Denver Early Childhood Council

2011-2012 Annual Report

Serving as Denvers Early Childhood Hub

Our Team: Emily Bustos Executive Director Sharon Prueitt Keiser Director of Finance and Operations Nicole Riehl Director of Quality Improvement Initiatives Adey Dimalanta Manager of Professional Development Jenna Bannon Davis Manager of Systems Building Liliana Flores Amaro Technical Assistance Consultant Kelly Bowes Assessment & Evaluation Consultant Lalania Carillo Lead Program Assistant Erin Gager Program Assistant Robin Mest Database Coordinator

The vision of the Denver Early Childhood Council is that every young child in Denver enters school ready to succeed. Our mission is to serve as Denvers early childhood hub, leveraging resources, opportunities, and connections to create a quality system that impacts the lives of children and their families.

Visit us at www.DenverEarlyChildhood.org!

Letter from the Executive Director

As I reflect back on our first year of operations as an independent nonprofit, I am amazed at how well our organization has navigated so many changes in such a short amount of time. When we settled into our new office in early July, we couldnt have imagined how our team of 5 could grow to 10 in just a few short months. I truly appreciate how our staff members have weathered the constantly changing environment not just with tolerance, but Emily Bustos, Executive Director real enthusiasm. This unwavering dedication to bringing people together to improve the early years of a childs life embodies our teams core values. Our new mission guides our work in the community to:

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System Create a Thriving Organization
As you read through the Annual Report, you can see which aspects of our work reflect these core values by looking for these building blocks at the bottom of each page. We believe that focusing our efforts in these areas will help build and sustain the foundations for a thriving early childhood system capable of true and lasting impact on the lives of Denvers children and families. Our Board of Directors has played an integral role in developing a solid governance infrastructure that has allowed our organization to scale up with few growing pains. My heartfelt thanks for their many hours of service to the Council and those we serve. Thanks must also be given to our committed network of community partners who inform our work and broaden our connection to community needs across the domains of early learning, family support & parent engagement, social-emotional & mental health, and health. Internal capacity is at
Best wishes to each and all of you for success in this New Year.

the core of leveraging resources, opportunities and connections to positively impact services and the early childhood system.

Emily Bustos, Executive Director Denver Early Childhood Council

Page 1 of 12

Taking a Whole Child Approach to School Readiness

Social Emotional Development moved to the forefront of our child health and wellness integrated approach The effect of teaching on student learning is greater than student ethnicity, family income, school attended, or class size

Comprehensive, coordinated services for young children will yield cost savings to state systems, community resources, and families

Access to quality early learning materials helps student achievement and improves reading skills.

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System Create a Thriving Organization
Page 2 of 12

Quality Improvement Initiatives

Our Quality Improvement Initiatives include the

School Readiness Quality Improvement Program and the Denver Preschool Program.
These programs strive to enhance quality in early childhood education and improve the school readiness of all Denver children five years of age and younger, by coordinating targeted resources to Early Childhood Education Providers including: coaching, training, quality learning materials, technology, and technical assistance.

In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, the Denver Early Childhood Council provided: 2,830 hours of coaching 218 hours of stand-alone training 102 hours of training paired with coaching $60,331.47 toward ECE Coursework Reimbursement $205,000 of qualified learning materials and technology to 650 classrooms in 255 childcare provider sites in Denver. ...the School Readiness program has
made a difference for the children and families in our community. They have been given choices for quality programming that supports childrens learning and readiness to enter school prepared. ~Karen Enboden, VP of Programs at Mile High Montessori Early Learning Centers All sites participating in our Quality Improvement initiatives are required to be quality rated by an independent third-party. Participating childcare providers have recognized consistent and

significant gains in quality

year over year as a result of the additional quality improvement supports and resources we provided.

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System
Page 3 of 12

A Closer Look at Quality Improvement:

Denver Preschool Program
253 Sites 586 Classrooms

Passed by Denver voters in 2006, the Denver Preschool Program (DPP) provides tuition credits to all Denver families and quality improvement resources to licensed early childhood education (ECE) providers in Denver; to ensure that all Denver children have access to high quality early education. DECC manages and coordinates DPPs targeted quality improvement resources and activities for participating ECE providers.

