Because of the growing economy in the Denver/Boulder area in recent years, child care centers were experiencing high staff turnover - as high as 65% at some centers. The result for the working families moving into the area was poor quality of care and unstable care arrangements. An indirect result of these unstable care arrangements was lost time, as few emergency/backup care options existed. Parents also expressed their concern about the lack of enriching programs for their school-age children. And in the wake of the Columbine High School shooting, parents were also concerned about violence and its effect on their children.

To address the issues of staff turnover and quality of care, the ABC implemented several training initiatives to help care providers with professional development, thus curbing staff turnover at child care centers. A series of math and science curriculum enhancement initiatives helped to bring enriching program content to school-age programs in the community. The ABC's conflect resolution program, Adventures in Peacemaking, had been done at several programs, and as a result of the violence issue that is of concern to parents, this program will be repeated again in 2000 at pre-school and school-age programs.

Funding Companies

AT&T
BP Amoco
Charles Schwab & Co. Inc.
Citibank, N.A.
Deloitte & Touche
IBM Corporation
Local Funder
Lucent Technologies
Texaco Inc.

Projects

Early Childhood
Caring for Infants and Toddlers for Child Care Centers
NAEYC Facilitated Accreditation for Child Care Centers
Preschool Adventures in Peacemaking
Preschool Science
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Project
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Project for Family Child Care Providers
Accreditation/Credential for Family Child Care Providers
Activity Kits for Family Child Care Providers
Close to Home Care Program
CORE Basic Competency Curriculum for Family Child Care Providers
Advanced CORE Curriculum Training for Family Child Care Providers
Family Child Care Clusters
Mentoring for Family Child Care Providers
Accreditation/Credential for Family Child Care Providers

School-Age
Training/Lecture Series for Family Child Care Providers
The Bridge Project
Grants Fund
Scholarships
Adventures in Peacemaking
Hands-On Science Training
Summer Camp
Summer of Service

Backup
Backup Dependent Care Registry
Backup Dependent Care Subsidy
Just In Time Care (JITC)
Mildly Ill Conference

Elder Care
Escorted Transportation
Meals on Wheels Expansion
SeniorNet Computer Learning Center
Volunteer In-Home Services Program Expansion