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"Children Learning, Parents Earning, Communities Growing"
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CAPPA's monthly "Featured Agency" segment will highlight amazing work being done by Alternative Payment Programs (APPs) child development contractors throughout the state of California. From border-to-border, APPs support 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 natural 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.
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July 2019 Featured Agency of the Month
Stanislaus County Office of Education- Child & Family Services
 The fundamental work of the
Child & Family Services Division
is distinct and focuses on the period of life where the foundation for future success is built; ages zero to five. It's the time when the brain grows the most, where support and early intervention makes a huge difference for children and their families, and where the investments you make pay off. Child & Family Services gives children a head start in school, work, and life by educating children, supporting parents, and developing the professionals who work with them.
Child & Family Services receives funding for the following programs that serve children, their
parents/guardians, and the professionals who work with them:
Alternative Payment Program
Helps families arrange child care services and makes payment for those services directly to the child care provider selected by the family. The program is intended to increase parental choice and accommodate the individual needs of the family. Child care arrangements can be made as in-home care, family child care, and center-based care.
California State Preschool - Part Day and Full Day
Part-day and full-day preschool that provides a core class curriculum that is developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate for the children served. The program also provides meals and snacks to children, parent education, referrals to health and social services for families, and staff development opportunities to employees.
California State Preschool Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS)
Assesses program quality of California State Preschool programs and supports continuous quality improvement for participating programs and their staff.
California Transitional Kindergarten Stipend
Provides professional development cash stipends for teachers to obtain 24 college units in early childhood education, child development, or both.
Child and Adult Care Food Program
Financial aid for licensed child care centers and family child care homes. The object of the program is to support improved diets of children under 13 years of age by providing the children with nutritious, well-balanced meals and to help children develop good eating habits that will last through later years.
Child Care Development Block Grant, Health and Safety and Infant Toddler Resource
Provides funds to support required health and safety and infant/toddler training for staff.
Child Care Initiative Project
Recruits, trains, and retains licensed family child care providers. Improves the training capacity of the Child Care Resource & Referral program and enhances professional development activities.
Stanislaus County Child Care Resource & Referral Program
Help parents find child care that best meets their family needs; documents parents' requests for child care services; maintains comprehensive databases of child care providers in their communities, including licensed family child care homes and child care centers; track providers' licensing status, the languages they speak, the age groups they serve, the schedules they offer, and the number of spaces available in centers or family child care homes; works with providers to improve the quality of child care and to maintain and expand the supply of child care in each county; provides training and other services that help providers stay in business; compiles and disseminates information on the statewide supply and demand for child care; and educates local communities and leaders to understand child care issues and to plan effectively to address child care needs. Area Served: Stanislaus County
Child Care Salary and Retention Incentive
Assists with improving the retention of qualified early education staff who work directly with children in state funded early education services.
Stanislaus County Child Care and Development Local Planning Council
Supports the overall coordination of child care services. Conduct assessments of county child care needs and to prepares plans to address identified needs. These assessments must contain information on the supply and demand for child care, including the need for both privately paid and publicly funded care.
Early Head Start
Provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to infants and toddlers and their families, and pregnant women and their families. Offered in child care centers and as a home based program.
Early Head Start - Child Care Partnership
Provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to infants and toddlers and their families, and pregnant women and their families. Offered in through child care partners in family child care homes.
Educator Effectiveness
Provides professional development and promotes educator quality and effectiveness.
Harvest of the Month
Partners with local farmer to provide fresh and locally grown fruits and vegetables for children. Provides teacher and family training on incorporating daily physical activity into schedules and healthy cooking.
Head Start
Provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to preschool children and their families. Offered in child care centers.
Infant/Toddler Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS)
Assesses program quality of programs serving infants and toddlers and supports continuous quality improvement for participating programs and their staff.
Migrant and Seasonal Head Start
Provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to infants, toddlers, preschool children and their families. Children must have parents/guardians whose annual income comes primarily from migrant (moved in the last two years) or seasonal agricultural work. Offered in child care centers and in family child care homes.
Migrant Child Care - Part Year and Full Year
Provides child development services to infants, toddlers, and preschool children and their families. Children must have parents/guardians who earn at least 50% of their total gross income from employment in fishing, agriculture or agriculturally related work during the twelve month period. Offered in child care centers.