How Sites spent their credits:*

= 20 licensed sites

= 25 classrooms

1,721 Hours

$94,307
*DPP Sites receive Quality Improvement credits based on how many classrooms they have and their overall Quality Rating

81%
$143,643
Programs are evaluated based on the Qualistar Rating of 0-4 stars. In 2012-13 DPP is launching a pilot program to include the CLASS evaluation tool, which takes a closer look at teacher-child interactions. Of participating programs received

high

quality ratings of 3 or 4 stars

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children

Page 4 of 12

A Closer Look at Quality Improvement:

School Readiness Quality Improvement Program
30 Sites We Spent $124,953 on
Made available through Child Care & Development Block Grant funding, the School Readiness Quality Improvement Program supports quality ratings and quality improvement resources for early childhood programs serving children that will likely attend low-performing public schools. Since 2003, DECC has been administering the program for Denver County which has infused over $2 million dollars into our ECE community.

120 Classrooms

Learning Materials

A B C
We provided

An average of

$1,050

per classroom!

1,169 Hours
of Quality

We purchased over 70 cribs for ECE providers to meet new and improved federal safety standards.

Improvement

Coaching
And we provided
to

$27,719

classrooms

to assist sites with

Assessment and Evaluation

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children
Page 5 of 12

Professional Development
Our Professional Development and Denver Child Care Resource & Referral programs expand

access to high quality training and scholarship

programs that provide guidance on industry best practices and evidence-based curriculums to help early childhood professionals

increase their

knowledge and apply it in the classroom.

Our professional development offerings are often paired with on-site coaching that enhances the application and effectiveness of the delivered content. DECC provided 336 hours of
Before taking this course, I was not confident enough in working Before taking this course, I was with the infant and toddler not confident enough in workpopulation. ing with the Through the weeks I learned so infant and toddler many valuable things that I will population . while I work with carry with me Through the weeks I learned so children. This course has helped many valuable things that I will me very much to provide quality carry with me while I work care. Im grateful for this with opportunity. -EQIT Training Attendee

Expanding Quality for Infants & Toddlers (EQIT) training for more than 130 providers
in the 2011-2012 fiscal yearin addition to the trainings mentioned under DECCs Quality Improvement Initiatives. In order to expand access to high-quality trainings and information sessions, DECC often combines funding to offer additional community slots available to all Denver early childhood

education professionals, including family home ch providers and broad-based early childhood

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System
Page 6 of 12

A Closer Look at Professional Development: Expanding Quality for Infants & Toddlers
DECC offered
EQIT is a 48-hour training for teachers working directly with infants and toddlers or their Directors and Assistant Directors. The hands-on curriculum was developed for adult learners by the Colorado Department of Education and is a favorite of participants. This class is required for home providers seeking an infant/ toddler license and can be used in place of a college course (ECE 111) for those seeking Director's and Early Childhood Teacher Qualifications.

7 EQIT classes
throughout the year

This program has really been a credit to my childcare home... I have learned to do more quality activities and it has upgraded my child care. I learned a lot from the instructors. It has made me more professional in my business. -Family Childcare Provider

138 Child Care Professionals Graduated

From which
= 5 graduating students

Child Care Resource & Referral

DECC is contracted to provide a minimum of hours
As Denvers Child Care Resource and Referral Agency (CCR&R) for providers in Denver, we support potential and existing child care programs and professionals by providing technical assistance, training and coaching services.

of training based on We answered over Division of Child Care 50 Resource & Referral questions! Licensings Core Content areas. = 10 This year questions we provided over

hours!
Page 7 of 12

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children

Quality Improvement + Professional Development = Combined Impact

This year we served...
= 20 licensed sites = 25 classrooms

255 licensed sites

in Denver County

650 Classrooms
over that implemented significant Quality

Improvement activities
And at least 400

additional classrooms indirectly benefit

from Quality Improvement & Professional Development activities

That means, our programs collectively

impacted over 7,250 children

in Denver County!
= 50 children

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System
Page 8 of 12

Child Health Integration

The Early Childhood Health Integration Initiative implements cross-systems planning, coordination and collaboration opportunities between the
early childhood education, health, behavioral Early Childhood System of Care health, family support, and parent engagement partners. We have built strong partnerships with Denver Health, Public Health, Nurse Family Partnerships, Early Intervention, and Child Find in our joint efforts to impact child health.

