Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program
Launching Adams County Preschool Program for Fall 2024
The Adams County Partnership is a unique public-private collaboration designed to serve as the Local Coordinating Organization (LCO) for the county. An LCO, as identified in HB22-1295, is responsible for supporting local access and equitable delivery of early childhood and family support programs. Our Partnership includes representatives from families, school districts, the county, ECPAC, as well as private and family child care providers. Because we believe it takes the entire community to raise our youngest neighbors, we authentically include and engage a wide variety of stakeholders in all aspects of our work.
The Adams County Local Coordinating Organization is charged with fostering partnerships, creating alignment, and establishing a comprehensive, equitable, community-supported early childhood plan. We serve as a liaison between families, the local early childhood system and the state. We work hard to make families lives easier, creating a county where navigating childcare, education, health, and wellbeing supports is clear, seamless, and stress-free. In year one, we must, at minimum, coordinate a mixed delivery system of Universal Preschool.
Frequently Asked Questions
UPK launches in the 2024-25 school year, offering at least 10 hours of high-quality, voluntary preschool to Colorado children in the year before they are eligible to enter kindergarten. Some children could qualify for up to 30 state-funded hours based on family circumstances or qualifying factors for kindergarten readiness. Information on eligibility for additional hours can be found at https://cdec.colorado.gov/universal-preschool-family-information
Children are eligible for UPK in the year before they become eligible for kindergarten. CDEC uses a cutoff of October 1, meaning that a child who turns 4 before this date in the year they wish to enroll in preschool will be eligible for UPK. Children who are three years of age, or younger in districts that have a waiver to serve children under three, will also be eligible for UPK hours if they meet at least one qualifying factor. Information about eligibility for younger children will be made available once criteria are finalized.
Some children will qualify for additional hours of preschool under the UPK program. Details can be found at https://cdec.colorado.gov/universal-preschool-family-information and may be limited due to funding and/or availability. Families may also qualify for CCCAP, Head Start, or other state, federal, or locally funded child care programs. Families may also utilize a “private pay” option in coordination with their provider, to supplement Universal Preschool and other funded programs for which they might be eligible.
While LCOs will strive to ensure that every family is served, enrollment will depend on the availability of a suitable provider to meet the child’s needs, therefore slots are not guaranteed.
The Colorado Universal Preschool Program (UPK) will be delivered through a mixed delivery model, meaning that families can choose to send their child to any licensed preschool, whether school-based, community-based, or home-based, that is participating in UPK. When applying for UPK, families will be able to see participating preschools in their community and indicate their preference.
UPK is housed within the new Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), along with other early childhood and family support programs. In order to ensure that the program is responsive to the varying needs of communities across Colorado, CDEC has appointed Local Coordinating Organizations (LCOs) to support the program at a local level.
The family online application is now live as of February 29th, 2024. To apply go to https://upk.colorado.gov/
Yes. UPK is designed to be layered with CCCAP, Head Start and local programs; LCOs are expected to support families in the process of blending and braiding state funding to augment provision for eligible children.
A local coordinating organization (LCO) is a community agency or organization that is responsible for supporting access to and equitable delivery of early childhood and family support programs in the community. The LCO’s role is to foster partnerships and create alignment to ensure the equitable provision of early childhood and family support programs. The LCO will establish and implement a comprehensive, locally driven plan to achieve these goals.
Where can I get more information?
If you need assistance, please contact us at 720-677-6157 or email us at upk@adcoconnect.org.
Visit the new website for the Colorado Department of Early Childhood and stay connected by receiving the CDEC monthly newsletter. Sign up to receive it.
Visit the CDEC website to learn about the Rules making process and stay informed. This 15-member Rules Making Council (RAC) will advise the CDEC Executive Director on the development of rules to guide the functions, programs and services that the new Department will oversee.
If you would like to be notified when draft rules are open for public comment, please sign up for email updates.
