Educational Network of Weld County—Head Start and School District 6 Colorado Preschool Program in ECE CARES. Making this resource available to other child care professionals will provide consistency among providers and allow access to this training by family child care providers and other center-based professionals who were not included in the current effort. SECTION B: Strategic Plan, Outreach and Staffing Section B—Part 1 Goal 1 Provide on-going in-depth trainings for child care professionals to improve the quality of care for children in child care throughout Weld County. Strategy#1 Hire a training specialist who will coordinate the trainings. Action Plan: Create a job description; advertise the position, interview and hire. Measurable Training specialist hired by August 15, 2005 and trained. Outcomes: 4 How Training specialist hired trained and performing job duties by Measured: September 30, 2005. Indicators of Qualified training specialist will be hired, trained and will develop a Success: training calendar for 2005-2006. Timeline: July 1 through September 30, 2005. Strategy#2 Provide ten English and two Spanish trainings throughout Weld County on topics requested by child care professionals on post evaluation surveys. Action Plan: Schedule trainings, order materials, market the trainings, enroll and train participants. Measurable Twelve trainings will be held throughout Weld County. Outcomes: How The trainings will be documented through marketing materials and Measured: attendance. Indicators of The number of attendees and their pre and post evaluations of Success: the training sessions will be analyzed. Timeline: Trainings will be offered throughout the grant period. Strategy#3 Provide home and center providers and families a county-wide conference by a nationally known early childhood expert. Action Plan: Collaborate with Promises for Children, the child care associations and key community stakeholders to plan and implement the conference. Measurable Annual county-wide conference held. Outcomes: How Pre and post evaluations will be completed by participants. Measured: Indicators of Evaluations from participants of conference will reflect an increase Success: in knowledge and overall satisfaction. Timeline: Fall 2006. Timeline: Trainings will happen during the Fall and Winter of 2005 and Spring of 2006. Goal 2 Provide ECE-CARES trainings to child care professionals to address the social, emotional and developmental needs of children in child care. Strategy#1 Implement ECE-CARES training for 70 center and home child care professionals. Action Plan: Schedule three ECE-CARES trainings for up to 25 professionals per each session. Measurable Improve teacher classroom and home provider behaviour Outcomes: management skills so that they are equipped to handle children who exhibit difficult behaviors. How Through pre and post evaluations of core knowledge of social, Measured: emotional and developmental needs of children. Indicators of The pre and post evaluation scores will demonstrate a 50% Success: increase of core knowledge. Timeline: Trainings will be held during the Fall and Winter of 2005 and 5 Spring 2006. Strategy#2 Certify two Weld County trainers in ECE-CARES. Action Plan: Identify two individuals to complete the certification requirements to become certified ECE-CARES trainers. Measurable Two child care professionals will become certified ECE-CARES Outcomes: trainers so that they can present additional ECE-CARES trainings throughout Weld County. How The trainers will attend two ECE-CARES trainings and then co- Measured: present at the third training to meet all of the trainer certification requirements. Indicators of The two child care professionals will obtain an ECE-CARES trainer Success: certificate. Timeline: Certified by June 30, 2006. Goal 3 Support new and existing child care home providers through distribution of licensing packets; collaborative orientations for new providers; and enrolling 20 new providers into the 6-month mentor/mentee program. Strategy#1 Support 20 new child care providers to create 160 new slots and provide training to new and existing providers to improve quality of care. Action Plan: 1) Distribute licensing packets to potential providers and 2) Provide collaborative orientations with Aims, UWWC's CCR&R Program, licensing personnel, and local food programs. Measurable 1) Distribute 75 licensing packets and 2) Provide 5 orientations. Outcomes: How 1) All licensing packets distributed are recorded and logged and 2) Measured: New provider orientations will be held and attendance documented. Indicators of 1) 50% of prospective child care providers obtaining licensing Success: packets will complete the licensing process and 2) Prospective child care providers or newly licensed child care providers will attend new provider orientations. Timeline: 1) On-going and 2) New provider orientations will take place in August and October 2005 and