Migrant Early Head Start
Provides early, continuous, intensive, and comprehensive child development and family support services to infants and toddlers and their families, and pregnant women and their families. Pregnant women and children must have parents/guardians whose annual income comes primarily from migrant (moved in the last two years) or seasonal agricultural work. Offered in child care centers and in family child care homes.
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Family Resource and Referral Center-Children and Youth Day Event- May 18, 2019
Family Resource and Referral Center hosts an annual Children and Youth Day event at Pixie Woods at Louis Park in Stockton, CA. Children & Youth Day at Pixie Woods is a free community event for families of San Joaquin County and surrounding areas. This year's theme was Super Heroes and the first 700 hundred children received a free super hero's cape. Businesses and non-profit agencies attend and provide their resources and information on health, literacy, nutrition, physical activity, and each offers a fun activity for the children. Everyone can participate in the mascot parade and dance their way throughout the park with the mascots or join the mascots and staff for music and movement activities, which continues throughout the course of the day. There are activities such as arts and crafts, face painting, and interactions with reptiles. For many children, this is a once a year opportunity to enter the beautiful setting of Pixie Woods free of charge and ride the carousel, train, boat and participate in the many numerous fun activities throughout the day.
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Do you have success news to share with us?! We love to hear what our members are up to and where they're going! Submit your accomplishment(s) big OR small by emailing us!
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CAPPA Member Only Benefits
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Hotel Discounts
CAPPA has secured an amazing hotel offering for our members. As a CAPPA member, you have access to exclusive negotiated rates at thousands of hotels worldwide. This program can be utilized two ways; as an employee perk, and for corporate travel. Visit the
Member's Only website to register today!
CAPPA Member Benefits now available on the Members Only website:
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Just added to the Member's only website are webinars on
Adults and Trauma
and an AP 101 webinar on
Enrolling Clients into the CalWORKs Program.
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CAPPA's
2018-19 Board of Directors
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Rick Richardson
Child Development Associates
Karen Marlatt
Valley Oak Children's Services
Beth Chiaro
Child Care Resource Center
LaVera Smith
Supportive Services Fresno
Martin Castro
Mexican American Opportunity Foundation
Jeffrey Moreira
Crystal Stairs, Inc.
Public Policy Co-Chair
Phillip Warner
Children's Council San Francisco
Tina Barna
Choices for Children
Abby Shull
YMCA Childcare Resource Service
Leslie Reece
Family Resource & Referral of San Joaquin County
Jeanne Fridolfs
Napa County Office of Education
Mike Michelon
Siskiyou Child Care Council
Marco Jimenez
Central Valley Children's Services Network
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
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ELCD/CDE, DSS & CCLD Updates
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July 2, 2019
June 19, 2019
Implementing Optional Staff Training Days
State Median Income and Income Ranking Table for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019-20
MB 19-04:
Family Fee Schedule for Fiscal Year 2019-20
May 14, 2019
Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Services and Adjustment
Factors
The ELCD will host a webinar on
Thursday, March 14, 2019 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. to provide technical assistance with the CDMIS.
January 28, 2019
January 4, 2018
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has amended regulations pertaining to CalWORKs, within the Eligibility and Assistance Standards Manual. The changes are detailed in
CDSS Manual Letter No. EAS-18-05
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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.
MCT Technology
Child Care Resource Center
Community Action Partnership of San Luis Obispo County, Inc.
Pomona Unified School District- Child Development
Child Care Coordinating Council, Inc. of San Mateo County
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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.
NOTE: If you would like to share your newsletter or items of interest with our field via the Monday morning e-Newsletter, then please
email us
a link. Please make sure that you have a link included to an online version or viewing.
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Become a Monday
Morning
Update
Partner!
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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.
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2019-20 State Budget is Signed!!
Governor Newsom has signed the 2019-20 budget. For detailed information, please click on either the 2019-20 Budget Bill or trailer bill for more details. To see those bills,
click here.
Budget highlights:
- Child Care Access - 12,545 additional child care spaces created for working families.
