> Tom Wolf, Governor Pedro Rivera, Acting Secretary of Education | Ted Dallas, Acting Secretary of Human Services Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships

>Tom Wolf, Governor Pedro Rivera, Acting Secretary of Education | Ted Dallas, Acting Secretary of Human Services

Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships

Early Head Start - Child Care PartnershipsEarly Head Start

Child Care Partnerships

Grant Overview



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Purpose:

To expand the continuum of services and enhance the network of supports for by meeting the following objectives for children and families, practitioners and providers, and the community:



Objectives for Children and Families

1. Increase comprehensive supports in high quality infant and toddler child care centers, groups child care homes and family child care services and Early Head Start classrooms in high-risk, high-need communities

2. Build protective factors for vulnerable children and families

3. Connect families to health and wellness services

4. Support families as they move toward self-sufficiency



Objectives for Practitioners, Providers, Communities:

1. Increase the quality of child care providers through recruitment, participation, and ratings advancement in Keystone STARS, PA’s quality rating and improvement system

2. Build a cadre of qualified, effective infant-toddler teachers with deep infant-toddler expertise and experience

3. Gather, analyze, and offer programs access to data that will assist them in improving their practice, supports, and outcomes for infants, toddlers, and their families

1. Enhance the statewide network of resources and supports by improving cross-systems professional development and systems linkages

2. Coordinate local early childhood systems to successfully link infant-toddler, preschool, and K-12 learning

6. Positively impact regional/state economy



Potential Service Areas

County EHSCCP # Armstrong 1 Jefferson 19Berks 2 Lancaster 20Blair 3 Lawrence 21Bradford 4 Luzerne 22Bucks 5 Lycoming 23Cambria 6 Mifflin 24Centre 7 Monroe 25Chester 8 Montgomer

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Clarion 9 Montour 27Clearfield 10 Schuylkill 28Columbia 11 Snyder 29Crawford 12 Sullivan 30Cumberland 13 Tioga 31Dauphin 14 Union 32Franklin 15 Venango 33Fulton 16 York 34Huntingdon 17 Jefferson 19Indiana 18 Lancaster 20



Approach

Regional Hub Model•Create an economy of scale for service delivery•Agencies that provide comprehensive services to child care partner

Three Ways to Apply

1.Hub: provides comprehensive services to multiple child care providers

2.Child care provider: provides child care; partners with a Hub for comprehensive services

3.Comprehensive partner: provides both child care and comprehensive EHS services



Regional Hub Model

• Must have capacity to offer most or all of the comprehensive services.

• Will serve as the local lead agency.

• Will provide parent engagement, health coordination, mental health consultant, and program management through direct employment or contract.

• May enroll children from their own child care center in addition to serving as the service provider to other identified local child care partners.

• Will receive a standard cost per child amount to implement this portion of the program.

• The Hub model will receive priority consideration during application review.



Child Care Programs

• Family and group child care homes, and child care centers may participate.

• Will fulfill the child development, continuity of care, parent involvement, and professional development requirements related to quality EHS services.

• Will be partnered with a Regional Hub that will provide its comprehensive services.

• Minimum number of slots per application is 4 children

• Will receive a quality add-on for lost revenue related reduced staff to child ratio and the quality enhancements needed to meet the standards.



Comprehensive Partner

• Must be of sufficient size and infrastructure to implement the child-focused, classroom-based portion of the program as well as support all the comprehensive services.

• Will receive a per child amount to finance all services required by the grant.

• Minimum number of slots a comprehensive provider could request is 40.



Early Head Start Partnership Design

• Build on Keystone Stars and EHS Performance Standards

• Requirements apply to all classrooms where EHS enrolled children are receiving classrooms.

• May be one classroom

• May be several classrooms with a few children interspersed with other children

• Priority consideration will be given to those applications that focus on children who are enrolled in Child Care Works (CCW); families will pay their CCW co-payment only



EHS-Child Care Partnership Requirements

• Keystone Stars• Must join Keystone Stars within 6 months of participation

• Must meet or exceed Star 3 within the first 18 months of participation

• Children enrolled in center-based PA Early Head Start may be included in FTE Child Care Count for STARS.