January, March and May of 2006. Strategy #2 Recruit, train, support and provide professional development opportunities to 20 new providers and to 6 established providers in the mentor/mentee program. Action Plan: 1) Recruit 20 mentees from potential home child care providers; 2) Meet with mentees/mentors monthly; 3) Recruit mentors as needed and maintain at least six and 4) Meet with mentors quarterly to encourage professional development including attendance at the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) National Conference in Denver. Measurable 1) Twenty mentees will be recruited, receive training and on- Outcomes: going support; 2) Mentors/mentees will meet monthly; 3) Mentor base will adequately support mentees and 4) Mentors will develop a Professional Profile to assist with appropriate matching of 6 mentees and attend the NAFCC National Conference. How 1) 20 potential home providers will enter into the Mentee Program Measured: agreement; 2) Attendance documented for eleven mentor/mentee meetings; 3) Mentees and Mentors will complete a satisfaction survey at end of program and 4) Attendance will be documented at quarterly meetings, Professional Profiles reviewed, and NAFCC National Conference attendance documented. Indicators of 1) Twenty mentees will complete the licensing process and create Success: a quality child care environment; 2) Eleven mentor/mentee meetings will be attended by at least 50% of participants; 3) At least six mentors will provide viable support to the mentees; 4) Four quarterly meetings will be conducted, Professional Profiles will be developed, and reports will be submitted from the NAFCC conference attendees. Timeline 1) On-going; 2) On-going; 3) On-going; 4) On-going. Goal 4 Provide Professional Development Opportunities for home, center and legally exempt child care providers. Strategy#1 1) Provide scholarships for Early Childhood Education (ECE) classes at Aims Community College (Aims) to home providers going through our mentor/mentee program (10 participants), and child care professionals(15 participants) each semester. Action Plan: 1) Market availability of scholarships and incentives; 2) Provide academic advising to determine a Professional Development Plan; 3) Enroll mentors/mentees in ECE classes; and 4) Provide tuition for students enrolled. Measurable 1) Marketing brochures distributed; 2) Ten participants and fifteen Outcomes: child care professionals will develop a Professional Development Plan; 3) Ten participants and fifteen child care professionals will enroll and complete ECE classes at Aims; and 4) Grant tuition funds awarded to student's meeting grant requirements. How 1) The number and locations that marketing brochures and Measured: pamphlets were distributed; 2) The number of applications received; 3) The number of completed Professional Development Plans; and 4) The number of tuition scholarships awarded. Indicators of Grant funds distributed to students receiving a "B" grade or Success: better. Timeline: Fall and Spring semesters at Aims. Strategy#2 Offer 2 sessions of First Aid and Infant Child CPR classes to a total of 30 exempt home care providers at no cost to the participants. Action Plan: Schedule trainings, contact interested exempt home care providers and enroll them into the First Aid and Infant Child CPR classes. Measurable 30 exempt home providers will complete the First Aid and Infant Outcomes: Child CPR classes so that they can provide first aid and CPR to children in their care. How 80% of the exempt home providers who completed the class will 7 Measured: have the knowledge and skills to provide First Aid and Infant Child CPR to children in their care. Indicators of 80% of participants will receive First Aid and Infant Child CPR Success: certificates. Timeline: The first session of classes will be offered in the Fall of 2005 and the second session in the Spring of 2006. Goal 5 Improve quality of child care in Weld County by providing assessments and technical assistance for homes and centers. Strategy #1 Assist 2 homes in the completion of the National Association For Family Child Care (NAFCC)accreditation and 2 centers through the National Association For the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)accreditation. Activity: 1) Recruit 2 homes and 2 centers to participate in the accreditation process and provide technical assistance and 2) 2 homes and 2 centers submit accreditation materials and request for validation visit. Measurable 1) 2 homes and 2 centers participate in accreditation and receive Outcomes: technical assistance and 2) 2 homes and 2 centers complete and submit all accreditation requirements. How Through the submission of application and accreditation Measured: documents. Indicators of Documents submitted and acknowledged by each of the Success: accreditation organizations. Timeline: Throughout the grant period. Strategy #2 Assist 2 homes in obtaining a Quality Star Rating