- 9,459 Alternative Payment Programs (Vouchers) slots - $93.3 million ongoing - $80.5 million in ongoing Proposition 64 funding plus $12.8 million ongoing Federal Child Care Development Block Grant for Alternative Payment slots starting July 1, 2019.
- 3,086 General Child Care slots - $50 million in one-time General Fund for ongoing General Child Care slots (slots to be funded in future years with growth in Proposition 64 funds)
- Preschool Slots and Eligibility - Prioritizes working families for full-time slots and expands eligibility to all families in the school attendance area where 80 percent or more students qualify for free or reduced price meals.
- Provides 10,000 full-day State Preschool slots for non-LEAs beginning April 1, 2020. Allocates $31 million in ongoing non-Proposition 98 General Fund in 2019-20 and approximately $125 million in 2020-21 to annualize these additional slots.
- Child Care and Early Education One-Time Facilities Investment -$245 million in one-time non-Proposition 98 General Fund for the Early Learning and Care Infrastructure Grant Program. Transfers approximately $18 million from the Child Care Facilities Revolving Loan Fund into the Early Learning and Care Infrastructure Grant Program. Allows the Department of Education to use up to 5 percent of the grant funding to contract with financial intermediaries in order to provide technical assistance and support to grantees. Provides up to 5 percent of the grant to support renovation, repair, modernization, or retrofitting to address health and safety or other licensure needs.
- Child Care and Early Education One-Time Workforce Investment - $195 million in one-time General Fund for the Child Care Early Learning and Care Workforce Development Grant. Adopt placeholder trailer bill language to: Expand trainings and support activities to a broad range of providers, Ensure stipends and professional development provided align with the Quality Counts California professional development system.
- Child Care and Early Education Other Investments - $10 million for various departments, including the Department of Education, the Department of Social Services, and the Public Employment Relations Board for data collection and implementation of child care organizing. Approves $10 million to begin a statewide data system for early education. Approve $1 million in ongoing General Fund Support for the Department of Education's Early Learning and Care Division.
- Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) - 3.46 percent COLA for non-Proposition 98
- CalWORKs Stage One Child Care Investments - Approves CalWORKs Stage One twelve month eligibility (SB 321) and $60.6 million General Fund in 2019-20 and $74.2 million ongoing.
- Other Child Care Investments - $10 million General Fund annually for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program, suspended December 31, 2021.
- Early Learning and Care Master Plan - $5 million in one-time General Fund for the Secretary of Health and Human Services, in concurrence with the executive director of the State Board of Education, and the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to contract for research on specified areas of the child care and early education system to be completed no later than October 1, 2020.
- After School Education and Safety (ASES) program - $50 million in ongoing Proposition 98 funding to increase rates.
- Kindergarten and Preschool Facilities - $300 million in one-time General Fund for the Full-Day Kindergarten Facilities Grant program.
- Establish the Early Childhood Policy Council - $2.2 million General Fund annually for three years to establish the Early Childhood Policy Council to continue and build on the work of the Assembly Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Childhood Education.
- $10 Million Data Infrastructure One-Time funding
- Implements AB 605 (Mullin), Chapter 574, Statutes of 2018, which requires the CCL to adopt regulations by Jan. 2, 2021 that would create a childcare center license with individual program components that service infant, toddler, preschool, and school age children. Provides $142,000 General Fund for this purpose.
- $50 million in ongoing Proposition 98 funding to increase rates for the After School Education and Safety (ASES) program.
- Legislative intent language - "(b) It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify that the part-time state preschool programs administered by local educational agencies and the After School Education and Safety Program fall within the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee and to fund other childcare programs less directly associated with school districts from appropriations that do not count toward the Proposition 98 minimum guarantee."
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Monday, July 8, 2019:
- SEN Appropriations (Portantino, Chair) 10:00am - Rm 4203
- SEN Human Services (Hurtado, Chair) 3:00pm - Rm 2040
Tuesday, July 9, 2019:
- SEN Judiciary (Jackson, Chair) 9:30am - Rm 2040
- AB 378 (Limon) Childcare: family childcare providers: bargaining representative
Wednesday, July 10, 2019:
- SEN Education (Leyva, Chair) 9:00am - Rm 4203
- ASM Education (O'Donnell, Chair) 1:30pm - Rm 126
Click here
to see all of the legislation identified of interest to our field. Below are a couple of highlights of the results from the recent Appropriations committees:
Click here to see calendar of field events/interests and legislative hearings and deadlines. If you would like something added to the field calendar, click here and submit details.
