Preparing Weld County children for the future

December 2021 | Early Childhood Advocate Updates

There are so many things we are thankful for this year, but at the very top of that list is you. Wishing you a wonderful holiday filled with the warmth and happiness of the season.

Thanks to your support, together we are building a better Weld County, one where children are reading to learn by the start of fourth grade, youth are working at good jobs by age 25, families have stable housing, older adults are aging well and people are connecting to the help they need.

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Upcoming 3-part Webinar Series: Foundation for All Future Development: Celebrating Highlights in Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health.

Important Information you need to know about moving from Level 1 to Level 2 and/or moving from Level 2 to Levels 3-5.

One of the most important steps learned recently is that if you login to your account you have to be exceptionally clear about which you are doing first. If you start updating any information under quick updates you are automatically applying for a higher level rating not funds. If you are a Level 1 program wanting to seek an MOU and grant funds so that you can receive the incentive for attaining a Level 2 you MUST start by clicking on the blue "Apply for QI Funds" button first. After you have the signed MOU, then you can got to the apply for Level 2. If you are thinking about applying for Level 2 in Colorado Shines consider applying for the Quality Improvement dollars first by doing these steps: QI Grant Application Then use these steps (or jump to these steps if you are not interested in the grant): Level 2 Steps If you are doing this we learned yesterday that the incentives to programs for moving from Level 1 to Level 2 and for moving from Level 2 to a Level 3-5 will be given to programs who attain these after December 1st.

If you are a Level 2 program follow these same steps with the exception that when you submit your application for the rating piece you need to make sure you are applying for the Level 3-5. When that is awarded you are then eligible for the incentive. The deadline for achieving a level 3-5 will be by June 30, 2023. Given this could cause a high demand on the rating system, applying early rather than later will be a consideration.

There will be $3,278,380 available for these incentives. A large as this seems the funds are limited so apply early to increase you chances of accessing the funds.