For decades, Colorado has been recognized as a leader in innovative early childhood systems, building strong cross-sector partnerships to effectively serve the diverse needs of the state’s children and families. Using data and research to guide the work of Colorado’s early childhood leaders, Child Trends has been a longstanding evaluation partner supporting these efforts through various projects, including:
- Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation
- Building Evidence for UPK Learning Goals and Quality Standards
- Independent Evaluation of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood
- Colorado Shines Evaluation and Validation Study
- Family Child Care Home Network Program Evaluation, El Paso County Colorado
- Evaluation of Colorado’s Early Childhood Councils
Through rigorous research and close collaboration, Child Trends provides actionable insights that help early childhood leaders make decisions about investments in Colorado’s early childhood mixed delivery system for the benefit of Colorado’s children, families, and early educators.
Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation (2025 -present)
Project Team: Doré LaForett, Rachel Abenavoli, Gabriella Guerra, Emily Maxwell, Jessica Conway, Sarah Daily
In 2020, Colorado voters passed Proposition EE to improve access to high-quality preschool and ensure that all Colorado children are ready for kindergarten. Colorado House Bill 22-1295 established the Colorado Universal Preschool Program, providing all 4-year-olds and qualifying 3-year-olds in Colorado with access to preschool for at least 10 hours a week. Launched by the new Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), the program welcomed its first cohort of children in Fall 2023.
Child Trends partnered with Early Milestones Colorado, Early Years Forward, and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab at the University of Denver to lead a mixed-method process evaluation study to examine the implementation of the Colorado Universal Preschool Program. Current process evaluation efforts involve collecting and analyzing data from families, early care and education providers, local coordinating organizations, state leaders, other partners, and administrative data to provide information on:
- Program foundation: Governance, infrastructure, and funding
- Program launch: Communication, enrollment process, and provider-level program delivery
- Program participation: Enrollment among providers and families and the degree to which the program meets their needs
- Cross-cutting themes: Implementation successes and challenges, sustainability, and equity
This multi-year evaluation will help CDEC continuously improve the Colorado Universal Preschool Program, inform policy changes related to the program, meet legislative reporting requirements, and share information with community partners and program participants.
- SFY25 REPORT: Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation. Executive Summary
- SFY25 REPORT: Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation
Building Evidence for UPK Learning Goals and Quality Standards (2025 – present)
Project Team: Kelly Maxwell, Rowan Hilty, Zipi Diamond
As part of the Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation Contract, Child Trends is also reviewing and summarizing research to inform CDEC’s efforts to strengthen quality standards and other components to promote the learning goals of the Colorado Universal Preschool Program.
Independent Evaluation of the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (2025)
Project Team: Sarah Daily, Silvana Esposito Hackett, Shana Rochester
In 2022, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB22-1295, which established Colorado’s Universal Preschool Program, formally operationalized the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), and required an independent evaluation of CDEC’s operations by November 1, 2025. The evaluation was designed to assess how effectively CDEC has advanced a more coherent and coordinated early childhood system, as directed by statute. Child Trends partnered with Watershed Advisors and worked with an advisory committee and staff at CDEC to complete key tasks for this evaluation.
- Colorado Department of Early Childhood Releases Independent Evaluation Report Highlighting Progress and Opportunities to Strengthen Early Childhood Systems | Colorado Department of Early Childhood
Colorado Shines Evaluation and Validation Study (2015 – 2017)
Point of contact: Sarah Daily
Supported by a Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge grant, Colorado developed Colorado Shines, a statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) launched in 2015 to assess and improve the quality of early childhood education programs. A 2015–2017 validation study evaluated early implementation, stakeholder perceptions, outreach and participation, and the effectiveness of quality improvement supports, as well as the validity and reliability of the rating system. Using surveys, interviews, and classroom observations, the study assessed whether Colorado Shines produces fair, accurate, and meaningful quality ratings and supports children’s development and school readiness.
Family Child Care Home Network Program Evaluation, El Paso County Colorado (2017-2019)
Project Team: Sarah Daily and Ashley Hirilall
Child Trends conducted a two-year evaluation of the Home Network Program, led by the Early Connections Learning Centers (ECLC), which supports Family Child Care Home (FCCH) providers in El Paso County, Colorado through coaching, training, professional development, and financial incentives. Serving 35 providers from 2017 to 2019, the Home Network Program aimed to strengthen provider credentials, quality ratings, and partnerships with Early Head Start/Head Start. The study (submitted as an internal report to the client) examined program implementation, provider and family perceptions, and outcomes associated with the Home Network’s quality improvement model, using surveys, coaching feedback, family input, and child assessment data from Teaching Strategies GOLD.
Tri-Annual Evaluation of Colorado’s Early Childhood Councils (2016)
Project Team: Sarah Daily and Meg Bredeson
Established in 2007, Colorado’s Early Childhood Councils were created to strengthen the quality, accessibility, capacity, and affordability of early childhood services statewide. To meet statutory requirements for a triennial evaluation, Child Trends partnered in 2016 with what was then known as the Office of Early Childhood in the Colorado Department of Human Services to assess the councils’ performance and the state’s progress toward a cohesive early childhood system. Using a comprehensive, multi-method “360-degree” approach that incorporated perspectives from councils, community partners, providers, and state staff, the evaluation examined system strengths, funding alignment opportunities, barriers to high-quality service delivery, and the impact of key policies providing actionable insights to inform continued system improvement across Colorado.