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PROFILED BILL OF THE WEEK
SB 298 ~ Senator Anna Caballero
The End Child Poverty Act
This bill targets to end deep poverty in four years and to reduce child poverty by 50% in California by 2039. Also, this proposal would create a permanent framework via the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Taskforce whose strategic focus will be to set attainable targets and outcomes.
This bill passed ASM Human Services on consent and is headed to ASM Appropriations.
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Fiscal Year 2019-20 Initial Payments
Dear Executive Directors of Child Care and Development Programs:
The Child Development and Nutrition Fiscal Services (CDNFS) Office is providing you with information about FY 2019-20 initial payment timelines.
Child development contracts must be signed and returned to the CDE Contracts Office prior to initial apportionments being authorized by CDNFS. The CDNFS Office authorizes payment for all executed contracts on July 1, provided that the budget has been enacted.
In previous years, contractors who returned their original contracts prior to the final budget enactment typically received initial apportionments in the second or third week of July. Due to the implementation of a statewide accounting system (FI$Cal) this year, additional time is required by the State Controller's Office (SCO) to set up child development budgets, causing up to a ten-day delay in processing initial apportionments. Initial 2019-20 apportionments will, therefore, be authorized mid-July and are expected to be received by contractors in the last week of July.
As a standard practice, the CDE recommends contractors have three months of operating capital, through cash or a line of credit, to operate their program during the contract period prior to receiving their first apportionments or in the event apportionments are withheld, delayed, or lost in the mail. The CDE will continue to work diligently with the SCO to process payments as quickly as possible.
Sincerely,
Andrea M. Johnson
Staff Services Manager III
Child Development and Nutrition Fiscal Services
Fiscal and Administrative Services Division
(916) 324-6562
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Contingency Funds Application Process
Dear Alternative Payment Program Contractors:
The purpose of this letter is to provide Alternative Payment Program (CAPP) contractors with information regarding the process to apply for contingency funds.
Pursuant to Education Code Section 8222.1, per the Budget Act of 2018, the California Department of Education (CDE) shall reallocate funds as necessary to reimburse CAPPs for actual and allowable costs incurred for additional services. A CAPP contractor may apply for reimbursement of up to three (3) percent of their contract amount, or for a greater amount subject to the discretion of the Department, based on availability of funds. Applications may be submitted as early as May 1, 2019, but no later than September 30, 2019. The CDE will approve or deny applications submitted pursuant to this section, but will not consider applications received after September 30, 2019, of the current calendar year for additional costs incurred during the 2018-19 fiscal year.
The CDE will distribute reimbursement funds for each approved application within 90 days of receipt of the application if it was filed between May 1 and July 20 inclusive of the current calendar year. Applications received after July 20 are not subject to the 90-day requirement for the distribution of funds. If requests for reimbursement pursuant to this section exceed available funds, CDE will assign priority for reimbursement according to the order in which it receives the applications.
Funds received by a CAPP contractor pursuant to this section that are not substantiated by the program's annual audit must be returned to CDE and are not subject to the appeal process.
If you have any questions regarding this process, please contact me at 916-324-6611, or email JClegg@cde.ca.gov.
Sincerely,
Jordan Clegg, Staff Services Manager I
Child Development & Nutrition Fiscal Services
Fiscal and Administrative Services Division
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Regional Technical Assistance Trainings - Summer 2019
Stanislaus County Office of Education- Child & Family Services
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July 19, 2019
Gilroy
Go Kids, Inc.
9015 Murray Ave. Suite 110
Gilroy, CA 95020
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July 30, 2019
Grass Valley
Sierra Nevada Children's Services
420 Sierra College Drive, Suite 100
Grass Valley, CA 95945
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CAPPA member agencies, with the support of CAPPA & Children's Foundation, are putting together a series of Technical Assistance (TA) trainings that will be
coming to a region near you!
This series will be delivered in a format that is very participatory.
We encourage all participating to come with questions, as well
as samples for each of the topics that will be discussed.
