HomeMy WebLinkAbout20191647.tiffCOLORADO
Office of Early Childhood
Department of Human Services
April 15, 2019
Barbara Kirkmeyer, Chair
Weld County Commissioners
1150 O Street
Greeley, CO 80631
Judy Griego, Director
Weld County Department of Human Services
315 North 11th Avenue
Greeley, CO 80631
Re: Weld County concerns
Dear Commissioner Kirkmeyer and Director Griego:
RECEIVED
APR 17 2019
WELD COUNTY
COMMISSIONERS
Thank you for reaching out regarding your concerns. I hope that our call with the staff at Weld County DHS on April
8th was helpful in understanding the solutions available for Qualified Exempt providers, tree goals of Weld Pius, and
Protective Services child care.
Given the fact that absences and holidays may no longer be paid to QE providers, we provided an alternative option
for Weld County to adjust the daily reimbursement rates for QE providers and to utilize the County Rate Plan to
justify the reimbursement rate so that it may be approved by the Department. The justification may include barriers
to providing or finding care on holidays or during non-traditional hours, but it must also include why the QE rate will
not be set at a rate that would disincentive QE providers from becoming licensed.
With regard to Weld Plus, we recognize that the work had begun on this model and that discussions occurred
between Weld County and the Office of Early Childhood in early 2017 resulting in the county opting out of the State's
recommended rates. However, the passing of HB18-1335 impacted the county's ability to opt out of the state set
rates. In order to smooth this transition, we have offered the option to utilize the county alternative rates of before -
school, after -school and before Et after school to help support the rates that the school -age programs participating in
Weld Plus were receiving in the past. We also discussed how the county could consider a provision in their fiscal
agreements that encourages or requires school age providers to participate in the Weld Pius within a certain
timeframe in order to support the work you are trying to do with the school age programs.
Lastly, there was a discussion around Protective Services child care and the options available to support the child
care providers that provide care for these children. Specifically, we talked about the county option to use "hold
slots" to support child care providers when a foster child is taken out of care for an extended period of time for
reasons determined necessary by child welfare. CCCAP staff has already scheduled a follow-up call with Weld
County DHS staff to walk through this option in more detail.
Please feel free to reach out to me or Erin Mewhinney, Director, Early Care and Learning, if there are any additional
questions or concerns you may have related to the program.
Sincerely,
lY
Mary Anne Snyder, Director
Office of Early Childhood
Colorado Department of Human Services
cc: Michelle Barnes, Executive Director, Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS)
Jerene Petersen, Deputy Executive Director of Community Partnerships, CDHS
Co rr,r un \ C O-* Or S cc: ecc.C,C81hi1 H50C-scat5u)
5/I/�q
U/2co/i ci
2019-1647
Hello