Issue #2                                                 January 8, 2018
"Children Learning, Parents Earning, Communities Growing"
In 2018 CAPPA will continue our " Featured Agency" segment to highlight amazing work being done by Alternative Payment Program (APP) child development contractors throughout the state of California. From border-to-border, APPs connect working families and children with services to support self-sufficiency, stability of children in child care, and a host of services coordinated to help break the cycle of poverty.  Many APPs also have been called on to serve as a community life-support of information and resources during the most recent fire related disasters.  We are pleased to continue this tradition and bring focus to the untapped potential that is the 40 plus year APP community based system. 

If you would like to be featured please email us by  clicking here!

CAPPA is excited to share our new partnership with End Child Poverty in California (ECPCA).  

CAPPA's mission "To strengthen community based nonprofits created to meet the unique economic, linguistic, cultural and geographical needs of Californias working families with the resources to support parents with access to child care and other services needed to remove the barriers of poverty; while supporting a pathway towards self-sufficiency and stability" aligns with the  he mission of ECPCA to tackle the problem of poverty particularly as it impacts children.  California has the highest rate of child poverty in the nation.  To take on this issue, we must come together for a greater outcome.  Now that we have secured 12-month eligibility and stability for our youngest learners and families to child care, we must take on the bigger need of getting more funding and a collaborative delivery infrastructure in place to address poverty stressors compressing families down from attaining self-sufficiency.

Information from ECPCA notes that California has the highest child poverty rate in the country, according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for cost of living. Not only does this cost children in lack of opportunity and unmet basic needs, it costs the state $66 billion a year. We know from research that lifting children and families out of poverty is crucial to improving health, providing access to a quality education, reducing crime, and paving the way for success in later life.

Does California really have the highest child poverty rate in the country?

An older, and generally considered less accurate, calculation is the Official Poverty Measure (OPM), which sets the federal poverty level. It's the same level, regardless of where you live. The OPM is still used, but it's inaccurate enough that the Census Bureau developed the  Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) . The SPM considers other factors that impact families, like the cost of living in different regions and any income supports they may receive from the government. It's generally much more expensive for a family to live in California than other states.

Think about it this way: The federal  poverty line  for 2017 is $24,600 for a family of four (meaning if you make below that, the government considers you to be in poverty and eligible for certain benefits). Obviously $24,600 goes a lot further in Mississippi than it does in California.

The bottom line is this: California is a rich state-the wealthiest in the country, in fact-but more of our people can't meet their basic needs than in any other state. It's not something to be proud of, but it's the truth, and we're going to do something about it.

End Child Poverty's CEO Conway Collis is currently co-chairing a statewide task force that will create a comprehensive, research-based plan for our state to eliminate deep child poverty and significantly reduce child poverty overall. As partners, we will champion each others' work and advocate for vulnerable Californians. Stay up to date with action items and news by joining the End Child Poverty in California campaign:  http://www.endchildpovertyca.org/ . 
Quick Links
CAPPA's
2017-18 Board of Directors
President
Rick Richardson
 Child Development Associates

Vice President
Karen Marlatt
Valley Oak Children's Services

Treasurer
Beth Chiaro
Child Care Resource Center 

Secretary
LaVera Smith
Supportive Services Fresno

Past President
Martin Castro
Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
Public Policy Co-Chair
Jeffrey Moreira
Crystal Stairs, Inc.