Topics to include:
Best Practices Session (10:00am-11:45am):
- Ongoing Review for Input on Draft GAU Review Guides and pending 12-month Regulations, which are both anticipated to go into effect in October/November.
- Ideas for Procurement process overhaul. This will be a Q&A and open discussion format.
- 12-Month Eligibility in Stage 1. This will be a Q&A and open discussion format.
- How to implement the two-week written notice regulation (AB 603)-Update will also be provided on the CAPPA concerns that are included in the budget conversations.
- Management Bulletins Discussion- We will review those Management Bulletins that you continue to have questions on, including 18-09 & 18-09(a) Electronic Banking & Direct Deposits
- Transfers- This will be a Q&A and open discussion format; Inter-county transfers and clarification on stage 2 transfers to be included
Lunch (11:45am-12:15pm)
CAPPA Budget and Legislative Discussion and Updates
(12:15pm-1:00pm)
- AB 378- Child Care Provider Union Bill
- Variable Work Schedule- is a remedy in site?
Peer-to-Peer Networking Session (1:00pm-2:00pm):
This portion of the agenda will allow attendees to share their successful strategies, tools and ideas.
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CAPPA Training: "Everything Fiscal"
Wednesday, August 14, 2019
9:30am-2:00pm
University of Phoenix
2860 Gateway Oaks Drive
Bldg. B, Ste. 100
Sacramento CA 95833
Classroom #121/122/123
CAPPA will be delivering a training focused specifically on APP fiscal issues on August 14th in Sacramento. Workshops will include "Fiscal Essentials" and a Q&A and open discussion session with CDE Fiscal and Agency Projections so that agencies can better monitor their contracts and also learn best practices!
9:30am-10:45am
Fiscal Essentials, CDE
CDNFS representatives will present a variety of fiscal topics affecting Alternative Payment contracts, including CalWORKs Stage 2, Stage 3 and CAPP. A wide variety of topics will be covered including the importance of reporting caseload and expenditure data accurately, how reported data affects projected earnings, payments and future year funding. Additionally, this presentation will include information regarding reporting procedures related to multiyear contracting for CAPP contracts. Whether the attendee is new to the agency or a seasoned accountant, everyone will benefit from this session.
10:45am-12:00pm
Fiscal Q&A Session
This session is all about getting your fiscal questions answered! This session will provide attendees the opportunity to get their questions answered, learn more about the topic as it relates to their circumstances and to get clarification. We ask that you submit your questions ahead of time so that we can plan this session and make it a valuable opportunity that will allow attendees to deepen their understanding of a specific topic.
Please submit your fiscal questions to CAPPA.
12:00pm-12:30pm
Lunch
12:30pm-2:00pm
Fiscal Projections:
Sean Tubridy, YMCA Childcare Resource Service; Michelle Ruggles, Community Child Care Council of Sonoma County (4Cs), and others TBA
Come prepared to hear how some agencies are doing their budget projections in light of 12-month eligibility, and data and trends that ought to be considered as part of any budget forecasting exercise. This workshop will help you better monitor your contracts and learn best practices that work efficiently. This workshop will take you step by step with interactive worksheets and templates.
**In the last part of this workshop, we will be breaking everyone into groups based on the system they use for projections. This will give attendees a chance to network with others that are using a similar method and make contact with someone they could follow-up with if they want more time to discuss.**
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Network and CAPPA Joint Annual Conference 2019
October 2-4, 2019
DoubleTree Hotel Sacramento
Sacramento, CA
The California Child Care Resource & Referral Network and the California Alternative Payment Program Association look forward to hosting our 7th Joint Conference together this fall.
We are offering an Agency pre-payment option and it is being provided for agencies that would like to pay their 2019 Conference Registration Fees in advance. The preliminary program and final conference registration form, including the ability to list all conferees individually and to select workshops, will be released later in July.
We are hard at work creating a conference program that includes a variety of workshops to meet the needs of staff working with parents; staff providing training and technical assistance to child care providers; staff administering AP programs, program staff-supervisors; managers and directors.
Please click:
http://www.rsvpbook.com/prepayjointAC19
for general information about the conference and if your agency would like to pre-pay for the 2019 Joint Network/CAPPA Conference. Pre-payment for The Joint Annual Conference is Due by Friday, June 28th.
