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Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper announced the creation of an Office of Early Childhood (OEC) on June 7, 2012. The new office will bring together seven early childhood programs that currently exist in four different divisions of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), allowing for greater collaboration and coordination both at the state-level and between the state and local communities delivering services.

The OEC will have responsibility over:
• Child care licensing,
• Child care quality initiatives,
• Colorado child care assistance program,
• The state’s 30 early childhood councils,
• Early childhood mental health consultation,
• Early Intervention Colorado Program (Part C), and
• Promoting Safe and Stable Families.

By consolidating early childhood programs into one office, the state hopes to increase information sharing, reduce red tape, and improve the quality of all early childhood programs. Though they will not be part of the OEC, the Head Start State Collaboration Office and the Early Childhood Leadership Commission will physically move to CDHS to make it easier for staff to work together to meet the needs of Colorado’s young children. The OEC is expected to begin operations as soon as August 2012.

For more information about the OEC, visit www.colorado.gov.