9.3 Increasing Engagement and Access to Information

Lead Agencies must collect and disseminate information about the full range of child care services to promote parental choice to parents of children eligible for CCDF, the general public, and child care providers. 9.3.1 Information about CCDF availability and eligibility Describe how the Lead Agency shares information with eligible parents, the general public, and child care providers about the availability of child care services provided through CCDF and other programs for which the family may be eligible. The description should include, at a minimum, what is provided (e.g., written materials, the website, and direct communications) and what approaches are used to tailor information to parents, the general public, and child care providers. The California Department of Social Services has a toll-free number for those that are seeking child care services. Seekers can speak to an information specialist who can answer general child care questions or connect seekers with their local resource and referral agency (available in English and Spanish) 1-800-KIDS-793. Additionally, there is an online consumer website that is available at https://mychildcareplan.org/ to support consumer education services. Based on the callers need, callers may expect to receive general child care information, or information specialist may connect callers to local resource and referral agencies. At the local level, agencies that contract with the lead agency also have contractual requirements to share information with eligible parents, the general public, and child care providers about the availability of child care services. Per California Code of Regulations, Title 5, Section 18277, each contractor shall include in its program a community involvement component which shall include, but not be limited to providing information to the community regarding the services available. Contractors may utilize media or other forms of communication in the community. 9.3.2 Information about child care and other services available for parents Does the Lead Agency certify that it provides information described in 9.3.1 for the following required programs? • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. • Head Start and Early Head Start programs. • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). • Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) program. • Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). • Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). • Programs carried out under IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C. ☐ X Yes. ☐ No. If no, describe: Not applicable. 9.3.3 Consumer statement for parents receiving CCDF services Lead Agencies must provide parents receiving CCDF services with a consumer statement in hard copy or electronically that contains general information about the CCDF program and specific information about the child care provider they select. Please certify if the Lead Agency provides parents receiving CCDF services a consumer statement that contains the following 8 requirements: 1. Health and safety requirements met by the provider 2. Licensing or regulatory requirements met by the provider 3. Date the provider was last inspected 4. Any history of violations of these requirements 5. Any voluntary quality standards met by the provider 6. How CCDF subsidies are designed to promote equal access 7. How to submit a complaint through the hotline 8. How to contact a local resource and referral agency or other community-based organization to receive assistance in finding and enrolling in quality child care Does the Lead Agency provide to families, either in hard copy or electronically, a consumer statement that contains the required information about the provider they have selected, including the eight required elements above? ☐ Yes. X No. If no, describe: California received a preliminary notice of non-compliance from Office of Child Care (OCC) on December 13, 2021, for this provision and needs additional time to develop an implementation plan, including receiving federal technical assistance to meet this requirement. The consumer education website includes many of the 8 elements in the provider’s profile. However, contractors are not currently required to provide the information to parents receiving child care and development services. 9.3.4 Informing families about best practices on child development Describe how the Lead Agency makes information available to parents, providers, and the general public on research and best practices concerning children’s development, including physical health and development, and information about successful parent and family engagement. At a minimum, the description should include what information is provided; how the information is provided; any distinct activities for sharing this information with parents, providers, the general public; and any partners in providing this information. The California Department of Social Services’ (CDSS’) Child Care and Development Division (CCDD) hosts monthly contractor meetings. This meeting series is open to CCDD contractors and is intended to be a space to discuss contracts, funding, provide guidance and information to the field, and respond to questions and concerns. Also, the California Child Care Resource & Referral (R&R) Network along with CDSS host a monthly webinar for R&R members to provide programmatic, funding and legislative updates, technical assistance, contractual support, and resources. The California Child Care Resource & Referral Network is a non-profit organization helping to make reliable child care more affordable and accessible for families in California. Additionally, each R&R provides information to the child care community including families and the workforce. Information is whole child related and supports best practices related to health and safety, children’s development, including physical health and development resources, quality child care resources, and training and professional development for the early learning and care workforce. The CDSS also funds 58 Local Planning Councils (LPCs), one in each county. The LPCs assess child care needs which include the needs of the workforce and identify local priority areas for state and federal child care funds. The LPCs provide a forum that encourages public input on local child care needs and fosters partnerships to establish priorities for county wide child care services. There is a membership requirement and planning councils must include child care consumers, providers, public agency representatives, and community representatives. The planning councils act as the liaison to the state and the local child care community. This means they share health and safety, policy, budget, child care and development resources, and professional development information with parents, providers, and the general public. More information about the local planning council mandates can be located at: https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=10485.