Partnership Information:
Exhibitor and Sponsor Information is now available!
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End Child Poverty CA Statement on State Budget Deal
The final California state budget allocates more than $3.4 billion toward investments called for in the State Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force's End Child Poverty Plan.
State legislation created the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force to develop an anti-poverty plan that was released just before the new governor and legislature took their oaths of office in January. The End Child Poverty in California Coalition of 50+ partners rallied people, organizations and elected officials to adopt the Task Force's
End Child Poverty Plan, which would end deep child poverty in just four years when fully implemented. The
End Child Poverty Plan would also reduce overall child poverty by 50 percent over the next decade.
As a result, the final state budget includes unprecedented investments to address deep child poverty. Furthermore, several pieces of legislation and budget proposals have been introduced to implement the comprehensive End Child Poverty Plan.
"This budget represents an unprecedented strategic investment to address poverty and inequality in California. Make no mistake, however - this is a down payment. Fully funding the Task Force's plan would end deep child poverty in California in four years, and our campaign will keep working with our elected officials and all Californians to do just that. Thank you to the Governor and the Legislature with leaders on both sides of the aisle and across the political spectrum for their unprecedented action to help kids and families," said Conway Collis, co-chair of the Lifting Children and Families Out of Poverty Task Force, and CEO of GRACE and End Child Poverty in California.
450,000 California children live in deep child poverty. If concentrated as a population, those children would comprise the state's eighth largest city - larger than Oakland, twice as large as San Bernardino, and just smaller than Long Beach. When fully realized, savings generated by lifting these children from poverty would total $12 billion annually, on an ongoing basis, representing a dramatic return on investment.
"We could not have done this without the broad-based coalition of anti-poverty advocates, faith-based organizations, non-profits, education advocates, business and labor who worked tirelessly to build support for this important victory. This budget is a reflection of the beginning of a sea change, with ending child poverty in California, as the Governor has stated, his North Star. We have more to do, but this is a significant step in the right direction and we are looking forward to continuing our work with this coalition, the legislature and the Governor," said Jackie Thu-Huong Wong, Vice President for Policy and Advocacy at GRACE and End Child Poverty in California.
California has the highest number of children and highest percentage of children living in poverty of any state in the nation - almost 2 million children, who represent one out of every five California kids. Deep poverty is defined as families living at or below 50 percent of the federal poverty line, or less than about $12,500 for a family of four. In addition, 204,000 California children experience homelessness.
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A Quality Education for Every Child
There is no question that education is a powerful driver of prosperity. Americans with college degrees earn 117 percent more a year than those who do not complete high school.
Based on data for the high school class of 2015, raising the nation's high school graduation rate from 83 percent to 90 percent would result in an additional $3.1 billion in earnings for each high school cohort, which would translate into a $5.7 billion increase in gross domestic product.
Moreover, Americans with higher levels of education are more likely to vote,
to volunteer,
and to donate to charity.
But on the whole, the results of the U.S. education system are not where they need to be. Between 2000 and 2017, the United States slipped from fifth to 10th among Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in its rate of postsecondary degree attainment. America's 13-year-olds continue to languish in the middle of the pack internationally in math and science achievement. After some hopeful progress in the early 2000s, results on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) have stagnated in both reading and math. Even more alarming, the nation continues to see the effect of systemic and structural barriers to opportunity for Black, Latinx, Native American, and some Asian American and Pacific Islander children, not to mention the ongoing segregation and isolation of students from families with low incomes who are locked into under-resourced schools. Additionally, it is clear that students with disabilities, students who identify as LGBTQ, and students who are English language learners continue to grapple with added barriers to accessing a quality education.
As the 2020 elections near, the conversation about how to change the direction of the country will gain even more prominence-on education, as well as the many other critical issues Americans are facing. More and more candidates for national office are presenting ideas for how to increase access to high-quality early childhood education and how to make higher education more accessible and affordable. And yet, with a few prominent exceptions, presidential candidates have not yet taken clear positions or staked out big ideas on how to ensure that every child has an excellent school. Elementary and secondary schools are where students learn to read, write, do math, and develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities that will make them successful lifelong learners and full participants in U.S. democracy.
