Background: In response to the impacts of COVID-19 on child care, in 2021 the Colorado legislature created four early childhood grant programs. One of these programs—the Community Innovation and Resilience for Care and Learning Equity (CIRCLE) Grant Program—was administered by Early Milestones Colorado in partnership with the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). Using temporary federal funding, the program invested nearly $23 million in community-led initiatives and awarded 226 grants focused on strengthening Colorado’s early childhood system
Many CIRCLE-funded projects focused on workforce issues that were intensified by the pandemic. As the original CIRCLE grants concluded, the Buell Foundation launched a targeted funding opportunity for workforce-focused grantees whose projects showed potential for broader, systems-level impact. As a byproduct of this funding opportunity and outcomes, the Buell Foundation and Early Milestones created and recently released a detailed report that summarizes key themes and lessons that emerged across the cohort of grantees.
Read here for a copy of the report Building a Resilient Early Childhood Workforce: Lessons Learned from CIRCLE Continuation Funding.
