Colorado Universal Preschool Process Evaluation (2025 – present)

Background

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 Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), the program welcomed its first cohort of children in fall 2023. By 2025, Colorado ranked third in the United States in public preschool access for 4-year-olds.

The Colorado Universal Preschool Program offers families a range of options within its mixed-delivery system, which includes licensed providers based in schools, programs in the community offering center-based care, or preschool services in family child care homes.

Evaluation Purpose and Goals

In 2025, CDEC contracted with Child Trends to independently evaluate the implementation of the Colorado Universal Preschool Program. Child Trends has partnered with Early Milestones Colorado, Early Years Forward, and the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab at the University of Denver to conduct evaluation activities.

Because the program is in its early stages of delivery, through this process evaluation we seek to learn how the program operates and about the participants’ experiences with the program.

The evaluation focuses on the following three areas:

Program foundation: to describe how the program was built. This includes the Colorado Universal Preschool Program’s governance model, infrastructure, and funding models.
Program launch: to describe how the program started. This includes communications about the Colorado Universal Preschool Program, how providers and families experience the application and enrollment process, and what program delivery looks like at the provider level.
Program participation: to describe the children, families, and providers who participate in the Colorado Universal Preschool Program. This includes the numbers and characteristics of program participants, patterns of participation across the state, and the range of subgroups families represent.

The evaluation also examines cross-cutting themes, such as successes and challenges experienced by the program so far, progress toward full and high-quality implementation of the program, and how well the program includes and responds to the needs of children, families, and providers across Colorado.

Watch the following videos for details on what we have learned from the evaluation so far:

English Videos

Spanish Captioned Videos

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Frequently Asked Questions about the Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation

This process evaluation will help CDEC continuously improve the Colorado Universal Preschool Program, inform policy changes, meet legislative reporting requirements, and share information with community partners and program participants.

Evaluation Methods and Data Sources

Over the course of this three-year evaluation, Child Trends is using a range of evaluation methods and data sources to ensure that our learning reflects an array of perspectives and experiences from those connected to the Colorado Universal Preschool Program. In addition to using existing administrative data, Child Trends is collecting information directly from families, early care and education providers, local coordinating organizations, state leaders, and other partners through interviews, focus groups, or surveys.

Evaluation Findings

SFY25 REPORT: Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation. Executive Summary

This report provides a detailed description of the purpose, methods, initial findings, and future consideration from Child Trends' process evaluation of the Colorado Universal Preschool Program.

SFY25 REPORT: Colorado Universal Preschool Program Process Evaluation

This brief executive summary provides initial high-level findings and considerations from Child Trends' process evaluation of the Colorado Universal Preschool Program.

Resources

Interested in how our evaluation findings are being used? Check out additional resources from the UPK Evidence-Building Hub by the Colorado Evaluation and Action Lab at the University of Denver.

Project Team

Principal Investigator/Project Director: Doré LaForett

Deputy Project Director: Rachel Abenavoli

Other project staff: Gabriella Guerra, Emily Maxfield, Jessica Conway, Katy Falletta, Claire Vansell

Senior Advisor: Sarah Daily

Early Childhood