Resources for Childcare Providers
Supporting young children and families takes strong programs, skilled providers and access to the right resources. We’ve gathered tools and opportunities that can help you strengthen your program, build your skills and support the children and families you serve.
Explore the resources below to find support that fits your needs.
Teaching, Recruiting and Workforce Resources
TEACH Colorado
TEACH Colorado is a free statewide online platform and partnership that helps people explore teaching, find a path into the profession and access resources, guidance and support to become a teacher in Colorado.
Resources include:
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Information for aspiring teachers
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A guide to teaching early childhood
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Connections between early childhood job seekers and employers
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Scholarships and fee reimbursements for trainings, such as fees for the Expanding Quality in Infant and Toddler course
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Monthly webinars
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An annual job fair
View the TEACH Colorado Early Childhood Recruitment Toolkit
Providers Advancing Student Outcomes Training
Providers Advancing Student Outcomes (PASO) is a 15-week, 120-hour certification program run by the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition. The program trains and certifies informal child care providers, known as Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) providers.
Classes are offered in English and Spanish twice a year.
Explore Providers Advancing Student Outcomes training.
Early Childhood Service Corps
The Early Childhood Service Corps (ECSC) prepares, trains and places adults age 50 and older in supportive classroom and operational roles in Colorado early learning programs.
Through a structured training program, participants can become:
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Encore Educators
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Classroom Volunteers
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Volunteer Business Advisors
Participants receive standardized training and are matched with licensed early childhood sites based on their skills and interests. They can support classrooms or help with business operations.
Information about partnering with us through the Early Childhood Service Corps will be added when it is available.
Inclusive Learning Resources
Adapt to Impact
Adapt to Impact is a project from the Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering at the University of Colorado Denver. The program helps licensed Colorado child care programs create inclusive learning environments for children from birth to age 5 who have delays or disabilities.
Resources include:
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Tutorial videos showing how to use toys and equipment as adaptive tools
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Do-it-yourself solutions for different areas of development
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Individual technical assistance by email and Zoom
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Online professional development
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An equipment loan library
Explore the Adapt to Impact loan library
We are working to add a full loan library. Providers can currently complete one to two short online courses to access the loan library directly through Adapt to Impact.
You can also request a kit directly from us:
Child Development and Family Resources
Early Learning and Development Resources
The Colorado Department of Early Childhood offers downloadable resources that providers can use in their work with children and families.
Resources include:
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The PLAYbook describes a child’s learning and development from birth to 5 years old and provides practical tips and fun activities that anyone can use to support young children’s healthy development.
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Supporting Children with Special Health Conditions resource is intended for families, caregivers, and educators in early care and education settings, who need to share information to support children with special health conditions.
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Transitions to Kindergarten: Timeline and Checklist provides key strategies to implement throughout the year to support successful transitions to kindergarten. Activities range from ongoing efforts to those with specific timeframes, including before and after kindergarten begins. The tool serves as a resource for planning, monitoring, and improving transition efforts.
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The Colorado Early Learning & Development Guidelines outline children's developmental trajectory from birth to 8 years old, covering various domains such as approaches to learning, health, social-emotional development, language, literacy, numeracy, logic, and reasoning. These guidelines promote collaboration and consistency across early childhood systems and are the foundation for Gateway’s QI Coaching program.
Explore early learning and development resources from the Colorado Department of Early Childhood