Support for Early Childhood Councils

The Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC) requires Early Childhood Councils to follow the process below when reviewing and approving TSQI Capital Improvement Requests in the SugarCRM system.  When an Early Childhood Council needs to approve a Capital Improvement Request in Sugar, they will receive an email with the Spending Request associated with the $0 Requisition that was created. This Spending Request will show as a "Pending Preapproval" status in Sugar. The Council Navigator/Grant Lead will use the steps below to review Capital Improvement requests for accurate documentation and to pre-approve and send to their Program Officer at the CDEC for final approval.  Please note- these projects must be linked to a Quality Improvement goal in the Program’s Colorado Shines Program Profile. 

*Please make sure that Vendors have pulled the proper permits and city inspections are completed prior to final payments being made on ANY projects requiring permits and inspection.  Here is a resource to help you figure out which Capital Improvement Projects might require Permits/City Inspections*

Click here for a video of the Capital Improvement training refresher course!

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The Capital Improvement Application period is July 1, 2022 - March 31, 2023. Projects and spending must be completed by June 30,2023.  While all of the documentation listed below may not be required in Sugar at the time of approval (depending on the Payment to Type Selected in ecConnect), all documentation listed below must be attached to the Spending record in Sugar before the end of the grant cycle, June 30th, 2023.  

**Minor vs major improvement-Major renovation means: (1) structural changes to the foundation, roof, floor, exterior or load-bearing walls of a facility, or the extension of a facility to increase its floor area; or (2) extensive alteration of a facility such as to significantly change its function and purpose, even if such renovation does not include any structural change**

*Please Note: The eligibility criteria below pertain only to TSQI Funding and the Capital Improvement funding is now available to programs yearly: 

The Requirements for TSQI Capital Improvement Funding are as follows:

• Programs must have classrooms that are licensed for infants/toddlers (age 29 months or younger) and the Capital Improvement Project must benefit or expand the capacity for Infant and Toddler Care within those classrooms.
• Program is a Level 2 or higher
• Has an active CCAP fiscal
• Provider has an active TSQI MOU with Council

The Maximum QI request amount is $7,500.00.  Possible Capital Improvement Project Include but are not limited to:

• Gates and fencing
• Impact absorbing playground materials
• Access and egress improvements
• Safety-approved playground equipment and structures - must be permanent
• Minor modifications to infant/toddler classroom layout, and Physical safety improvements
• Opening a new infant or toddler classroom
• Roofing/flooring

Step 1)  Log in to Sugar and navigate to the Capital Improvement Spending record - It   will be named "Funding Stream- Council Abbreviation-Site Abbreviation- Spending" (make sure you are looking at the Spending record, not the Requisition record.  If you see the little "Sp" box in the corner of the record, you are in the correct place). 

Example: TSQI23-DTESTECC-BILL-4007 - Spending 

Step 2) Carefully review the following documents in the SugarCRM system - (You can find the documents under the Notes Section of the Spending Request).

• 3 detailed bids from the Vendor or Vendors Program wants to use (In very special cases you may work with your CDEC Program Officer to obtain two bids.  This will be decided on a case by case basis) 
• A Before Picture
• Because numerous types of jobs in Colorado do not require a licensed contractor (small things like landscaping, replacing flooring, etc), as long as the contractor has a business license in good standing and the ECC ensures all requirements of the municipality are met (city/county, HOA, etc) that would be all they would need to enter into an agreement to have the work completed.  However if the project will require permitting we will require a valid Contractor License and insurance (liability included) related to the work being performed.  NO exceptions. 

*NOT REQUIRED BUT HIGHLY ENCOURAGED: Bonding information for Selected Bid. (More information on what this is and how to get https://smallbusiness.chron.com/request-insurance-bonding-contractor-80071.html)  Here is a good website for Bonding, as well as definition of what we are looking for if Programs chose to include bonding info: https://bizfluent.com/about-5295907-bonding-construction.html 

“Construction bonding is a risk management tool used to protect project owners and developers. A bond constitutes a legal guarantee that the project will be completed as expected. In instances where a bonded contractor fails to perform, the bonding company will provide some form of restitution to the owner.”