• Funding allows for compensation to hire teachers with ECE degrees or for the professional development that supports teachers’ attainment of ECE degrees that support career lattice levels for Keystone STARS.




• Child Care Subsidy (CCW)

• Children receiving CCW and be eligible for EHS according to its eligibility requirements will be the highest priority

• The CCIS (Child Care Information Service Agency) is the primary point of contact for families seeking child care and making application for CCW. CCIS will serve as the point of contact to verify CCW eligibility and work to enroll children in local programs.

• CCIS staff will provide marketing materials and contact information for local EHS - CC partners




• Family and Community Partnerships• Regional Hub or Comprehensive Partner will identify

content-knowledgeable staff. • Provide resources and referrals to families in the areas

of pregnant women, teen mothers, immigrant, refugee, and migrant worker families; families in crisis; children referred by child welfare services, and children exposed to chronic violence or substance abuse.



EHS-Child Care Partnership Grant Awards• Funding is based on full day, full year programs.

• Provide services for a minimum of 6 hours per day.

• Instructional activities or services are provided at least 240 days/year.

• Cost Per Child

• Full-day programs may receive up to but no more than an average over 3 years of $7,000 per child.

• Infants: $6,000

• Young Toddlers: $7,000

• Older Toddlers: $8,000

• Children not receiving CCW, funds will be added aligned with the county MCCA rate

• Per-child amounts are based upon the projected amount to operate a high quality program and comply with the requirements of the Head Start Performance Standards.



• Start up funds to enhance or improve:– Staff qualifications– Environments– Substitutes– Playgrounds– Parent engagement materials– Health and Safety materials– Technology– Food Service

Will be added as a separate budget, NOT part of application



• Children are eligible prior to their third birthday.

• Children may remain in the program through the end of the program year in which they turn three years of age or the time when their same aged peers would be enrolling in preschool programs.

• Families receiving Child Care Works Subsidy and meet the low income definition which is defined as 100% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines at the time of enrollment.

• Each partner will develop and establish additional priorities for enrollment

Eligibility, Recruitment, Selection, Enrollment, Attendance



Eligibility

• Children maintain their enrollment until the child ages out as a preschooler or the family withdraws from the program.

• Children who, over the course of the program year, lose their eligibility for Child Care Works, will be supported through the remainder of the program year.

• If families cannot re-establish CCW eligibility, children will be supported in transitioning to other programs at natural points during the program year.



Continuous Quality Improvement Plans

• Develop during Year One

• Review, update and submit annually

• May be part of an existing strategic or ongoing plan

• Professional development on CQIPs is available through Keystone Stars

• Regional Hubs will be responsible for assuring partners’ compliance



Learning Environments

• Must be consistent with PA child care licensing and Head Start performance standards.

• Infants and toddlers must be separated from older children.

• Square footage:

• Indoor: 40 square feet/child

• Outdoor: 75 square feet/child

• Maintain cleanliness of facility



Group Size, Infant/Toddler-Teacher Ratios and Continuity of Care

• Ratio of 4 children to each staff

• Maximum group size of 8 children, regardless of the age of children grouped together.

• Continuity of Care

• Same core group of staff consistently work with the enrolled Early Head Start Children

• Teachers are given a primary care assignment for a group of children from birth through age 3 or as long as they are involved with PA EHS- CC Partnerships.



Staffing Qualifications

• EHS centers use 2 primary staff positions, both teachers.

• Center Base Teachers:

• Must have a minimum of an Infant -Toddler Child Development Associate (CDA) or a comparable credential or a preschool CDA (or comparable credential) with training in infant toddler development.

