Early Childhood Resources for Denver Families

Conseil de la petite enfance de Denver provides information, training and support for child care programs and early childhood professionals in the City and County of Denver. The Council also offers a variety of resources for families, including tips on finding child care and helpful links to additional early childhood resources.

Denver Public Schools (DPS) is the largest school district in Colorado with more than 200 unique schools located throughout the city and county of Denver. You can search for schools based on your location, interests or name of the school on their School Finder tool. DPS’ Early Childhood Education programs provide preschool education for eligible 3-year-old and 4-year-old Denver children. DPS’ Child Find program provides early intervention services for Denver children who are between the ages of 3 and 5 years old (read the FAQs for more information about early intervention programs in Denver County). 

Le Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) is the state-run organization that supports Colorado’s youngest children by providing support to families and early childhood professionals. CDEC offers a variety of programs to support children and their caregivers, including: 

• Head Start and Early Head Start: programs and services for low-income families with children under the age of five. 
• Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP): child care assistance for low-income families that are working, searching for work, homeless or in school. 
• Early Intervention Colorado: support and services for families with children ages 0-2 who have developmental needs. 
• Raising Colorado’s Kids: An online resource for families to find early childhood resources and support in one location.

Colorado’s statewide quality rating and improvement system, Le Colorado brille offers a consistent way for families to search and compare childcare programs. Colorado Shines works with childcare and preschool providers to evaluate, improve and communicate the level of quality of their programs.

Overseen by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, École maternelle universelle du Colorado (UPK) provides up to 15 hours per week of free, voluntary preschool for Colorado families with 4-year-olds in the school year before they enter kindergarten. Colorado 3­ year-olds with qualifying factors, like an Individualized Education Plan (IEP), are low-income or have other risk factors, may also qualify for preschool support. For Denver families, Denver Preschool Program is your local contact for Colorado Universal Preschool. Visit our Colorado UPK page for more information. 

Providing age-appropriate text messages to parents and caregivers, Lanterne (formerly Bright by Text) makes it easy to stay current about children’s development. Lantern offers tips and local resources for children from birth until preteen.

Mile High United Way’s 2-1-1 Child Care Resource & Referrals multilingual specialists help Denver families make connections to child care resources. They can also connect families with financial assistance, housing support, food assistance and more.

This open-source, online tool aims to help families and organizations access tax credits, government programs and nonprofit programs. Created by Entreprises communautaires de Gary, MonAmiBen is easy to use and available for all Colorado residents.

Like the best early childhood education programs in Colorado, the best early childhood education centers in Denver can be evaluated based on a number of factors. The quality of the program is the most consistent measure used to evaluate early childhood centers in Denver. The Colorado Shines Quality Rating & Improvement System (QRIS) evaluates every licensed early childhood program in the state. In addition, personal preferences should factor into any family’s decision about an early childhood program. To find the best early childhood education center in Denver for your family, use our Trouver un outil pour l'école maternelle. You can compare programs, curriculum, hours of operation, Colorado Shines ratings and more.

Social media platforms like Facebook (check out Denver Moms et Denver Dads Group)  offer good opportunities for families to find parenting support groups specializing in early childhood in Denver. Milehighmamas.com, Macaroni Kid Denver, le City of Denver, Circle of Parents, the National Alliance on Mental Health, Denver Mom Collective et Psychology Today are also great resources for finding parent and family support groups in Denver.

There are many nonprofit organizations in Denver that support early childhood development. Mile High United Way’s 2-1-1 Child Care Resource & Referrals,  Conseil de la petite enfance de Denver et Raising Colorado’s Kids are great places to start when finding nonprofit organizations that focus on early childhood development.

There are a variety of mobile apps that can help Denver families access early learning resources. Check out Colorado Parent’s article, “7 Apps Every Parent Needs.” Mindful Mamas Club app is a self-care and mindfulness app. While not an app, MyLantern provides Denver families with age-specific, developmentally-appropriate tips for children from birth until preteen age. Raising Colorado’s Kids also offers great online resources and information for Denver families.

Denver Public Library offers a variety of early childhood literacy programs at many locations throughout Denver. Check out our blog post, Bibliothèque publique de Denver : espace et activités pour toutes les familles, à tout moment.” You can also search DPL’s calendar for upcoming events, storytimes and more for Little Learners (0-5).

Registration for early childhood care programs in Denver is typically through individual care providers. Search and find early childhood care programs based on your location, preferences and needs in our Trouver un outil pour l'école maternelle.

Online search tools like Google and early childhood care websites like Winnie often have reviews of early childhood care providers in Denver. Often, parent social media groups like those listed above can be good places to ask other families about their experience at early childhood care providers in Denver.

For children in Colorado ages 0-3 with developmental delays, an early intervention referral can be submitted online by anyone (a family member, parent, childcare provider, etc.). The early intervention evaluation is free, and children may automatically qualify for early invention services based on their evaluation. Learn more and submit an online early interventional referral. Rocky Mountain Human Services provides early intervention services for children ages 0-3 living in the City and County of Denver. 

Child Find through Denver Public Schools (DPS) provides screenings, support and services for children ages 3-5 (Preschool Child Find) and children 5-21 (School Age Child Find). Learn more on DPS’ Child Find website.

The first step of receiving early intervention services for infants in Denver, Colorado is submitting a referral. An early intervention referral can be submitted by anyone who is concerned about an infant or toddler in Denver, Colorado ages 0-3 with suspected developmental delays. After a referral is made, a free early intervention evaluation is conducted. As a result of that evaluation, children may automatically qualify for early invention services. For infants in Denver, Colorado, Rocky Mountain Human Services provides early intervention services for children ages 0-3 who qualify for support.

Many early childhood resource websites like dpp.org offer translated content on their websites. DPP also has a Bilingual-Spanish Preschool Navigator available to assist families. You can contact our bilingual preschool navigator by filling out this form. 

Colorín Colorado is an online platform focused on pre-kindergarten through 12th grade education for educators and families who are English language learners (ELLs). 

Denver Public Library offers a variety of resources and support in Spanish. 

PBS pour enfants des montagnes Rocheuses has many early childhood education resources in English and Spanish.

A Google search or web-based search can help you find various types of preschool programs, like Montessori or STEM-focused programs in Denver. Our Trouver un outil préscolaire can help you narrow down preschool program options by specific language instruction, location, hours of care, and financial assistance programs accepted (like Colorado Universal Preschool, Head Start, and CCCAP). Learn more about the types of preschool curricula and options for care in our blog post, “Not All Preschools Are the Same: Comparing Types of Preschools.”

A web-based search on a search engine like Google can help you find social-emotional learning preschool programs in Denver. Use our Trouver un outil préscolaire to find preschool programs based on location, hours of care,  specific language instruction, and financial assistance programs accepted, including CCCAP, Head Start, and Colorado Universal Preschool.