What's more, the public wants a focus on education. In the 2018 midterm elections, it was the second-most frequent topic of campaign ads for governors, with candidates vying to be their state's "pro-education governor." This year, education ranks third among voters' top priorities for the president and Congress.
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Child Care Aware® of America Releases Findings of 2019 Annual State Survey on Child Care
Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) released the results of its annual state child care survey,
Checking in on the Child Care Landscape. The results illustrate the unique child care challenges many states are facing. States are finding an alarming decline in family child care providers as well as a decline in the number of child care providers accepting Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) subsidies. These themes, combined with state-specific challenges, mean that care is inaccessible and unaffordable for many families and child care quality is inconsistent across communities. Earlier this month, CCAoA released
CCDBG: 2019 State Snapshots, detailing the critical work states are doing using federal funding.
Research tells us that children who participate in high-quality programs experience positive lasting effects, including higher IQ scores, boosted academic and economic achievement, and lower incidences of childhood obesity and chronic illness.
Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (CCR&Rs) help families find care and conduct outreach and recruitment to grow the supply of child care. They also provide support for child care providers in their states and communities to help retain qualified providers. In addition, CCR&Rs conduct research and provide valuable data about child care in their states, allowing for more accurate descriptions of the unique challenges and opportunities in each community.
- The number of family child care providers decreased in 25 states from 2017 to 2018.
- The number of center-based child care providers decreased in 15 states from 2017-2018.
- In 2018, CCR&Rs provided:
- Over 1 million child care referrals
- Consumer education to nearly 200,000 families
- Over 51,000 training sessions to child care providers
- More than 16,000 referrals to child care for children with special needs
- Over 35,000 referrals to nonstandard hours child care providers
Link to full article.
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Preparing for Immigration Raids:
What Early Childhood Stakeholders Can Do
We are deeply concerned about the harm of such enforcement actions on young children, families, and communities. In CLASP's own
research
, we heard first-hand how children are severely affected by such actions. Children who witness the arrest of a parent-particularly in their own home-are at greater risk of developing mental health and behavioral problems that have long-term implications for their overall development and future success. The detention or deportation of a parent also decimates families' household incomes, making it more difficult for the remaining parent or caregiver to make ends meet.
Massive enforcement actions also take a major toll on the organizations that serve children and families, including child care providers, schools, churches, food banks, and others. These organizations are forced into crisis mode to meet families' immediate needs and to ensure that families are reunited. Over time, these providers also bear the added responsibility of mitigating long-term harm to children whose families were needlessly torn apart.
Early childhood providers are trusted resources for immigrant families. Here's what you can do to fight back against this immoral attack and prepare for the possibility of a raid:
- Issue organizational statements or guidance. Don't wait for a raid to occur in your community. As soon as possible, advocacy organizations should issue statements in opposition to the raids; government agencies should issue guidance around data privacy and immigrants' rights; and service providers should communicate their plan if enforcement actions occur in the community and connect clients and parents with resources. CLASP has talking points on the raids for early childhood stakeholders.
- Have a plan. Early childhood providers should take steps to prepare your program for the possibility of a raid in your communities. Ensure that children's emergency contacts are current. Know your rights and have a plan in place in the unlikely event that immigration enforcement actions occur at your center- or school-based location. CLASP has a guide to creating "safe space" policies for early childhood programs, including a template policy. Contact Rebecca Ullrich (rullrich@clasp.org) for questions and technical assistance.
- Share resources with families and community members. CLASP is compiling resources to help providers and families prepare for possible enforcement actions. We will continue to update this spreadsheet as we learn about additional resources that can help you make sure families:
- Know their rights in the event of an enforcement action at their home, workplace, or in the community;
- Have a plan in place for their children's care in case they are subject to enforcement actions; and
- Can locate a free or low-cost immigration attorney nearby.
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Even after 'historic' federal spending, today's child care system serves only 1 in 6 eligible kids.
Now Congress might approve billions more to stem the crisis
Last year, Congress dramatically increased the major federal source of child care funding, allowing states to begin chipping away at problems left unaddressed after years of stagnant funding.
The increase, an additional $2.37 billion each in fiscal years 2018 and 2019, allows states to add more children to program rolls, increase payments to providers, and pay for new congressionally-mandated safety and quality improvements.
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