• If the Program wants to have the approved project completed, pay for it out of their own personal/operating budget (not State funded QI Dollars), and request reimbursement upon completion of the Capital Improvement Project (payable to type ="Child Care Site (Reimbursement)") the site would also be required to provide these additional documents (in addition to the documents required for approval):

• An Invoice to show the work was completed and paid. A RECEIPT AND PROOF OF PAYMENT MUST BE SUBMITTED (ex. a credit card statement showing the charge or a copy of the canceled check- See checklist HERE for more details on what this could look like)
• An “After Photo” of the work

Step 3) On the "Spending Summary" tab, use the Actions field to select "Submit to Program Manager/Grant Lead for Preapproval" then SAVE! (this will send an email to the Grant Lead at your Council, letting them know they should review the spending request):

Once the Navigator submits the request to the Grant Lead for Pre-Approval, the Status will change to “Pending Preapproval for Manual Order '' and the Message from sugar will say “ Successes, you have Submitted the Request to the Program Manager for Preapproval”.  If your role is specifically "Navigator" in this process, you are DONE.  

Grant Lead - please follow the steps below to pre-approve the Capital Improvement Request:

Step 1) Log into Sugar and navigate to the Spending request.  

Step 2) Fill in your Statement of Support (New Requirement) - There is a new field that says “Does the ECC attest that the program has classrooms that are licensed for infants/toddlers (age 29 months or younger) and that this capital improvement spending will directly support program goals of increasing or affecting the Infant/Toddler care within those classrooms?”” with a Y/N drop down option.  The Grant Lead will select YES, and in the dialogue box labeled “explanation of how this Capital Improvement Request meets the Provider's goals” the Grant Lead will write an detailed explanation of how this request will support program goals of increasing or affecting the Infant/Toddlers care within the Program:

Step 3) Carefully review the following documents in the SugarCRM system - (You can find the documents under the Notes Section of the Spending Request).

• 3 detailed bids from the Vendor or Vendors Program wants to use (In very special cases you may work with your CDEC Program Officer to obtain two bids.  This will be decided on a case by case basis) 
• A Before Picture
• Because numerous types of jobs in Colorado do not require a licensed contractor (small things like landscaping, replacing flooring, etc), as long as the contractor has a business license in good standing and the ECC ensures all requirements of the municipality are met (city/county, HOA, etc) that would be all they would need to enter into an agreement to have the work completed.  However if the project will require permitting we will require a valid Contractor License and insurance (liability included) related to the work being performed.  NO exceptions. 

**NOT REQUIRED BUT HIGHLY ENCOURAGED: Bonding information for Selected Bid. (More information on what this is and how to get https://smallbusiness.chron.com/request-insurance-bonding-contractor-80071.html) **

• If the Program wants to have the approved project completed, pay for it out of their own personal/operating budget (not State funded QI Dollars), and request reimbursement upon completion of the Capital Improvement Project (payable to type ="Child Care Site (Reimbursement)") the site would also be required to provide these additional documents (in addition to the documents required for approval):

• An Invoice to show the work was completed and paid. A RECEIPT AND PROOF OF PAYMENT MUST BE SUBMITTED (ex. a credit card statement showing the charge or a copy of the canceled check- See checklist HERE for more details on what this could look like)
• An “After Photo” of the work

Step 4) Use the Actions field to select "Pre Approved and Notify Navigator to Place Order" then SAVE!  

This will send an email to your CDEC Program Officer to let them know the request is ready for them to review and approve.

Please Note: If the amount of the request changes after the Program Officer at CDEC approves the order, Sugar will prevent the Council from continuing the approval process and will send an email to the Program Officer, cc'ing the QI Navigator/Council Staff, requesting that the Program Officer approve the change.   

The Program Officer at CDEC then needs to open the Spending record, review the change and if appropriate, update the "Approved by Program Officer" field to "Yes". Doing so will result in another email to the QI Navigator/Council Staff, cc'ing the Program Officer, saying that the change has been approved and the QI Navigator/Council Staff can proceed.