It Starts with Families.

The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County is dedicated to helping families find the quality child care they need for their children.  Through the local Southwest Office of Child Care Resource and Referral, Qualistar Colorado (statewide network), and NACCRRA (National Network of Child Care Resource and Referral ), we keep a thorough, up-to-date database of all providers in the five county region (Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma and San Juan Counties). The Resource and Referral Coordinator is able to provide guidance by phone, email, through workshops, newsletters and in person, giving parents referrals to local child care providers and State licensing requirements.

The local Southwest Office of Child Care Resource and Referral also offers information about Qualistar Quality Ratings and Environmental Rating Scale assessments of providers, cost of care, and philosophies of programs. If you are looking for child care resource and referral statewide in Colorado, please visit Qualistar.org.

The Child Care Resource & Referral services are offered free of charge.

For more information contact:
Shannon Bassett, Child Care Resource and Referral Coordinator
Southwest Colorado Office of Child Care Resource and Referral
Early Childhood Council of La Plata County
Phone-970-247-5960 X25
Email shannonb@ecclaplata.org or call toll free: 1-877-338-CARE
Shannon does consultation and assistance for persons looking to become Colorado licensed home child care providers.

Early Childhood Health Integration

The Early Childhood Council of La Plata County received a three year Health Integration grant from the Colorado Trust.  The purpose of this grant is to increase the number of children who receive a Medical Home or coordinated care approach to their health care and to increase access to preventive oral and medical health care. The grant activities includes four projects:

1.  Creating a comprehensive, bilingual database of early childhood services available in La Plata County for children 0-8 years of age called SWConnect.org;

2.  Increasing collaboration among early childhood service providers through the development and support of the Pediatric Health Care Home Coalition;

3.  Increasing access to preventive and primary care through a Sliding Scale Fee or Discounted Care program for uninsured and underinsured children of La Plata County called the CARES program (www.laplataCARES.org); and

4.  Medical Access Voucher Program for children of La Plata County who are unable to afford needed care.

For more information on this program, contact Angela Atkinson, Health Integration Coordinator, aatkinson@centurytel.net, 970-946-5261 (cell). 

Consumer Education Materials

Finding the right child care program for your kids can be an overwhelming process.  To help, The Working Your Way through the Child Care Maze publication is a tool for parents to use when searching for quality child care.  In partnership with Bright Beginnings Colorado, this publication includes information about types of child care, licensing information, why quality child care is important, questions to ask child care providers, and much more. It is emailed or mailed with every childcare referral. You can download the entire publication at www.qualistar.org/parents/maze.php.

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