Colorado Early Childhood Standards Crosswalk

There are three types of early childhood standards that should be aligned to produce the best results for young children: what programs should do to deliver quality services, what professionals should know and be able to do, and what children should know and be able to do. The Colorado Early Childhood Standards Crosswalk Database is a free online tool that compares several early childhood education program standards with Head Start Performance Standards and Colorado's "Building Blocks" for children. Note that these are standards most applicable to preschool, child care, and ECE programs.

Enter the database here

The following is a list of the organizations' standards included in the crosswalk.

• Head Start and Early Head Start
• Colorado Department of Education: Colorado Quality Standards (a.k.a. "Building Blocks")
• Colorado Department of Human Services: Rules for Child Care Facilities (a.k.a. Licensing)
• Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment: Rules & Regulations Governing the Sanitation of Child Care Centers
• Qualistar Early Learning
• National Association of Family Child Care (NAFCC)
• The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the American Public Health Association (APHA), and the National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care (NRC)
• National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)
• National Early Childhood Program Accreditation Standards (NECPA)

With this database users can compare nine categories of standards across the eight organizations. Each category of standards has additional sub-categories for a more detailed comparison. The categories of standards include:

• Early care and education
• Professional development
• Nutrition
• Program design and management
• Mental health
• Children with disabilities
• Health, safety and sanitation
• Transportation
• Family Partnerships

Smart Start Colorado is using this database to develop a shared set of core standards to guide our work. Others may want to use it to understand similarities and differences between various organizations or as a quick reminder of standards requirements across programs. It is NOT intended as a licensing or accreditation guide.

To get involved in our standards work, contact the co-chairs of the Outcomes & Evaluation Task Force.

Thank you to the Colorado Head Start Association for creating this database and for funding its development online.