6.4 Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines

Lead Agencies must develop, maintain, or implement early learning and developmental guidelines appropriate for children from birth to kindergarten entry. Early learning and developmental guidelines should describe what children should know and be able to do at different ages and cover the essential domains of early childhood development, which at a minimum includes cognition, including language arts and mathematics; social, emotional, and physical development; and approaches toward learning. 6.4.1 Early learning and developmental guidelines a. Check the boxes below to certify the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines are: i. [x] Research-based. ii. [x] Developmentally appropriate. iii. [x] Culturally and linguistically appropriate. iv. [x] Aligned with kindergarten entry. v. [x] Appropriate for all children from birth to kindergarten entry. vi. [x] Implemented in consultation with the educational agency and the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body. vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: b. Check the boxes below to certify that the required domains are included in the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines. i. [x] Cognition, including language arts and mathematics. ii. [x] Social development. iii. [x] Emotional development. iv. [x] Physical development. v. [x] Approaches toward learning. vi. [x] Other optional domains. Describe any optional domains: Emergent literacy, science and technology, social studies and creativity and aesthetics. vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: c. When were the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines most recently updated and for what reason? The standards were revised in 2016 to incorporate new research and to be easier to understand and use. Previously, the standards existed as two documents: the Arkansas Framework for Infant and Toddler Care and the Arkansas Early Childhood Education Framework Handbook for Three (3) & Four (4) Year old children. Under the revised format, the Child Development and Early Learning Standards (CDELS), each standard is presented as a seamless birth-to-60-month progression of child development and learning. The new format ensures alignment among the expectations for infants and toddlers and those for 3-, 4- and 5-year-old children. In addition, practitioners and parents see the foundational skills upon which later skills are built, and teachers can use one document that is inclusive of all children. d. Provide the Web link to the Lead Agency's early learning and developmental guidelines. https://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/Files/AR-Early-Learning-Standards-2016- 1_20230505102527.pdf 6.4.2 Use of early learning and developmental guidelines a. Describe how the Lead Agency uses its early learning and developmental guidelines. The Child Development and Early Learning Standards are utilized by Arkansas’s early childhood educators, professional development specialists, families of young children, and state agency staff. The standards are used: 1) to align curricula and assessments implemented in early childhood programs to ensure the most important areas of child development and early learning are being addressed in a developmentally appropriate way, 2) as a professional development tool to support teachers in engaging in developmentally appropriate instruction, 3) as a resource for families to better understand child development and early learning, and by state agencies as a guide to support the state’s early childhood system-building efforts. b. Check the boxes below to certify that CCDF funds are not used to develop or implement an assessment for children that: i. [x] Will be the primary or sole basis to determine a child care provider ineligible to participate in the CCDF. ii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole basis to provide a reward or sanction for an individual provider. iii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. iv. [x] Will be used to deny children eligibility to participate in CCDF. v. If any components above are not checked, describe: 7 Quality Improvement Activities The quality of child care directly affects children’s safety and healthy development while in care settings, and high-quality child care can be foundational across the lifespan. Lead Agencies may use CCDF for quality improvement activities for all children in care, not just those receiving child care subsidies. OCC will collect the most detailed Lead Agency information about quality improvement activities in annual reports instead of this Plan. Lead Agencies must report on CCDF child care quality improvement investments in three ways: 1. In this Plan, Lead Agencies will describe the types of activities supported by quality investments over the 3-year period. 2. An annual expenditure report (the ACF-696). Lead Agencies will provide data on how much CCDF funding is spent on quality activities. This report will be used to determine compliance with the required quality and infant and toddler spending requirements. 3. An annual Quality Progress Report (the ACF-218). Lead Agencies will provide a description of activities funded by quality expenditures, the measures used to evaluate its progress in improving the quality of child care programs and services within the State/Territory, and progress or barriers encountered on those measures. In this section of the Plan, Lead Agencies will describe their quality activities needs assessment and identify the types of quality improvement activities where CCDF investments are being made using quality set-aside funds.