&node Tr eePath=16.4.28.2&lawCode=WIC . The CDSS also hosts the Early Childhood Policy Council (ECPC), which is the body appointed by the governor to discuss and elevate the needs of California’s children and families and makes recommendations to address current issues. The ECPC meetings are open to the public and address the child care community priorities. Resources from the meetings are available online at https://www.chhs.ca.gov/home/committees/early-childhood- policy-council/. The CDSS also makes the California Early Childhood Online platform available to parents, the workforce, the child care and development community members, and public. The website can be found at http://www.caearlychildhoodonline.org/. This platform is free, and a variety of topical child development resources and trainings are available on the platform including health and safety, and healthy eating and physical activity resources. Other resources include California Early Learning Videos, the Desired Results website at https://www.desiredresults.us/, California Teaching Pyramid, Program Infant and Toddler, Strengthening Families Network (supports family engagement), All About Young Children website, and the Quality Counts California website to name a few and they all provide developmental best practices resources. The CDSS also posts child care bulletins (CCB) that provide legislative and state programmatic updates and implementation guidance which can be found on the Child Care and Development Division CCB webpage at https://www.cdss.ca.gov/inforesources/letters- regulations/letters-and-notices/child-care-bulletins . Furthermore, the lead agency is committed to using research, consulting subject matter experts, and adopting best practices that are diverse and inclusive of a variety of voices and sources which will include communities of color, experts of color, child care providers who work in a variety of settings, parents, and minoritized communities to ensure that all voices are elevated and utilized to support the needs of California’s children, families, and the workforce. 9.3.5 Unlimited parental access to their children Does the Lead Agency have procedures to ensure that parents have unlimited access to their children whenever their children are in the care of a provider who receives CCDF funds: ☐ X Yes. ☐ No. If no, describe: Not applicable. 9.3.6 Informing families about best practices in social and emotional health Describe how the Lead Agency shares information with families, providers, and the general public regarding the social-emotional and behavioral and mental health of young children, including positive behavioral intervention and support models based on research and best practices for those from birth to school age: The Lead Agency shares information with families, providers, and the general public through our listserv communications and Child Care Bulletins (CCBs). In recent years, the CCDD released two CCBs (CCB 23-24 and CCB 24-23) that provided information for contractors and providers on new policies and procedures related to prevention of suspension and expulsion, which included resources and support for families and child care providers regarding social-emotional and behavioral and mental health supports for young children. Locally our child care and development contractors provide this information to the families they serve, as required by Title 5 of the California Code of Regulations (5 CCR) section 18275, including parent education on topics related to child growth and development. Best practices in social and emotional health include but are not limited to resources and support through our quality initiatives such as the Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) for infant/toddler providers, the California Preschool Instructional Network (CPIN) for preschool providers, Family Child Care at its Best (FCCB) for home-based providers, and coaching content offered through the California Coaching Companion. Additionally, the California Teaching Pyramid provides training and coaching to providers on the social-emotional and behavioral needs of young children, including positive behavioral intervention, and is a support model based on research and best practices. Online asynchronous overview learning modules are also available for the California Teaching Pyramid through California Early Childhood Online (CECO). Another resource for best practices is the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) Network which delivers consultation services, resources, and training activities for early learning and care center-based program staff, family child care providers, and family, friend, and neighbor providers. The IECMHC Network services are offered at no cost for early learning and care center- based programs and home- based care providers in California. The IECMHC Network’s services are designed to build the capacity of program staff and care providers to foster the developmental, social, and emotional health and well-being of young children in their care. 9.3.7 Policies on the prevention of the suspension and expulsion of children a. The Lead Agency must have policies to prevent the suspension and expulsion of children from birth to age 5 in child care and other early childhood programs receiving CCDF funds. Describe those policies and how those policies are shared with families, providers, and the general public: The California Department of Social Services (CDSS), upon enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 2806 (Chapter 915, Statutes of 2022), was required to create guidance for the field regarding the policies and procedures for suspension and expulsion of children in early child care learning settings. AB 2806 added Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) section 10491 which prohibits contractors and providers who provide services to children enrolled in our general child care development programs, child care and development programs for children with severe disabilities and migrant child care and development programs for Family Child Care Home Education Networks from suspending or expelling a child because of a child's behavior. Specific requirements include: (1) implementation of definitions for expulsion, program, suspension, and persistent and serious behaviors; (2) implementation of policy and procedure requirements for providers specific to suspension and expulsion; (3) annual data reporting by facilities, on use of expulsion and suspension procedures and, (4) requires the CDSS to publish the data collected annually, beginning in 2031. The CDSS, as the lead agency posted CCB 23- 24 on September 8, 2023, and CCB 24-23 on October 24, 2024, to provide guidance to contractors regarding the implementation of the suspension and expulsion provisions and related procedures for suspension and expulsion within child care. The bulletin emphasizes the importance of suspension and expulsion being a last resort and that contractors must follow all procedures per WIC section 10491 and WIC 10491.1. Since implementation of these policies, the Child Care and Development Division (CCDD) has provided trainings at state-wide Early Childhood conferences, shared information at our monthly webinars with contractors and webinars provided by our CCDD staff. The CDSS has provided directives and guidance through our CCBs, regarding the communication to families regarding these policies upon enrollment. Additionally, during our monitoring reviews, CDSS staff conduct a review of all contractors’ policies and procedures including written information to families. Currently, those policies do not apply to all CCDF funded settings. The policies do not currently apply to licensed family child care homes and license-exempt family, friend, and neighbor setting that receive vouchers. b. Describe what policies, if any, the Lead Agency has to prevent the suspension and expulsion of school-age children from child or youth care settings receiving CCDF funds: The CDSS currently has policies preventing the suspension and expulsion of children from birth through five years of age, inclusive, in many of the settings supported by our contracted agencies. While it’s not currently required for programs that serve school-age children, CCDD is aware that many of our school-age programs have applied the policy in those settings.