• Family Child Care Teachers:

• Teachers must have previous early child care experience and, at a minimum, enroll in a Child Development Associate (CDA) program, an Associate’s degree program, or Bachelor's degree program in child development within six months of beginning service.

• Must acquire the credential or degree within two years of beginning service.



Comprehensive Services Staffing• May be staff or consultants

• Education and Child Development: training and experience in child growth and development, early childhood education, and family support. Staff or consultants must meet the qualifications for classroom teachers

• Health: staff or consultants with training and experience in public health, nursing, health education, maternal and child health, or health administration.

• Nutrition: registered dietitians or nutritionists

• Mental health services: licensed or certified mental health professionals with experience and expertise in serving young children and their families

• Family and community partnerships: training and experience in field(s) related to social, human, or family services

• Parent involvement: training, experience, and skills in assisting the parents of young children in advocating and decision-making for their families

• Disabilities: training and experience in securing and individualizing needed services for children with disabilities



Nutrition• No charges to the families for formula, meals or snacks, cereal and baby food

provided during the portion of the EHS-CC portion of the day.

• Must participate in an USDA food reimbursement program.

• Meals must be provided in a family-style setting and include staff and volunteers unless there are dietary restrictions.

• Infants must be held during feeding. They must be fed “on demand” to the extent possible at regular intervals.

• A Nutrition Assessment for each family must be completed upon entering the program.

• Nutrition information must be provided to families in their primary language as much as possible.

• Full day settings must provide meals and snacks that provide at least 2/3 of the children’s daily nutritional needs.



Health• Connect infants and toddlers with primary health care (medical home) for

completion of routine health screenings, including vision, hearing, and lead toxicity screenings.

• Connect infants and toddlers with an ongoing source of dental care (dental home) for completion of exams (at 1 year old or upon eruption of first tooth) Complete appropriate screenings within 45 days of enrollment.

• Follow up and documentation of medical and dental exams along with immunizations, treatments, referrals, etc. and tracking of services.

• Assure that infants and toddlers meet immunization requirements for PA Child Care Center Regulations and Early Head Start Performance Standards based upon the immunization schedule provided by the PA Department of Health.

• Hand washing procedures in accordance with Head Start Performance Standards; AAP and Child care guidelines.

• Diapering procedures in accordance with the diaper changing instructions (as per the Caring for Our Children, 3rd Edition.



Safety

• Policies and procedures to respond to medical and dental emergencies.

• Daily site safety scan and ongoing site safety checklists, specific to the infant and toddler age group.

• Emergency plans, phone numbers, evacuation routes are developed and posted in the facility.

• Methods/systems of handling potential child abuse and neglect in accordance with federal, state and local laws.



Mental Health

• Mental health program services must include a regular schedule of on-site mental health consultation involving the mental health professional, staff, and parents.

• Consultation topics should include:

• Responsive program practices to the identified behavioral and mental health concerns of individual or groups of children.

• Promoting children’s mental wellness through group and individual staff and parent education on mental health issues.

• Assistance for children with atypical behavior or development.

• How to utilize community mental health resources.



TransitionPrograms must establish and maintain procedures to support successful transitions into and from Early Head Start into a preschool program, or other child care settings.

• Ensure that individual children's relevant records are transferred to the next placement

• Outreach to encourage communication between Early Head Start staff and their counterparts in the other child care settings to facilitate continuity of programming

• Initiating meetings involving teachers and parents to discuss the developmental progress and abilities of individual children

• Initiating joint transition-related training for Early Head Start staff and school or other child development staff



Transition (cntd)

Transition planning must be undertaken for each child and family at least six months prior to the child's third birthday.

• Must consider the child’s health status and developmental level, progress made by the child and family while in Early Head Start, current and changing family circumstances, and the availability of Head Start and other child development or child care services in the community.

• As appropriate, a child may remain in Early Head Start, following his or her third birthday, for additional months until he or she is able to transition into Head Start or another program.



Professional Development

• All staff will need professional development plans that are updated annually.

• Staff will participate in annual professional development.