Public Policy Co-Chair
Phillip Warner
Children's Council San Francisco 

Members-at-Large
Tina Barna
Choices for Children

Abby Shull
YMCA Childcare Resource Service 
 
Amanda Al Fartosi
KinderCare Education

Jeanne Fridolfs
Community Resources for Children
 
Mike Michelon
Siskiyou Child Care Council

Marco Jimenez
Central Valley Children's Services Network

Jasmine Tijerino
San Mateo 4Cs

Michelle Graham
Children's Resource & Referral of Santa Barbara County

Joie Owen
Glenn County Office of Education

Denyne Micheletti Colburn
CAPPA CEO
EESD/CDE, DSS & CCLD Updates
December 29, 2017
ALL COUNTY LETTER (ACL) 17-125.  Guidance exempts benefits and related allowances received from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for education, training, vocation or rehabilitation from consideration as income when determining CalWORKs eligibility and calculating grant amounts for veterans, dependents of veterans and spouses, under specified circumstances.
December 20, 2017
The State Advisory Council on Early Learning and Care (SAC) will now be meeting 3 times per year. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, February 28, 2018. See future meeting dates 
December 5, 2017
The purpose of this All County Letter (ACL) is to notify the County Welfare Departments (CWDs) of changes to the federal and state Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs) benefiting low-income working families and individuals and their impact on the CalWORKs and CalFresh programs.
November 21, 2017
November 20, 2017
due December 1st
October 11, 2017
October 11, 2017
Subject: Digital Applications
Job Openings

Is Your Organization Hiring?
Post your job announcement here for thousands to see!
There is no charge for CAPPA members.
Non-members will be charged a fee of $75.
Please email us your posting!
North Coast Opportunities-Lake County
Children's Council of San Francisco
Child Care Coordinating Council, Inc. of San Mateo County

Crystal Stairs, Inc
International Institute Los Angeles

Go Kids, Inc., Gilroy

Teacher Assistant
International Institute of Los Angeles

Child Development Inc. is Hiring! See the Recruitment Flyer  Here.
Announcements
NEW! All new AP branding templates  from CAPPA's Branding Committee are now available for CAPPA members. 

NEW!
Curriculum Development for Early Childhood Education 


CAPPA Member Benefit
Constant Contact helps small businesses do more business! CAPPA members have access to Constant Contact email marketing system at up to 25% off.
Send emails, run promotions, and get feedback, all from one easy-to-use account. Email marketing can help you build stronger relationships with your clients, so they keep coming back. Need help? Constant Contact's award-winning coaches are just a phone call away to make sure you succeed. 

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support CAPPA every time you shop.  When you shop at  smile.amazon.com , you'll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a portion of the purchase price to CAPPA. 
If interested, you can also sign up for an Amazon Business account for free. This is similar to a Prime account and will give you free 2-day shipping. You can learn more  Here.
Please let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your support! 
Field Happenings!

The CAPPA Board has made it a priority to support our field with a coordinated calendar to note upcoming statewide conferences, federal conferences of relevance, CDE and DSS stakeholder meetings and legislative and budget deadlines and hearings. 
  • Click here to see the calendar.
  • If you have news to share or an event you want added to CAPPA's website Calendar, email us!
CAPPA Monday Morning Update Partner






Our Monday Morning Update supports our Early Learning & Child Care field with timely information about what is going on in California and nationally; as well as dates to be aware and upcoming events. 

Our weekly (50 times per year) Monday morning distribution is to more than 4,000 federal and state local agencies, resource and referrals, contractors, legislators and their staffs', centers, parents, providers, state departments and advocates.  

To help support the continuation of this resource and or advertise in the Monday Morning Update, click  HERE. 

You can also make a donation to CAPPA and CAPPA Children's Foundation
The Children's Foundation is a non-profit organization (501(c)3), Taxpayer Identification Number is 
03-0521444. Your generous donation is tax deductible.
What's Happening
California 
State Legislation 
Last week, the second year of the two-year legislative cycle began. During the second year, legislation introduced in the first year (2017) may be considered a two-year bill and be taken up again.  New legislation can also be introduced.  
  
To date, for the 2017-18 Legislative Session, the California State Assembly has introduced 1780 Assembly Bills (including 47 new ones in 2018) and the State Senate has introduced 836 Senate Bills (including 19 in 2018). 
 
Both the Assembly and Senate have begun scheduling bills for committee hearings for as early as next week.   Click here to see the calendared bills of interest to our field.  

