Bilingual Licensing Specialists

The Need 

After English, Spanish is the most common language spoken in Colorado, with 12% of the state’s population speaking Spanish at home. This demonstrates a need for increased access to safe, quality child care options for Spanish-speaking communities, particularly considering that 91% of Colorado counties already have low capacity for providing care to infants and toddlers. Licensing provides the foundation for safety, health and quality in both indoor and outdoor early childhood environments, as licensed child care programs must meet and be monitored for compliance with numerous federal and state health and safety requirements. These requirements include comprehensive background checks; staff qualifications and training; and safe, developmentally appropriate equipment and materials. Licensed providers also can access resources to support quality, including mental health consultants, coaches and training through the Colorado Professional Development Information System (PDIS). 

In order to increase access for families to licensed, linguistically responsive child care options, Spanish-speaking providers must have access to linguistically accessible licensing support. 

The Strategy 

CDEC’s Bilingual Spanish Licensing Unit (BSLU) provides targeted technical assistance to license exempt Spanish-speaking providers who may be interested in obtaining a child care license. For this activity, CDEC’s Division of Early Learning Licensing & Administration (DELLA) hired three full-time staff to provide Spanish-language support during the licensing process. When a provider indicates that Spanish is their preferred language, BSLU specialists attend the standard strength-based licensing inspection to provide in-person linguistically responsive support. 

BSLU specialists also offer pre-licensing training in Spanish to support providers prior to seeking a license, and they assist with reviewing and translating public-facing documents to increase access to essential information for Spanish-speaking families. 

Key Outcomes and Learnings

Impact

The BSLU effectively supported the creation of 3261 linguistically-responsive child care slots statewide. One-third of these slots serve infants and toddlers.

As of December 2nd, 2024, 87 licensed programs have indicated Spanish is their preferred language. In addition, there are 32 pending Family Child Care Home applications submitted by exempt Spanish-speaking providers who are interested in becoming licensed. The BSLU provided the following services to these providers: 

• Completed 116 inspections to support providers whose language preference is Spanish 
• Facilitated 71 trainings in Spanish, including training for the Small Business Development Centers, Pre-Licensing Orientation training, ECC navigators and conferences 
• The Department is utilizing a Google Translation Hub to efficiently translate English documents to Spanish. The Spanish Style Guide can be loaded into the Translation Hub to ensure Spanish terminology is consistent across all communications.

The BSLU unit has been featured in two articles:

• https://www.chalkbeat.org/colorado/2024/01/25/colorado-child-care-licenses-provider-bilingual-support-bill/

• https://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/local/2023/05/30/favas-create-program-to-increase-spanish-speaking-child-care-options/70261449007/

Learning 

Developing trusted relationships with local community partners is essential to the BSLU's efforts to recruit Spanish-speaking providers to obtain a license. Establishing these connections and partnerships takes time, and the CDEC anticipates that as the BSLU becomes more known in these communities, there will be an increase in the number of providers seeking licensure. The BSLU is actively working with Family Child Care Home Navigators, early childhood councils, Providers Advancing School Outcomes (PASO), the Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition, La Cocina and Una Mano Una Esperanza to identify barriers to becoming licensed and to offer solutions for recruiting programs, including training and resources.