• OCDEL EHS partner staff will create a Training and Technical Assistance Plan with each Hub or Comprehensive Child Care Partner.

• In addition to program operation funding, each Hub or Comprehensive Partner will receive dedicated grant funds for ongoing professional development.

Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships



Child Development

Curriculum

•Must use a curriculum that is research-based on sound child development principals and is aligned with the PA Early Learning Standards for Infants and Toddlers.

•Implement a relationship based approach to child development that addresses the domains of cognitive, social-emotional, language, motor, and self-help skills.

•Support social-emotional development by establishing trusting relationships inclusive of children’s cultural, and ethnic backgrounds.

•Include parents in program planning and provide them with opportunities to expand their knowledge and understanding of child development, observation, and assessment.



Child Development

Screening

•Screening for health, developmental, sensory, and behavioral concerns must occur in collaboration with each child's parent, and within 45 calendar days of the child's entry into the program.

•OCDEL has selected and prefers the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ).

•Programs must obtain direct guidance from a mental health or child development professional on how to use the screening results to address identified needs



Child DevelopmentChild Assessment

•Must use an approved assessment tool that is aligned with PA Early Learning Standards for Infants and Toddlers

•Frequent and ongoing assessment is required to provide feedback to teachers and parents so they may adjust their practices and activities with children to meet their needs and fill developmental gaps

•Parents should be included as part of the ongoing assessment team.

•Reporting progress through a formal method of child outcomes reporting must be conducted in accordance with the assessment protocol and begin at the time of the child’s enrollment

•OCDEL recommends that programs receiving EHS - CC Partnerships funding use Teaching Strategies Gold Online (TSG) and guidelines for their child assessments and to meet program reporting requirements.



Program Design

• Shared Governance:

• Formal structure of shared governance through which parents can participate in policy making or in other decisions about the EHS - CC Partnerships program.

• Parent Committee: established locally ; advises staff in developing and implementing program policies, activities, and services.

• Policy Council: Each partner is represented on the OCDEL EHS Policy Council. Parent representatives will be elected by the EHS - CC parents at their participating partner agency.

• Self-Assessment

• Conducted annually to assess effectiveness and progress in meeting program goals and objectives and in implementing Federal regulations.



Program Design

• Organizational Structure

• Supports the accomplishment of program objectives.

• Addresses the major functions and responsibilities assigned to each staff position and must provide evidence of adequate staff supervision and support.

• OCDEL and partners will ensure that the following program management functions are assigned: program management, management of early childhood development and health services, management of family, and community partnerships.

• Additionally a Hub or Comprehensive Provider staff must be assigned to support program governance locally.



Contracts, Reporting and Meetings

• Grant cycle • One year grant • Three annual renewals • Contingent on the availability of funding and program compliance

• Monthly reporting • Partner reports will be summarized and provided to Policy Council and

Governing Board

• Information collected and summarized includes but is not limited to: enrollment; waiting list numbers; average attendance; number of home visits by teachers or FSW; staff turnover; parent engagement activities; financial statements related to the grant including any credit card usage for EHS services; and number of enrolled children eligible for early intervention.

• Partners will receive a list of reporting deadlines



Contracts, Reporting and Meetings

• Program Meetings

•Hub staff, child care and comprehensive child care providers will be expected to attend periodic program meetings

•Program funds may be used to offset travel and substitute coverage for these events.



Monitoring

OCDEL’s responsibility for compliance will require partners to participate in monitoring processes:

•Site visits by program specialists

• Understand program operation and to identify model programs and practices.

• Classroom observations

• Reviews of reporting measures will be conducted to assure adherence to the OCDEL Early Head Start requirements

•Participation by partners in both the self-assessment and outside-assessment components of the ITERS assessment.



Monitoring (cntd)

• Provision of required information to OCDEL through narrative and budget reports submitted on a monthly or quarterly basis and other informational requests.

• Attendance at required partner meetings.