Child Health

School Readiness

Behavioral Health

This initiative has brought partners Early Learning Family Support together to examine what the barriers are in creating a systemic approach to child health and raised awareness of the critical importance of child health - from oral and mental health to nutrition and physical activity in a childs overall school readiness. In the 2011-2012 fiscal year, DECC convened four community meetings and strategic learning Participation on the Health opportunities featuring eight experts in issues Integration & Program impacting child health. Additionally, DECC has Committee has been incredibly incorporated child health valuable in sharing information on activities into our Strategic services available for families in Plan to further integrate Denver and getting the word out child health awareness and about the Nurse Family best practices into all of our Partnership program. It has programmatic offerings. widened our programs circle of influence. -Marti Potter, Denver Health

Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System

Page 9 of 12

Early Childhood Systems Building

Our Early Childhood Systems Building Initiative includes efforts around increasing availability, quality, and accessibility of services for children and families and increasing the capacity of early learning providers. This is accomplished through building public will, fostering strategic learning and collaboration, and system-wide data analysis to build the foundations of a thriving early childhood system in Denver.

Key Accomplishments:
DECC held an elected officials reception and Partner Network Open House with close to

100 people participating. Health Integration and Program Committees, comprised of twenty early childhood community members and stakeholders, met regularly to guide systems building
and programmatic work.

Organizational Capacity Building Milestones

July 7, 2011 - the Board of Directors vote to amend the bylaws to change the As a result of the 2011-2012 composition of the Strategic Planning process, Board of Directors to we hired two new coaches foster to ensure that childcare independent providers have access to high members and quality, lower cost coaching to further define their services. role as a Working Board. By doing so, we are leveraging

Did you know?

July 1, 2011 - the DECC launches officially as an independent 501c3 nonprofit and moves into new offices in the Phillips Center (now Tramway Nonprofit Center). Staff, our Nonprofit Transition Work Group, and the Finance Committee immediately begin setting up all operational, fiscal management, and human resources systems from the ground up. Fall 2011 Board approves operational and governance policies and procedures. These include: Employee Handbook, Internal Fiscal Controls, Executive Compensation, Document Retention and Destruction, Capitalization, Budget Modification, Information Sharing, Conflict of Interest, Anti-discrimination, and Letter of Support policies. Board also approves our 2012-2015 Strategic Plan.
Page 10 of 12

existing resources, diversifying funding, and increasing our own financial stability.

Spring 2012 Our first Director of Finance and Operations is hired in March 2012. This greatly increases our capacity to provide high quality oversight for both the operational and fiscal sectors of our work while easing the administrative burden for executive and program staff. Our financial systems and internal culture have been set up in full alignment with our federal A-133 audit requirements and general nonprofit best practices.

Create a Thriving Organization

Early Childhood Systems Building

Denver Early Childhood Council Committees & Work Groups
Our standing committees, comprised of experts and community members, provide governance and oversight of our work. Our Executive, Finance & Audit, Nominating, and Program Committees meet monthly with staff to review progress, approve policies and procedures, and provide guidance. Committee check-ins, reports and status updates are provided to the Executive Director, Board and Committees regularly to ensure accountability for work performed and overall communication of progress to our internal stakeholders. Additionally, DECC convened work groups in the following areas:
Community Assessment & Strategic Planning
As part of our Early Childhood Council Initiative Proposal process for 2012-15 we completed a Local Systems Assessment process for our council area. This intensive and data-driven process included a comprehensive community profile. This participatory process also helped lay the groundwork for our Strategic Planning process which was completed and approved by the board in early 2012.

Resource Development

An environmental scan and series of donor and funder interviews was performed on behalf of the Denver Early Childhood Council in late 2011. The primary goal of these interviews was to solicit information regarding funding trends that may impact DECC as we transitioned into the nonprofit arena. The specific action plan and recommendations have shaped DECC priorities around Resource Development, Data, Analysis and Mapping and Strategic Communications for the coming year.

Strategic Communications/Resource Hub

Since moving into our new offices we have turned the large conference room into a community training room that can be used for meetings of all sizes. As we become a hub for resources and information for our partners, we have held several council trainings and events in our new space and make it available to our Network Partners as well. We also send out E-mail Action and E-News Alerts to inform our partners regarding emerging issues and opportunities for input, and have upgraded our website to make it more user-friendly.

