Providers

Kids First supported childcare programs and the people who work with young children since 1992. We are proud the childcare facilities in Pitkin County have more resources than would be available without the City of Aspen sales tax that funds Kids First and most of our services.

 

Kids First is located in the Yellow Brick Building on Garmisch Street in Aspen. Each of our direct and indirectly funded program areas was developed to meet a specific goal such as childcare quality, affordability, or capacity. Please look at some of the pages listed on the left side of this page to find out more about the grants, incentives, and financing offered through Kids First. We can also give you information about professional development opportunities and T.E.A.C.H. scholarships to take ECE classes. We have posted the form that provides us with updates about your program so that we can offer more accurate and up to date referrals to families who are looking for childcare.

 

We at Kid First know that caring for young children every day is both extremely gratifying and important; but that it is also demanding work that is not rewarded in our culture at the level that it should be. Please contact us if you have questions after you have looked at the information on our website.

 

Bottom-Up View of Quality

 

In her article, "Looking at the Quality of Early Childhood Programs," in our CD Book, Taking Stock: Tools and Strategies for Evaluating Programs, Directors, Teachers and Children, Lilian Katz observes...

 

"The characteristics of a program that really predict its outcome are the answers to the bottom-up question, which is:  What does it feel like to be a child in this environment?

 

"Obtaining answers to this question is not easy!  It requires making the very best guess one can about how each individual child in this group experiences the program.  We can proceed by asking about the environment on behalf of each child:


 

Is it welcoming rather than merely captivating?
Do I belong in the group rather than merely have a goo d time?
Am I usually accepted by adults rather than scolded?
Am I taken seriously rather than just precious or cute?
Am I usually accepted by some peers rather than isolated, neglected, or rejected?
Are the activities meaningful rather than mindless?
Are the activities engaging rather than amusing?
Are the activities interesting rather than boring?
Do I usually come here willingly rather than reluctantly?

"It seems to me that only when answers to most of these questions are positive can we assume that the quality of the program is worthy of our children."

 

Disaster Preparation guides are available to assist child care centers and family home childcare providers on disaster preparedness.

 

Emergency Planning Forms: the following user-friendly forms offer templates for child care providers and others to use to fully prepare for disasters.

 

Contact Kids First, your local resource and referral agency, if you have questions or would be interested in a training for you and your staff on disaster preparedness: 970-920-5363 - kids_first@ci.aspen.co.us.