In Jan. 2003, the El Paso County Department of Human Services was awarded a three-year grant from the Colorado Department of Human Services to better prepare children, from infant to 5 years old, for success when they enter public schools. The School Readiness Child Care Subsidization Program divided a $6 million award to 14 counties for early learning child-care sites serving children in low-performing elementary school neighborhoods. The grant, authorized by Colorado House Bill 1297, runs through the end of 2005.”How well a child does in high school and beyond, in many ways, depends on how well they were prepared for kindergarten and grade school,” said Barbara Drake, Director of El Paso County Department of Human Services, “We want the doors kept open for our children to succeed by having them ready to learn when they enter school.”Forty child-care sites, located near schools in El Paso County seeking to improve their performance on the Colorado School Report Card (School Accountability Report) were selected after meeting the local plan’s criteria and agreeing to improve the quality of their combined 106 classrooms. These 40 sites are also involved with the low-income childcare program (CCCAP), and at least 50 percent of the children served come from low-income families.