Evaluation & Data Management

We assessed our data systems and identified recommended improvements and efficiencies that could be created. We were able to create an in-house Data and Evaluation Coordinator position that is responsible for administering, evaluating and modifying DECCs databases in response to organizational needs and for day-to-day system integrity.

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System Create a Thriving Organization
Page 11 of 12

Fiscal Year 2011-2012 Financial Overview

Denver Early Childhood Council Income and Expense by Quarter
July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012
$500,000 $450,000 $400,000 $350,000 $300,000 $250,000 $200,000 $150,000 $100,000 $50,000 $0
Total Income Total Expense Total Net Assets

Unqua lified audi

t opini on for FY11-1 2 A-133 a udit!

$130,113

$134,874 $94,768 $75,243

Q1 $167,851 $176,512 $130,113

Q2 $230,929 $266,274 $94,768

Q3 $358,206 $377,731 $75,243

Q4 $465,766 $406,135 $134,874

As shown in the Income and Expense by Quarter graph, income increased steadily throughout the year, outperforming our original projections and allowing us to end the year with over $1.2 million in revenues.

We anticipate additional revenue growth as we strive to diversify funding in the areas of foundation grants, earned income, and individual donations. Given our current funding makeup (90% reimbursable grants), we have set the goal of establishing an operating reserve equal to one months expenses within 3-5 years.

We spent 90% of our expenses on our Quality Improvement, Systems Building, Professional Development, and Child Health programs! To view audited financial statements & Form 990 visit www.denverearlychildhood.org/about/governance/

Impact the Quality of Services for Young Children Build the Foundations of an Early Childhood System Create a Thriving Organization
Page 12 of 12

2011-2012 Board:

Looking Forward
New opportunities abound as we peek into the next fiscal year!

Gerie Grimes Board Chair

Hope Center

Lynn Andrews Board Vice Chair

Clayton Early Learning

Shared Services to Reduce Overhead

Denver Early Childhood Council and Civic Canopy are current tenants in the Urban Land Conservancys Tramway Nonprofit Center located in the Cole neighborhood in Denver. We plan to collaborate in order to tap programmatic synergies and administrative cost -savings by sharing services in the Tramway Nonprofit Center. Our complementary missions in strengthening neighborhoods, families and children will serve as a foundation for collaborative interactions and outcomes.

David Cordova Board Treasurer

CPA

Susan Rider Board Secretary

Little Friends Learning Center Anna Jo Haynes Early Childhood Leadership Commission Carol Edwards Denver Public Library Cheryl Caldwell Denver Public Schools Devvy Altman Kentwood City Properties Diana Gadison Early Success Academy Jennifer Draper Carson Denver Parent June Allen Denver Department of Human Services Lydia Prado, Ph.D. Mental Health Center of Denver Marie Hueston Family Flex Early Education Center Pamela Harris, Ph.D. Mile High Montessori Early Learning Center Sonja OLeary, MD Denver Health Susan Gallo, Ph.D. Denver Mayors Office for Education and Children

Expansion of Child Health Programs

As our Phase I Early Childhood Health Integration work wraps up, we are excited to continue the work to better integrate health services and engage health practitioners in the development of local early childhood systems. We are now in the planning stages for our Social Emotional Early Development (SEED) Initiative, which utilizes the Pyramid Plus Approach and support services such as coaching, professional development trainings and mental health consultation to improve knowledge, access and availability of early childhood social -emotional development and mental health resources for early learning providers in Denver.

Spotlight on Early Childhood in Colorado

Exciting developments are also on the horizon for the early childhood system in Colorado with national attention and several large changes being proposed that will impact the all elements of the system.

Thank you to our generous supporters that make the work of the Council possible.

Special thanks to our founding individual donors that donated throughout our first year as a nonprofit:
June Allen Jessica Campbell Gerie Grimes Sonja O'Leary Diana Romero-Campbell Devvy Altman David Cordova Pamela Harris, Ph.D. Lydia Prado Lynn Andrews Carol Edwards Anna Jo Haynes Susan Rider Alicia Biggs Diana Gadison Marie Hueston Lisa Roy Cheryl Caldwell Susan Gallo, Ph.D. Susan Kay Rebecca Tankersley

Thank you for learning more about our work.

Please consider supporting Denver Early Childhood Council by giving online: www.givingfirst.org/denverearlychildhoodcouncil