Universal Pre-K - Joint Initiatives

Universal Pre-K

A Local Coordinating Organization (LCO), as identified in HB22-1295, is a community agency or organization responsible for supporting local access and equitable delivery of early childhood and family support programs. An LCO fosters partnerships, creates alignment, and establishes a comprehensive, locally supported plan for providing early childhood and family support programs equitably. Joint Initiatives has been selected as El Paso County’s LCO and is excited to provide this hub of information while serving as a liaison between families, the local early childhood system, and the state.

What’s the plan for our community?

View the DRAFT Community Plan HERE

UPK resources + Supports

🌐 VISIT THE NEW FAMILY UPK PAGE HERE 

▶ Visit the CDEC UPK web page HERE.

For Families

For Providers

UPK NEWS + events

The UPK Provider Handbook is Your Friend!

The UPK Provider Handbook is kept up to date by CDEC and can always be found HERE.  If you have a question, the provider handbook is a great place to start!

View the Provider Guide HERE!

FINAL 2024-25 UPK Payments

📢 Click HERE for Update to Providers on 2024-25 Final UPK Payments

UPK expenditure reporting

The quarterly expenditure reporting for August through November 2024 and December 2024 through February 2025 is due on March 30, 2025.  Quarter Three reporting (March through May 2025) is due on June 30, 2025. For more information, see the resources and upcoming office hours.

2025-26 UPK SCHOOL YEAR + Rate INFORMATION

▶ 2025-26 UPK Calendar can be viewed HERE.

▶2025-26 UPK Rate Increases for Providers – Full Memo

2025-26 UPK Rates for El Paso County
  • Part-Day (10 hours per week; providers must offer a minimum of 360 hours per school year):  $4826.51 or $482.65 per month
  • Half-Day (15 hours per week; providers must offer a minimum of 450 hours per school year): $6085.60 or $608.56 per month
  • Full-day (30 hours per week; providers must offer a minimum of 900 hours per school year): $10,807.18 or $1,080.71 per month.
For a provider to be paid the half-day rate for a family who is eligible for 15 hours, the child must be enrolled in a half-day, full-day or extended-day program. For a provider to be paid the full-day rate for a family who is eligible for 30 hours of UPK, the child must be enrolled in a full- or extended-day program.
 

2025-26 UPK REGISTRATION FOR PROVIDERS

  • Provider Registration: UPK Registration for providers has started and is ongoing.  If you are not currently a UPK provider but wish to become one, please reach out to Noreen (nglt@mac.com or at 719-338-7223) to get more information about the registration process.
  • Seat Adjustments for 2025-26: If you need to increase your seats for 2025-26, you can do that on your own by following the instructions in the Provider Handbook. Any seat reductions need to be submitted to Noreen at nglt@mac.com.

2025-26 UPK REGISTRATION FOR FAMILIES

2025-26 Family Registration is OPEN!

General Family Registration

  • Non-IEP children/families are able to enroll for UPK through May of 2026 through the direct enrollment process. Instructions for direct enrollment are included in the provider handbook.

IEP Registration

  • December 2024 through the end of the 2025-26 school year: As families whose children have IEPs submit their applications starting in December, they are assigned to an AU. Starting in January 2025, the AU can place the student into a program using the Program ID through the AU Portal.
  • March 2025 through the end of the 2025–26 school year: Special Education Administrative Units (AUs) and school districts will request placement of students in accordance with their IEPs and CDEC will support direct upload of those identified placements. Providers will accept matches within 2 weeks of receiving a match; families will have until the start of the school year to accept matches.

Please see the UPK calendar linked above for more information about specific dates.

Minimum Number of Hours Required per program per year

When you are planning your calendar for the 2025-26 year, please use the guidance on Page 7 of the Provider Handbook as the minimum number of hours that you must offer per program.

CDEC OFFICE HOURS + RESOURCES

▶ Click HERE to view May Updates.

To accommodate simultaneous translation, provider office hours have been moved to Zoom. (Previous links were Google Meet.)

  • Still need additional assistance? 
    Please contact Noreen Landis-Tyson at nglt@mac.com or call 719-338-7223.

PROVIDER AGREEMENT UPDATES + Office hours

Some significant changes have been proposed in the Provider Agreement for the coming year. . It is critical that you read Appendix A of the agreement. 

The state will be holding office hours every other Thursday (beginning May 8th)  from 2–3 pm through July concerning the Provider Agreement. (Office hours cancelled for April 24th.)

Roundtables for Early Childhood Providers

▶ May Roundtable Recording HERE

Joint Initiatives offers Roundtables to keep early childhood providers informed about guidance from the Colorado Department of Education (CDEC), provide time for Q+A, and provide expert business consultation and training. Roundtables for previous months are in the Resources section at the bottom of the page. You can also access all Roundtable videos for centers, family child care, and school districts on JI’s YouTube channel PLAYLIST.  

▶ March Roundtable Recording HERE | March Roundtable Slides HERE

▶ February 2025 Roundtable Slides HERE

Past Newsletters + Updates

This section contains past UPK Updates which contain information shared by Noreen Landis-Tyson in direct emails. 

marketing

your program

Keep your profile up to date!  

JI’s webinar/roundtable to support providers in setting up their profiles to attract as many families as possible is now available.  If you need one-on-one assistance to address any points covered in the presentation, please contact Noreen at nglt@mac.com or 719-338-7223.

▶View Marketing Training Presentation Slides HERE

▶ Marketing Training Video

There is also a section in the Provider Handbook on Marketing your program that begins on page 49.  You can find the Provider Handbook HERE.

UPK FLYERS AVAILABLE:

JI has created flyers that can be used to hand out to parents.  You can download the flyer HERE (in English and Spanish) and print copies as needed.  If you would like copies delivered to your program for your use, please contact us at UPK@jointinitiatives.org and we will deliver them to you. 

upk quality standards

sign Up for rules notifications
visit the cdec upk web page
rules advisory committee page

DRAFT QUALITY STANDARDS

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) has released the Universal Preschool (UPK) Colorado Quality Standards designed to ensure that preschool services are both high quality to prepare children for kindergarten and accessible throughout the state across various provider types and program settings, including school-based, community-based, and home-based settings. The proposed UPK Quality Standards reflect statutory requirements, incorporate findings from comprehensive reviews of 26 national and Colorado-specific standards, and include input and feedback from Families, Providers, School Districts, Early Childhood Councils, and Early Childhood Community Members. 

The Rules Advisory Committee is considering a change to the quality standards implementation timelines to slow things down and be more intentional. It is very likely that implementation of all quality standards will be delayed until July 1, 2026, meaning that all providers will continue to adhere to licensing standards for the 2025-26 school year. We will let you know once that rule has been considered and implemented.

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