This week, there is a bill scheduled for Tuesday January 9 @ 1:30 pm we highly recommend your support consideration of:
  • AB 605 (Mullin) Day care center: birth to first grade license option - This bill would create a single integrated license for child care centers thus reducing vacancies and enabling the current system to serve more children.  BACKGROUND:  In the 1970s, California led the nation in creating a licensing system for community care facilities, and pioneered recognition of the special needs of infants and toddlers with a license distinct from that of preschool-age care. While the standard of care in California statute remains appropriate, the bifurcation of early care licensing in California into two separate licenses is unnecessary and problematic. California is one of only two states in the country which employ a separate infant-toddler license, and family child care providers are not subject to the dual-license requirement.  
Last Wednesday, legislators began introducing new legislation. This is in addition to  the 211 measures already calendared in the Assembly Daily and Senate Daily files. However, only 88 are set for hearing in committee. 

Upcoming dates of importance:
  • By January 12, 336 fiscal bills still in their first house, need to be out of their policy committees.
  • Then, on January 19th 313 bills still in their house of origin must be out of any committee and be on the floor.
  • All of these bills have to be out of their house of origin by January 31st.
In the months since they have been gone, three legislators from the Assembly have resigned.  In the immediate, the resignations have cost the Democrats their supermajority in the Assembly.  This simply means that if legislation is needed that requires a 2/3rds vote in the Assembly, then some Republicans will need to be convinced.  When the vacancies are filled, it is anticipated that all will be filled by Democrats as all are seated within safe Democratic districts.

The California Assembly's newest legislator is Democrat  Wendy Carrillo, representing Assembly District 51.    Assemblywoman Carrillo is taking the seat of Jimmy Gomez, who was elected to the United States Congress earlier in 2017.   Carrillo's victory also boosts the number of women in the Legislature to 27 . Click here to see a video of Assmeblymember Carrillo's swearing in.

In the California Senate, last week, Senator Tony Mendoza agreed to taking a paid leave of absence following claims of sexual harassment.

For 2018, putting the above aside, it is also an election year.  It is anticipated that highly visible legislation will be pursued to offset some of the federal actions that have been taken such as tax reform; in addition to affordable housing; disaster preparedness; health care and more.   Also, Governor Brown is in his final year.  Being a lame-duck governor, it is unclear whether the governor will prioritize issues in the past he has noted as important such as an overhaul of the state's pension structure, a  building of  "... new roads, and highways, and bridges, and airports, and tunnels, and railways..." , climate control and health care to name a few.

Also being closely watched is a federal case before the  to overturn the right of public employees who do not belong to a union be required to pay a fee to cover the union's costs to negotiate a contract that applies to all public employees.  Arguments on this case will begin on February 26, 2018.  

For child care and early education, our need and our ask is quite simple... 

WHAT DO WE WANT...CHILD CARE SLOTS!!!
WHEN DO WE WANT THEM...NOW!!!

  • Parents need access to 24 hour/7 days per week affordable child care options that meet the demands of full time employment.
  • Children need stable and enriching child care settings to attain greater educational outcomes.
  • Child care providers and teachers need to be reimbursed livable rates that value their profession and economic contributions.
  • Employers need a reliable workforce.
CAPPA's priorities will be:
  1. To increase the number of and access to subsidized child care slots to address a huge unmet need for working families - 
    In 2015, an estimated 1.5 million children from birth through age 12 were eligible for care, according to a Budget Center analysis of federal survey data. In California's Alternative Payment voucher program and General Child Care there are fewer than 33,000 child care slots allocated to support working poor families. 
  2. To increase rates for infant and toddler child care providers - 
    The fact is that infant and toddler care is an extremely low profit area.  For a child care provider, costs are high when factoring in housing, supplies, insurance and labor.  State law requires that child care center providers maintain a ratio of one staff member for every four children under 18 months and one staff member to every six children who are under 18 months to three years.  The ratio is one staff member to every 12 children for preschool aged three and four.
    In California, the state's minimum wage is increased to $11.00 per hour beginning January 1, 2018.  Infant/toddler full time child care rates vary from region to region, but average $9.16 an hour in a child care center, $5.70 an hour in a family child care home, and $3.99 in a family, friend and neighbor licensed-exempt care.  
  3. To v alue all child care and early education providers and centers with rates that recognize the value of their contributions to children, while meeting the financial requirements of operating small businesses as state and local minimum wage increases
Click here to read CAPPA Policy Principles & Goals: Partnering in 2017-18.   To help support a coordinated ask from our field, CAPPA will contribute to the development of talking papers, sign on communications, and more.   The more coordinated we are in our asks and priorities, the better the outcomes for families and children.