through Qualls-tar Early Learning. Activity: 1) Recruit 2 homes to participate in Quality Star Rating process and provide technical assistance and 2) 2 homes will participate in the Quality Star Rating. Measurable 2 homes will achieve a Quality Star Rating. Outcomes: How Quality Star Rating will be assigned along with a quality Measured: improvement plan to achieve a higher rating. Indicators of 2 homes will become Quality Star Rated Success: Timeline: Throughout the grant period. Goal 6 Evaluate the effectiveness of grant objectives. Strategy#1 All programs/projects will be evaluated by the Quality Assurance Grant Evaluation Committee. Action Plan: 1) Committee meets quarterly to review progress of each goal; 2) Committee reviews pre and post evaluations on a regular basis; and 3) Participants in the ECE-CARES trainings will be surveyed in May to determine successes and their continuation of the ECE- CARES model. Measurable 1) Quarterly meetings will determine progress to date on grant Outcomes: goals; 2) Committee will analyze pre and post training evaluations 8 to ensure the quality of future trainings; and 3) 75 percent of all participants in ECE-CARES training will demonstrate a positive commitment to the ECE-CARES model. How 1) Reports on each goal will be tracked and submitted by the Measured: Quality Assurance Grant Evaluation Committee; 2) An analysis of pre and post evaluations will be submitted for review; and 3) Child care professionals participating in ECE-CARES training will be surveyed regarding continuation and additional training needed. Indicators of 1) Grant objectives met; 2) Pre and post evaluations will show Success: increased knowledge on social, emotional, and developmental needs of children as well as indicate satisfaction with the quality of the trainings; and 3) Participating ECE-CARES child care professionals will implement the model. Timeline: Quarterly throughout grant period. SECTION B Part 2 —Outreach, Staffing, and Impact Both center and home providers will receive information regarding the opportunity to participate in these child care quality improvement programs. Previous successful quality assurance programs and aggressive marketing efforts to the child care network will provide many opportunities for the promotion of the new and continued quality expansion projects. All program participants including the mentors and mentees, ECE-CARES, Accreditation and Quality Star Rating and Aims Professional Development Program will be selected through an application process. This will allow monitoring of progress and assurance that participants represent the diversity of Weld County. The project coordinator is Sheila Avers, Director of Children's Programs at United Way of Weld County, which includes the county's Child Care Resource and Referral Program. Staff of the United Way of Weld County's Child Care Resource & Referral Program will continue to work to implement the goals and strategies of this grant. Kathy Hamblin, Director of Education at Aims Community College will coordinate the Professional Development Program. All staff members have a background in early childhood education or related fields. Weld County Department of Social Services Special Projects Supervisor, Shari Armstrong, meets with all grant administrative staff regularly as their grant liaison. 9 Weld County has a high percentage of low income children in center based and home based care. Child care stakeholders in the community, non-profit organizations, home and center based child care providers, and governmental entities collaborate to effectively use community resources to impact low income families. Participation by 70 center and/or home providers (ECE-CARES), over 300 home and center providers (trainings), 20 new home child care providers (mentees), the quality assessments of 6 sites and 40 Professional Development (mentors, mentees & students) will positively impact a large number of children throughout the county. Through each of these programs the focus is to retain quality providers, recruit new providers, and improve the quality of care available to all children. SECTION C: Coordination, Collaboration and Local Match Local Participants: United Way of Weld County's Child Care Resource and Referral Program facilitates a Child Care Committee comprised of leaders in child care who support and review child care efforts. Weld County Family Child Care Association, The Weld Chapter of the Colorado Child Care Association, Association of Child Care Providers, Weld District Group for the Colorado Association for the Education of Young Children, State licensing personnel, and Head Start are involved as well. The collaborative partners for this project are United Way of Weld County, Aims Community College and Weld County Department of Social Services (WCDSS). United Way of Weld County's Child Care Committee also includes representatives from ABC West Child Development Center, State Farm