Colorado

The training in this category are accepted by the Colorado Department of Human Services towards the 15 clock hours of training required for those who work in child care centers, family child care homes and school age centers.

What is Colorado Shines?

Colorado Shines is the central resource for early childhood educators, trainers, and programs that are intended for young children in Colorado. Colorado Shines provides a Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for early learning programs. This QRIS program aims to rate the quality of Colorado’s licensed childcare and preschool program, help programs to continue to improve the quality of services that they provide, and show perspective families programs that are committed to quality.

Colorado Shines approves high quality courses for early childhood professionals to advance their knowledge and ultimately improve their center’s quality rating. Colorado Shines allows early childcare providers to search and register for in person and online training courses. Colorado Shines accepts training certificates from AIR Child Care Training Solutions professional development courses.

Colorado Childcare Training Tools

While there are many great tools available to childcare professionals, here are two that we’ve found to be very useful.

The Course Catalogin Colorado Shines allows users to search for early childhood development trainings provided by the state of Colorado. Users can sign up for courses on Colorado Shines.

The Scholarships Tab in Colorado Shines provides resources for early childhood professional looking for assistance in paying for professional development.

How many clock hours of professional development is needed in Colorado?

According to the Colorado Department of Human Services Child Care Facility Licensing, each child care center must have a staff professional development plan that includes a minimum of fifteen (15) clock hours of annual training for all staff members. A minimum of three hours must be completed within the area of social emotional development.