Consultative Roles Resource Hub
In Colorado, early childhood
consultants play a pivotal role in enhancing the quality of care provided to children from prenatal to age five. These professionals, deeply ingrained in early childhood, offer individualized and research-based technical assistance that bolsters skills, knowledge, and confidence, thereby fostering a nurturing, healthy, and safe environment for young children to grow and thrive.
Child Care Aware and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) define technical assistance as “targeted and customized supports by a professional(s) with subject matter and adult learning knowledge and skills to develop or strengthen processes, knowledge application or implementation of services by recipients” (2023). Coaching and consulting live underneath the “technical assistance” umbrella.
Early Childhood Professionals in consultative roles include a diverse array of specialists, each bringing their unique expertise to support different facets of early care and education. This includes professionals like coaches, mental health consultants, early intervention specialists, infant toddler specialists, licensing specialists, and much more.
Are you a coach, consultant, or other professional under the consultative roles or technical assistance umbrella?
You’re invited to join us for a full day of free professional development and networking!
Learn more and RSVP for a Consultative Roles Convening in your region.
Consultative Roles Community Event Calendar
About the Calendar
This shared community calendar was created to create awareness of events happening across Colorado for early childhood professionals in consultative roles. The purpose is to promote cohesiveness and to aid in the mindful scheduling of events.
- For questions about specific events, please reach out to the host or facilitator. That information can be found by clicking on the event.
- To report an error, please reach out to Sarah Roberts at the Colorado Department of Early Childhood.
- Please fill out this form to submit an event. If you have issues with the form or need to make edits to your submission, please reach out to Enola Garland at ECCLA.
Resources and Tools
| Resource | Author/Publisher | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scholarships and Grants from ECCLA | Early Childhood Council Leadership Alliance | ECCLA offers scholarships for educators, administrators, and early childhood consultants and specialists. |
| Careers in Early Care & Education Directory with Colorado appendix | ECCLA and TEACH National | An overview of the different roles and careers in early childhood education |
| Early Childhood Educator Career Navigation Toolkit | Denver’s Early Childhood Council, Early Childhood Partnership of Adams County, and Joint Initiatives for Youth + Families/Alliance for Kids | A toolkit containing examples, tools, and models for creating Career Navigator positions |
| Early Childhood Coaching in Colorado | ECCLA | A resource explaining the different models of early childhood coaching and accepted coaching programs in Colorado. |
| Earning an Early Childhood Professional Credential and Working in Early Education Resource Tree | Denver's Early Childhood Council | A guide to earning an Early Childhood Professional Credential (ECPC) and working in the Early Care and Education profession, featuring key components and resources for professional development, education, and experience in early childhood. |
| Resources for Early Childhood Navigators | ECCLA | A list of resources created by ECCLA for Early Childhood Career Navigators |
| TEACH Colorado | TEACH Colorado | Agency offering career navigation and scholarships for individuals interested in a career in early childhood. This program is different than ECCLA’s TEACH Early Childhood® Colorado, a licensed program of Child Care Services Association (CCSA). |
| My Colorado Journey | Colorado Department of Labor and Employment, Colorado Department of Higher Education, Colorado Workforce Development Council, Colorado Department of Human Services | Career Navigation resources |
| Resource | Author/Publisher | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Association for Infant Mental Health (CoAIMH) | Colorado Department of Early Childhood | Nonprofit statewide membership network for consultative roles specializing in infant and early childhood mental health |
| Colorado Early Childhood Coaching Resources | Colorado Department of Early Childhood | Coaching tools and resources, including information about earning a Colorado Coach Credential |
| Colorado Early Childhood Coach & Consultant Network | Colorado Early Childhood Coach & Consultant Network | Nonprofit membership network offering a directory and professional development |
| Nebula Early Childhood Collaborative | Nebula Early Childhood Collaborative | Nonprofit grassroots collaborative offering professional development, reflective supervision, leadership and business coaching, and empowerment groups |
| Tools from the Art of Coaching | Bright Morning | Resources from The Art of Coaching (2013) by Elena Aguilar |
| Free Courses from Horizons in Learning | Horizons in Learning | Free Courses from Constant Hine of Horizons in Learning on topics like transformational coaching and resiliency |
| Resource | Author/Publisher | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Nature and Outdoor Resources | Early Childhood Health Outdoors | Collection of resources promoting outdoor activities and nature exploration for young children. |
| Colorín Colorado | Colorín Colorado | Bilingual website providing resources and support for educators and families of English language learners. |
| Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (CSEFEL) | CSEFEL | Organization dedicated to promoting the social and emotional development and school readiness of young children. |
| Resource | Author/Publisher | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Small Business Development Center Network | Colorado Small Business Development Center | Colorado SBDC Network offers training, consulting, and resources for small businesses. |
| Early Learning Program Leadership, Management, and Administration Resource Library | McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership | Resource library of articles and tools to support program leaders and administrators in topics such as management, leadership, and DEI. |
| ECE Substitute Workforce Program | Early Learning Ventures | Early Learning Ventures is currently partnering with two licensed Substitute Placement Agencies to meet these needs through this pilot program. |
| Free ECE Shared Services Platform | Early Learning Ventures | Free business resources for early childhood programs in Colorado |
Consulting Essentials for Early Childhood Professionals (Training)
Consulting Essentials for Early Childhood Professionals
Starting and Sustaining Your Consulting Business
ECCLA is excited to provide Consulting Essentials for Early Childhood Professionals, a training offering essential guidance and resources to help early childhood professionals successfully launch and manage their consulting businesses. This training includes self-paced formats in English, Spanish, and Arabic, a video walkthrough in English, and downloadable PDFs in English, Spanish, and Arabic.
Instructions: Use the left and right arrows at the bottom right of the presentation window to move forward to the next slide or back to a previous slide. Click the 3 stacked dots to enter full screen.
Instrucciones: Utiliza las flechas izquierda y derecha en la esquina inferior derecha de la ventana de la presentación para avanzar a la siguiente diapositiva o retroceder a una diapositiva anterior. Haz clic en los tres puntos apilados para entrar en pantalla completa.
التعليمات: استخدم الأسهم اليمنى واليسرى في الزاوية السفلية اليمنى من نافذة العرض للتنقل إلى الشريحة التالية أو العودة إلى الشريحة السابقة. انقر على النقاط الثلاث المكدسة للدخول إلى وضع الشاشة الكاملة.
Consultative Roles Group History
In 2020, following the Preschool Development Grants, the Consultative Roles group was formed under the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). Due to funding constraints, ownership of the group shifted, and external consultants were brought in to help facilitate the work.
The group’s primary focus has been to bring together the technical assistance (TA) continuum in Colorado, fostering connections across consultative roles and building a stronger, more integrated system.
Last fiscal year, the group organized the first Consultative Roles conference and developed a 3-page summary document to outline their goals and work. Although funding ended, there was a strong desire to continue the group’s work. As a result, ECCLA assumed responsibility for facilitating the group.
Many Early Childhood Councils serve as homes for consultative roles, and with the ongoing challenge of securing funding, the group is now exploring the next steps, particularly around sustaining and advancing coaching efforts and data and evaluation.