Early Childhood Workforce Roadmap

Early Childhood Council of Larimer County (ECCLC) is proud to be a leader in the early childhood sector. We work tirelessly and strategically with everyone important in a young child’s life, from parents to teachers, and from physicians to mental health experts, to equitably modernize and prioritize early childhood experiences. We provide expert coaching and consultation, build leadership capacity, incubate innovative ideas, spearhead community collaboration, advocate for policies and funding, and design and pilot programs. Over the past decade or so, we’ve invested significant resources into early childhood workforce recruitment and retention efforts to ensure that every young child benefits from diverse, committed caregivers and engaged professionals in their lives. From professional development opportunities and scholarships, to an early childhood mental health fellowship, we’ve kept the workforce front and center in our agency priorities. 

Unfortunately, the workforce crisis in the early childhood sector has deepened significantly in the past few years as a result of many factors, including low wages, challenging work environments, and the COVID19 pandemic. More than 80% of early childhood programs in Colorado reported workforce shortages over the past year alone, and 26% reported they had to serve fewer children as a result (Kids Count 2022). 

Today, we are excited to release a comprehensive early childhood workforce report and roadmap for Larimer County, which ECCLC commissioned over this past summer. The data and recommendations in this report are crucial to supporting the wellbeing of our children, our economy and our community, and we are proud to continue leading the way for our early childhood educators and partners. Over the next several years, ECCLC will use this information to guide our workforce recruitment and retention efforts. We intend to deepen our partnerships across all sectors to make this happen, and we will need the support of stakeholders like you. If you are interested in learning more about any of the strategies or recommendations outlined in this document, or would like to discuss ways to partner with ECCLC in implementation, please reach out to Karly Kampe, our Early Childhood Workforce Manager.

ECCLC continues to believe that a dedicated public funding stream to support early childhood in Larimer County is long overdue and direly needed, and we continue to spearhead efforts to make this a reality for our community. The need for dedicated public funding is highlighted in the recommendations on page 23-25 of the report- take a look!  In the meantime, please feel free to widely distribute this report in any way that might be helpful to our early childhood community, locally and beyond. 

Thank you for your partnership and continued support! And a huge thank you to all the early childhood professionals in our community who work tirelessly to support the health and wellbeing of our youngest citizens. Your work is so important and appreciated!

Click here for the Workforce Roadmap

Click here for our Executive Summary

Christina N. Taylor, MPH

CEO, ECCLC