9/14/23 ECEA Child Care Update

If you are not a member, you will only receive ONE of these a month now and you will be missing out.

ECEA is a Statewide Trade Association. We are a member organization. We are not an echo chamber for the state. We elevate what we hear from our members. We have consistently highlighted strong programming from the state (as you can see from previous editions of our Update) but will not refrain from highlighting the concerns that exist for our membership. Our members include: licensed centers, family child care homes and school aged programs. We have "for profit", "non-profit" and "public" settings in membership with the understanding that our primary voice is for privately owned businesses. ECEA is not operating under state contracts so that we can clearly state our members concerns without fear of upsetting our funders. That is not the case for many organizations statewide. Our membership funds our advocacy work and our members are the drivers of what we say. We protect the confidentiality of our members because the majority fear retribution from the state for speaking out. Our membership steadily increases because programs are relieved to "finally have a voice". In fact, to date, not one child care program has contacted us to tell us that we are saying the wrong thing. We know that this can be uncomfortable voice in the room because it is unfamiliar, but we do believe that we can all work together to affect the best possible change for the industry statewide. We do not accept that program voices should not be elevated. If you have any questions/concerns about our program then call our Executive Director, Dawn Alexander at 303-860-7174.

ECEA Board President

is running for House Senate

Scott is a 3rd generation Child Care Business owner for the ABC Child Development Centers in Weld County with 24+ programs. He has spent his life, ensuring that Weld County families receive high quality child care that meets their families needs. Scott has been advocating with the state and has been a member of every board conceivable to elevate and protect the private industry. He currently serves on the Rules Advisory Council and the School Aged Program Task Force and is a member of the Weld County LCO Board. Here's what Scott had to say on his Instagram announcement:

"It’s Real! I’m running for Colorado Senate District 13. District 13 is the Hwy 85 corridor between Greeley and Brighton.

Gonna need a lot of help with this. Donation links will be active within a couple days. 1-I’m ready to iron out the mess that the Dept of Early Childhood got us in with Over-Promising and Under-Delivering, leaving Parents and Providers in a serious bind. 2-Parents need to have a recognized voice in the raising of their children. If they want to pass it on, we need to help provide the best options for their kids. 3-Get Your Hands Out of my Pockets! Do you feel like you’re being groped by the Colorado Government? Just stop the Madness already! It’s not yours to take! Colorado- if you took too much, put it back! Please consider assisting in any way you can to get Colorado back on track."

https://scottbrightcoloradosenate.com/

Even if you change back to the 2% to LEGALLY SURCHARGE, our new vendor will SAVE YOU MONEY!!! Example: A Credit Card Company charges 2.59% Legally Surcharge the 2% and absorb the .59% and the .35 cent transaction fee each week. At $250 a week that leave YOU PAYING $95.16 per paying customer a year. With ECEA's new vendor it only costs you $5 a month TOTAL but you MUST BE A MEMBER OF ECEA to receive this cost savings! If you are continuing to surcharge above the 2% you are PUTTING YOUR PROGRAM AT RISK because you are OPERATING IN OPPOSITION TO STATE LAW. Don't jeopardize your program when there is an easier solution available!

WAYS TO SAVE:

• Decrease payroll costs by up to 40%. If you do your own, save time (which is money) and have the HR professionals do the work of staying up on new employer requirements (FAMLI, Secure Savings, etc.) Get a year's free membership when you make the switch!

• Offer Credit Card processing that only costs you $60 a year. No more processing fees! It is worth an extra administrative step to pull these credit card payments out of your child care management system to process because it can save you tens of thousands of dollars!

• Employee Retention Credit (ERC) - If you operated during COVID in 2020, 2021 and haven't applied for this credit...do so NOW! We've helped programs get back MILLIONS of dollars with a reliable, dependable vendor who serves programs well!

• Homes get a FREE membership for a year when you get an insurance quote from our partner!

• Save $50 an hour on legal fees

• Save 15% with Kaplan Early Learning Company

• Save 10% on certified playground safety inspections

• Save 15% on certified radon inspections

• Access a FREE database for buyers/sellers so that you can sell your business quietly or expand your business where ever you like statewide.

• AND WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE WHAT WE HAVE PLANNED TO END PROPERTY TAXES FOR YOUR PROGRAM THIS LEGISLATIVE SESSION!!

If you are a member and want more details on any of these great benefits, join us anytime:

Drop in Office Hours

Monday-Friday

1-1:30 p.m.

meet.google.com/uwa-acpo-ebz

Phone Numbers

(‪US‬)‪+1 508-817-4123‬

PIN: ‪903 713 169#‬

If you are NOT a member yet, what are you waiting for? Strengthen our voice with your membership!

$50 - Family Child Care Home

$60 - School Aged Program

$200 - Small Child Care License

$250 - Large Child Care License

**Cost is per program. Discounts for 3+ additional programs. If you undercut your membership, you undercut your benefits and what can be accomplished statewide!

We even have month to month payment options:

Centers: $25 a month

SACCs: $20 a month for 4 months

Homes: reach out!

**Contact us for the payment link if you need this option.

OVER THE PAST MONTH WE HAVE GAINED 30 NEW MEMBERS!! We will be announcing those names in our MEMBERS ONLY WEEKLY UPDATE from here on out to protect their privacy.

Follow the link to join or copy and paste this:

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/d396226c-0daa-48a0-9d15-501530deb8e2

Change the platform donation amount to other and any amount you want...including zero!

Price will be $350

Pyramid Plus helps you to qualify Early Childhood Staff and to provide them with tangible resources and skills to operate an exceptional classroom that is socially/emotionally solid!

"The passion that you have makes it easy to stay engaged and to learn. Especially during an this long 45 hour online course. Thank you for being such an amazing Pyramid coach. Your passion has trickled down into my classroom planning, lessoning planning, and my communicate towards coworkers/families. This class is so invaluable with the amount of resources that you have given us." H.B.

Space is limited so sign up now and classes start NEXT WEEK!!

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/ticketing/8658588c-a1b5-4f44-862e-a14b107f0acc

State leaders promised that Colorado’s new preschool program would be high quality. Experts say it’s not. Word of Thanks - Early Childhood Service Corp on 9 News MEMBERS WE WILL GET YOU MORE NEWS STORIES IN NEXT WEEKS MEMBERS ONLY UPDATE!

Read the slides and watch this webinar here:

https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CODLE/bulletins/37031ba

HOMES: This means YOU!