ECCLA Funded for Back to Work Program through Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative

ECCLA is a proud recipient of the Colorado Opportunity Scholarship Initiative (COSI), supporting the Back to Work Early Childhood Education Scholarship Program! Our efforts will focus on recruiting displaced workers into the early care and education field in Colorado. 

Early childhood professionals are the workforce behind Colorado’s workforce, and our early childhood workforce is facing pressures like never before as classrooms close due to shortages and the cost of providing care. Prior to the pandemic, 70 percent of programs reported challenges in finding qualified staff, and since the pandemic began over 10 percent of child care professionals report they will not return to the field (Early Milestones Colorado). The Back to Work Program will help rebuild the pipeline of early childhood professionals supporting our families and children to thrive.

Building on and working with ECCLA’s existing T.E.A.C.H. Colorado Scholarship Program, the Back to Work program will provide a model for recruiting displaced workers into the early childhood field and helping them to obtain the education and certification needed to access higher paying early care and education jobs. 

Keep an eye out as we share more information soon!