State Budget Update
will be available to CAPPA Members and subscribers only.  On this new and improved webpage, CAPPA will begin hosting enhanced budget information and strategic communications.  Annual subscriptions will be available to non-members for $50/year. 

Register Today for CAPPA's Budget & Advocacy Day!
January 18, 2018
California Endowment, Sacramento
10:00am - 5:00pm 
 
The training will include:
  • Expert panel sharing their input, reactions and top priorities on the 2018-19 Governor's Budget.  
  • Reflecting on 17-18, what is the forecast for 2018-19, both for California and federally?
  • Legislative orientation on conducting visits with legislators.
  • Experience the legislative process  first-hand by spending the 2nd half of the day at the Capitol participating in legislative visits, educating lawmakers and advocating to make child care and early education a priority!  
Confirmed presenters include: 
    • Kristin Schumacher, California Budget and Policy Center
    • Brianna Bruns, Department of Finance 
    • Sarah Neville-Morgan, California Department of Education, Early Education & Support Division 
    • Mike Herald, Western Center on Law & Poverty
    • Seren Taylor, Assembly Republican Caucus
    • Edgar Cabral & Sara Cortez, LAO. 
       
    • Elizabeth Fuller, Legislative Women's Caucus Consultant
From the Our Partners
The California Child Care Study is being done by Child Trends and its partners, IMPAQ International and Brian Fitzgerald RPE-DVBE, for the California Department of Social Services and the California Department of Education.

milies who use it. Information from the study can help the government make choices about child care programs. It can also help the government make services for families better.
The study will include people from across California. It will include local agencies that help families get child care assistance. The study will also include child care programs, and include families whose child care is subsidized by the government.
New on California Budget Bites:
Better Poverty Measure Shows Economic Hardship Is More Widespread in Certain Parts of California
The California Budget & Policy Center has published a new blog post from Senior Policy Analysts Alissa Anderson and Sara Kimberlin that discusses updated California Poverty Measure (CPM) figures recently released by the Public Policy Institute of California, including county-level data on the CPM. 

Better Poverty Measure Shows Economic Hardship Is More Widespread in Certain Parts of California

The official poverty measure published annually by the US Census Bureau does a poor job of capturing the true extent of economic hardship in California. This is because it doesn't account for the high cost of housing in many parts of the state, and it doesn't factor in many of the non-cash public supports (such as CalFresh food assistance) and post-tax supports (like the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)) that families use to meet basic needs.

To address these shortcomings, the Census Bureau developed the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM), which offers a much more accurate picture of poverty in California (and shows a much higher poverty rate in our state than the official poverty measure). While the SPM can only be used to measure poverty at the state level, a related measure developed by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality and the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) - the California Poverty Measure (CPM) - can be used to examine how levels of poverty vary within California.

Federal
This past weekend, Donald Trump met with congressional Republican leaders at Camp David and it was widely speculated that the GOP would be working to discuss a welfare reform plan for 2018 to make severe and devastating cuts to the following anti-poverty programs: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and
At a press conference this past weekend, Donald Trump  told the media that welfare reform may have to wait, as his current priorities are immigration overhaul and spending on infrastructure. Although welfare reform still remains a top priority for Paul Ryan and other GOP leaders, Donald Trump stated that although he is "looking at" welfare reform, the goal is to come to a bipartisan agreement, and since at the moment that is not possible, the effort is being left for later. 