Insurance Companies, RR Donnelley Norwest, Inc.; The Greeley Tribune; Glori Christi Preschool; Swift and Company; Weld County School District #6; Siebert & Associates; Family CONNECTS; Cache Bank & Trust; Union Colony Bank; Weld County's licensing specialist. The Child Care Committee members are committed to improving the quality of child care in our county, ensuring the best use of resources and avoiding duplication of services. Local Matching Resources: Matching funds for this project are provided through United Way of Weld County, Qualistar Early Learning (Colorado Office of Resource and Referral Agencies (CORRA), Aims Community College, The Daniels Fund and other grants. The in-kind and cash match exceeds the 10 required level and includes staffing costs, space at Aims Community College and United Way of Weld County, coordination, accounting and office materials. Other community resources: The CCR&R program at United Way of Weld County will continue its efforts to reach over 1,000 families annually to educate them about quality child care and potential financial support programs which are available. This program will also continue its efforts to recruit local businesses to contribute to their employees' child care expenses. The CCR&R Program continually researches other funding sources to support quality child care programs. The distance education pre- licensing training through Aims Community College is a resource available to new providers. United Way of Weld County (UWWC) will continue to provide funding to the Mentor/Mentee Program. Additionally, UWWC is funding the marketing and public relations for child care. There is an aggressive plan to educate the community about the critical need for quality child care. For example an awareness campaign in English and Spanish promoting quality child care has been developed and billboards and ads will be begin in March, 2005 throughout the county. Business contracts will provide incentive dollars to recruit child care providers. Qualistar Early Learning also provides money towards these efforts. A significant source of funding that directly impacts low-income families and other working families is the United Way of Weld County's Family Business Solutions Program. Eight county businesses are contributing to their employees' child care for 170 children through this program. Aims Community College has Colorado Infant/Toddler Quality Improvement, Title V, and Head Start Partnership federal grants. These enable Aims to link training opportunities to child care providers and leverage funding to benefit students. History of Successful Collaborations: Weld County has a distinguished history of almost 20 years of collaboration efforts on behalf of children. The Child Care Committee represents six community agencies that collaborate to provide quarterly newsletters to child care professionals. Promises for Children, Weld County's Early Childhood Initiative a community partnership focuses on the growth period from pre-birth to five years of age. Weld County Department of Social Services, United Way of it Weld County and Aims Community College have collaborated for many years on various child care and early childhood initiatives. SECTION D: Plan for continuation after grant ends United Way of Weld County, Aims Community College and Weld County Department of Social Services are committed to continuing the goals of this project. Community support will be built through continuous efforts to inform community partners and leaders about the successful implementation of this project and garner continued funding. The initial training for ECE—CARES is designed to be sustainable. Once providers are trained they will be prepared to continue the ECE-CARES strategies. Additionally, a strategy of this project is to train trainers who can provide training and on-going support of the ECE- CARES model. By certifying two trainers, it will enable our community to not only continue the training efforts in future years,but to provide coaching to ensure providers are receiving adequate support. United Way of Weld County will focus on mentoring and provider recruitment programs, continuing their funding support and grant writing efforts. Increased business participation in funding child care will also go towards quality child care programs, as does Qualistar Early Learning funding. Aims Community College is consistently seeking grant sources for student scholarships and funding for child care. Local match from partnering agencies will continue beyond the end of the funding cycle. Aims Community College, United Way of Weld County, and the Weld County Department of Social Services remain committed to assuring quality child care for low-income children in Weld County. 