• Development of Continuous Quality Improvement Plans by each partner.

• Participation in the Federal review process, which will occur at the

discretion of the federal Office of Head Start.



Budget• Fiscal Year: August 1- July 31

• Apply for initial funding for

– May 1, 2015-July 31, 2016

– Do not include start up on the budget forms.

– Start-up budgets will be individually negotiated with successful grant recipients.

• EHS fund estimate should justify funds that supplement child care

• Detail private pay or subsidy for each line item to demonstrate non-supplantation

• Training and Technical Assistance are separate funds; need to be used solely for that purpose

• Non-federal share plan required that shows plan for 25% match



Budget

• Applicants must use the approved budget template; will be available with the initial application.

• Must include a cost allocation plan to demonstrate how funds supplement, not supplant, other funding sources.

• Record keeping expected in sufficient detail to support all claims against the Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships funding.

• Grantees must maintain an inventory list of equipment with a purchase price exceeding $2,000.

• All documentation must be maintained for 7 years.

• Each partner in a Regional Hub partnership will need to complete a template.



• Filling out the budget template:– When completing your budget and cost allocation plan, fill out first two tabs of

the workbook, which will be May 1, 2015 – July 31, 2015 and August 1, 2015 – July 31, 2015.

– Tab 3 and Tab 4 will automatically calculate from the dollar amounts entered in Tab 1 and Tab 2.When filling out the budget template:

• At the top of each tab, please enter your Provider Name. – If you are a partner in the grant, please put the lead agency in parenthesis.

Example:

• Also, please select on each tab the Budget Model from the drop-down menu.

– Options are: Regional Hub, Partner of Regional Hub, Child Care Provider, Comprehensive Service Provider



• Only fill in budget details in the white cells. The gray cells automatically calculate for you:

• Column D – “CCW & Private Pay Support” would be the funds you use receive for childcare services for the children that will be served in the EHS-CCP grant.

• The funds awarded and contracted in the EHS-CCP that will be used to supplement your CCW and Private Pay Support awarded in this grant will be included in columns E and F. Direct Service Supplement and EHS-CC Administrative Supplement are budgeted separately on the template because you may only use a maximum of 15% of total funding on Administrative Costs. If you have an Indirect Cost Rate, you may use that rate as long as you also submit a copy of your current Indirect Cost Approval. Without an Indirect Rate, you can cost allocate your Administrative Costs or you may follow other directions on Administrative Costs located in the 2 CFR 200 Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards.



• Your Non Federal Share/In-Kind Plan must be included along with the submission of the budget and application. This is located at the bottom of Tab 1 and 2 where you can write you plan in the text box. Non Federal Share/In-Kind must equal at least 25% of your total award, and must be funding that has originated from a non-federal source.

– Fill out your plan for May 1, 2015 – July 31, 2015 on Tab 1.– Fill our your plan for August 1, 2015 – July 31, 2015 on Tab 2.



• Awarded grantees will submit a cumulative simplified monthly expenditure report.

• The monthly expenditure report tabs are also located on the budget template that you will use to complete your budget.



EHS-CC Partnership Application Submission – Application due date – Post Marked by Wednesday April 8, 2015

– Submit an original and 2 copies of the application

– Maintain electronic copies of the application and budget templates at the applicant administrative headquarters

– Applicants should be prepared to have follow up conversations with OCDEL or PA Key staff Monday or Tuesday April 20 and 21, 2015

– OCDEL must submit successful partner and their budget to the Regional Office on April 30th



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For more information on the EHS-CC Partnerships please visit PA Keys at

Early Head Start Information Page

The mission of the department is to academically prepare children and adults to succeed as productive citizens. The department seeks to ensure that the technical support, resources and opportunities are in place for all students,

whether children or adults, to receive a high quality education.

Documents

> Tom Wolf, Governor Pedro Rivera, Acting Secretary of Education | Ted Dallas, Acting Secretary of Human Services Early Head Start – Child Care Partnerships