Priorities Report for FY 2017
 
The Office of Child Care (OCC) is pleased to announce the release of the priorities report for fiscal year (FY) 2017. The law and final rule require the Administration for Children and Families to issue an annual
report making a determination of whether states have met provisions related to the priority of services for children of families with very low family incomes, children with special needs, and
children experiencing homelessness. The new priorities report is available on this
Of Interest
Important Updates from the California Department of Education
  1. Opportunity to provide public input for the 2019-21 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) State Plan.  Click here to view CDE Informational page.
  • First Public Hearing; Tuesday, January 16, 2018;                   9 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
  • Second Public Hearing; March 2018
  1. CDE has completed the recording of the FISCAL ESSENTIALS presentation that was presented by CDE staff at CAPPA's fiscal training in September and joint annual conference in October. It is now posted to the  CDE website.
  2. Given the change in statute regarding 12-month eligibility, children shall now be served until the end of their eligibility period, regardless of whether they turn 13 within their 12-month eligibility period. As a result, CDE has updated CDMIS so that reporting of 13 year olds will be accepted. 
Upcoming Events 

CAPPA Budget & Advocacy Day
January 18, 2018
California Endowment 
Adelante Meeting Room
1414 K Street, #500
Sacramento, CA 95814
10:00am - 5:00pm 

CAPPA invites you to join us for our Budget & Advocacy Day!  
The day will begin with an expert panel sharing their input, reactions and top priorities on the 2018-19 Governor's Budget.  Confirmed presenters include: 
  • Kristin Schumacher, California Budget and Policy Center
  • Brianna Bruns, Department of Finance 
  • Sarah Neville-Morgan, California Department of Education, Early Education & Support Division 
  • Mike Herald, Western Center on Law & Poverty
  • Seren Taylor, Assembly Republican Caucus
  • Edgar Cabral & Sara Cortez, LAO
  • Elizabeth Fuller, Legislative Women's Caucus Consultant 
We will then move into an orientation training about the legislative process and how to conduct visits with your representatives. 
In the afternoon, attendees will experience the legislative process 
first-hand by spending the 2nd half of the day at the Capitol participating in legislative visits, educating lawmakers and advocating to make child care and early education a priority.  
Schedule of Events
(You will receive a schedule, room assignments, and legislative advocacy packet when you check in.)
9:30am: Check in at the California Endowment- 1414 K Street,
                Suite 500, Sacramento, CA 95814
10:00am-11:45am: Opening remarks and budget panel discussions
11:45am-12:15pm: Legislative orientation  
12:15pm- 12:45pm: Lunch 
1:00pm-5:00pm: Legislative Visits
Save the Date

 Join with Other Early Care and Education Advocates for Early Learning Advocacy Day.
Registration fee ($50) includes keynote presenter, education, morning snacks and lunch, followed by legislative visits. 
Confirmed Speaker:
Kristin Shumacher, Policy Analyst
California Budget and Policy Center
 
Kristin Schumacher joined the Budget Center as a policy analyst in 2013. Prior to joining the Budget Center, she taught public policy and public administration courses in the School of Public Affairs at the University of Colorado Denver and held research positions with the University and the Feminist Majority Foundation. She also worked in fundraising and development with the Colorado AIDS Project in Denver. She received a PhD in public affairs from the University of Colorado Denver and a master's degree in social work with an emphasis in policy and administration from the University of Texas, Austin.

ALL NEW! 2018 Early Learning & Child Care Webinar Series 

All New for 2018!
Build or Add to your 
Resource Library!
This is Your Opportunity  to Receive Professional  Development in a Format  Convenient to You. 
CAPPA Children's Foundation, in partnership with MCT  Technology, brings you an ALL NEW Series of trainings, all for one low price 
per center or program location.
View the webinar series and be connected without ever leaving your location. This is a fabulous opportunity to train your staff on the most requested child care topics for 2018 at an affordable price in an 
incredibly convenient format. 
Click Here  to see more details and to  register for the all new 2018 series.
January 2018 Webinar:
Curriculum Development for Early Childhood Education 
Jamie Apostol, M.A., Faculty CSULB Departments of Child Development & Family Studies and Human Development  
During this webinar, you will learn how to equip, plan, and implement a developmentally appropriate curriculum and learning environment for young children. Explore techniques for practicing positive guidance, planning successful group experiences, and facilitating cultural diversity within the classroom setting. Emphasis is on developing a child-centered, integrated, and developmentally appropriate curriculum for the early years. A variety of curricular approaches will be modeled and assessed.

The 2010- 2017 series' are still available for purchase. Purchase the 2010, 2011 and 2012 webinar CDs for 50% off!! 
For more information or to view past topics,  Click Here.