12 SECTION E: Budget Narrative Child Care Quality Expansion Project FY 2004 -- Line Item Budget Funding Period: 7/01/05 to 6/30/06 BUDGET FOR DIRECT COSTS OF CHILD CARE LICENSING PROGRAMS Req. Local Other Proj. Total Item Funds Match Funds Cost Personnel Salaries United Way of Weld County: Training Specialist .5 fte to coordinate provider trainings throughout Weld County; Coordinate ECE CARES Level 1 Trainings; Coordinate the 1st Aid and CPR classes; Coordinate the ECE-CARES Train the Trainer Program and analyze evaluations of all training efforts 9,360 0 0 9,360 Grant management and coordination of projects @ 30 hrs./mo. x $15/hr. x 12 mos. 2,700 2,700 0 5,400 Aims Community College: Grant management @ $229/month 0 2,748 0 2,748 Fringe Benefits: United Way of Weld County: $5,400 x 20% = 1,080 and $9,360 x 15% = $1,404 2,000 484 0 2,484 Aims Community College: $2,748 x 30% = $825 0 825 0 2,748 Travel: United Way of Weld County: Mileage -- 2,500 miles @ $.375 688 250 0 938 Supplies: United Way of Weld County: ECE-CARES supplies for training handbooks, copies, teacher-child materials and meeting refreshments. 1,000 174 0 1,174 General office supplies 300 300 0 600 Postage 1,000 607 0 1,607 Marketing 500 1,000 0 1,500 Aims Community College: Marketing (brochures) 0 300 0 300 Postage 0 300 0 300 Equipment: 0 0 0 0 Other (specify) United Way of Weld County: ECE-CARES Level 1 training for 70 providers 9,600 0 0 0 First Aid and CPR classes Class trainer $50/hr. x 8 hrs. x 2 sessions 800 0 0 800 Materials for providers 650 0 0 650 Collaborative Orientation Program Supplies for orientation packets to be distributed to potential child care providers (50 @ $2 ea.) 0 100 0 100 Mentoring Program Incentive for 20 mentees @ $270 per mentee 5,400 0 0 5,400 Incentive for 20 mentors @ $280 per mentor 5,600 0 0 5,600 NAEYC membership for 8 mentors @ $85/ea. 680 0 0 680 NAFCC conference reg. for 8 mentors @ $104/ea. 832 0 0 832 NAFCC memberships for 8 mentors @ $25/ea. 200 0 0 200 Conference Conference key-note speaker and facility 3,000 1,000 5,000 9,000 Stipends for Presenters for comprehensive follow-up trainings to build on conference topic (12 x $300) 3,600 0 0 3,600 QuaIt Star Rating and Accredidation Rating of 2 homes @ $1,000 ea. 2,000 0 0 2,000 Accreditation for 2 homes @ $500/ea. 1,000 0 0 1,000 Accreditation for 2 centers @ $1,925/center 3,850 0 0 3,850 Aims Community College: Mentor/Mentee Tuition Tuition for 10 mentors/mentees to take an ECE class ($165 per mentor/mentee) 1,650 0 0 1,650 Child Care Professional Tuition Tuition for 15 students per semester @ $165 per student x 2 semesters 4,950 0 0 4,950 Sub Total-Child Care Program 61,360 10,788 5,000 69,471 COUNTY ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS Budget Categories Personnel/Administration 1,000 0 0 1,000 GRAND TOTAL 62.360 10.788 5.000 70.471 ATTACHMENT 3 PAGE 1 OF 2 Match Certification Form Amount of Match Source of Match Contact Person at Contact Person Phone Match Source Number $2,500 Daniels Fund Child Sheila Avers, Director, (970)353-4300 ext. Care Resource& Children's Programs 121 Referral Grant through United Way of Weld Bright Beginnings County Grant Award $7,215 United Way of Weld County Campaign Dollars distributed to Child Care Resource & Referral Program $3,573 Aims Community Kathy Hamblin, (970)339-6501 College In-kind Match Director Education Aims Community College $2,500 Promises For Children Sheila Avers, Director, (970) 353-4300 ext. Weld County Children's Programs 121 Children's Initiative United Way of Weld County Total: $15,788 United Way j February 1, 2005 ,. Scott Raun, Grant Specialist Colorado Division of Child Care 1575 Sherman, 1st Floor Denver, CO 80203-1714 Dear Mr. Raun: On behalf of United Way of Weld County and Aims Community College we are pleased to be submitting through the Weld County Department of Social Services the Child Care Expansion Grant Proposal for Fiscal Year 2006. We have partnered for the past five years in this grant effort and have experienced some very positive relationships from the partnership as well as productive use of grant funds. The attached proposal is specifically targeted at raising the quality of child care in child care homes and centers, retaining center staff and home providers, and increasing quality training opportunities for child care staff. We are excited about the implementation of The ECE — CARES teachers training program. United Way of Weld County and Aims Community College are again committing both cash and in-kind support to this project far exceeding the requirements. Aims Community College will also provide substantial commitment of in-kind support. The project coordinators, Sheila Avers and Kathy Hamblin will continue to direct the efforts of this project. We are optimistic about the benefits of this proposal to Weld County children and families, and child care professionals. Please give the proposal your careful consideration. rely, J nnine Truswell, Executive Director Kathy H�n, Y nited Way of Weld County Education Program Director Aims Community College Files Word/CCR&R/Grant/Expansion Grant Cover Letter March 05 what matters.'" ®° Hello