1.3 Consultation in the Development of the CCDF Plan

The Lead Agency is responsible for developing the CCDF Plan, and consultation with and meaningful input and feedback from a wide range of representatives is critical for CCDF programs to continually adapt to the changing needs of families, child care programs, and the workforce. Consultation involves meeting with or otherwise obtaining input from an appropriate agency in the development of the State or Territory CCDF Plan. As part of the Plan development process, Lead Agencies must consult with the following: (1) Appropriate representatives of general-purpose local government. General purpose local governments are defined by the U.S. Census at https://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/g12_org.pdf. (2) The State Advisory Council (SAC) on Early Childhood Education and Care (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act) or similar coordinating body pursuant to 98.14(a)(1)(vii). (3) Tribe(s) or Tribal organization(s) within the State. This consultation should be done in a timely manner and at the option of the Tribe(s) or Tribal organization(s). 1.3.1 Consultation efforts in CCDF Plan development Describe the Lead Agency’s consultation efforts in the development of the CCDF Plan, including how and how often the consultation occurred. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with appropriate representatives of general- purpose local government: The CCDF Administrator and CCDF State Program Manager met with the Executive Direct and CEO, Joe DeLong of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), along with the Deputy Director and COO, Ron Thomas to discuss the 2025-2027 CCDF Plan. An overview of the CCDF Plan was shared with CCM. OEC shared current initiatives and future plans as did CCM. Intersections were examined, for example the future plans for SSASID numbers for all children in state and subsidy funded programs for the purpose of prevention and early intervention and how that connects with CCM’s intervention work with Disconnected Youth in our state. Further, The OEC Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and CCDF Administrator met with a diverse group of representatives from local governments through our Blue Ribbon Panel outreach meetings to gather input and feedback on the state of child care in CT and recommendations for Care 4 Kids. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with the State Advisory Council or similar coordinating body: The CCDF Administrator is a member of Connecticut’s Early Childhood Cabinet, which acts as an advisory council. The CCDF Administrator and the CCDF State Program manager presented an overview of the 2025-2027 CCDF plan to the Cabinet and requested input into the plan. Links to the preprint were provided to members and the public at this meeting. The CCDF Administrator’s email as well as the CCDF State Program Manager’s emails were provided for members and the public to use for input, comments and questions regarding the plan. Timelines for public comment and final submission were also discussed. b. Describe, if applicable, how the Lead Agency consulted with Indian Tribes(s) or Tribal organizations(s) within the State: Both of Connecticut’s Indian Tribes were contacted via email to request a meeting to discuss the plan. To date there has been no response. c. Identify other entities, agencies, or organizations consulted on the development of the CCDF Plan (e.g., representatives from the child care workforce, or statewide afterschool networks) and describe those consultation efforts: An overview of the 2025-2027 CCDF Plan was provided internally to OEC staff at both an agency wide all Staff meeting and a tri-division (ECE, Quality Improvement, CCDF) meeting to review staff roles for contributions to the plan and solicit additional information. This same process was repeated with our sister agencies, Department of Social Services, including representatives from TANF, SNAP and Medicaid, State Department of Education, Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and United Way of CT who operates our CCRR and Subsidy. Similarities and overlap within and between various agency work and initiatives were discussed as well as areas for improved communication and collaboration with regard to messaging and outreach, eligibility processes, and consumer education. 1.3.2 Public hearing process Lead Agencies must hold at least one public hearing in the State or Territory, with sufficient Statewide or Territory-wide distribution of notice prior to such a hearing to enable the public to comment on the provision of child care services under the CCDF Plan. Describe the Statewide or Territory-wide public hearing process held to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the provision of child care services under this Plan. i. Date of the public hearing: 5/13/2024 Reminder: Must be no earlier than January 1, 2024. If more than one public hearing was held, enter one date (e.g., the date of the first hearing, the most recent hearing date, or any hearing date that demonstrates this requirement). ii. Date of notice of public hearing: 4/17/2024 iii. Was the notice of public hearing posted publicly at least 20 calendar days prior to the date of the public hearing? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: iv. Describe how the public was notified about the public hearing, including outreach in other languages, information on interpretation services being available, etc. Include specific website links if used to provide noticeThe public was notified through the OEC website (http://www.ctoec.org), the ECE listserv (reaching over 1,500 child care providers and stakeholders), as well as OEC social media channels. Additionally, the Notice of Hearing was shared with our Parent Cabinet to disseminate into all regions of the State and shared on the OEC website. Outreach to notify of the Public Hearing was conducted in English. The Public Hearing was conducted in both English and Spanish. v. Describe how the approach to the public hearing was inclusive of all geographic regions of the State or Territory: To be inclusive of all geographic regions of the State, we offered a virtual public comment forum on March 13, 2024. A user- friendly web-based comment portal was made available to solicit comments for a full month. Additionally, the Notice of Hearing was shared with our Parent Cabinet to disseminate into all regions of the State. vi. Describe how the content of the Plan was made available to the public in advance of the public hearing (e.g., the Plan was made available in other languages, in multiple formats, etc.): The draft CCDF Plan, along with a summary document (in English and Spanish) highlighting the key initiatives in each section of the draft CCDF Plan, was posted to the OEC website and sent electronically to the State Advisory Council, the Early Childhood Cabinet. vii. Describe how the information provided by the public was taken into consideration regarding the provision of child care services under this Plan: All public comments were reviewed and considered for the completion of the final plan. A summary of comments was posted to the OEC website on the CCDF webpage. 1.3.3 Public availability of final Plan, amendments, and waivers Lead Agencies must make the submitted and approved final Plan, any approved Plan amendments, and any approved requests for temporary waivers publicly available on a website. a. Provide the website link to where the Plan, any Plan amendments, and waivers (if applicable) are available. Note: A Plan amendment is required if the website address where the Plan is posted changes. https://www.ctoec.org/ccdf/ b. Describe any other strategies that the Lead Agency uses to make submitted and approved CCDF Plan and approved Plan amendments available to the public. Check all that apply and describe the strategies below, including any relevant website links as examples. i. [x] Working with advisory committees. Describe: The CCDF team met with the OEC Parent Cabinet to discuss ways to further engage stakeholders in reviewing and providing feedback on the plan during the Public Comment period. It was decided that Parent Cabinet ambassadors would share a 1-2 page visual summary document with stakeholders at their various meetings and engagements to encourage participation in the public comment process. The CCDF Administrator is a member of Connecticut’s Early Childhood Cabinet, which acts as an advisory council. The CCDF Administrator and the CCDF State Program manager presented an overview of the 2025-2027 CCDF plan to the Cabinet and requested input into the plan. Links to the preprint were provided to members and the public at this meeting. The CCDF Administrator’s email as well as the CCDF State Program Manager’s emails were provided for members and the public to use for input, comments, and questions regarding the plan. Timelines for public comment and final submission were also discussed. ii. [ ] Working with child care resource and referral agencies. Describe: iii. [ ] Providing translation in other languages. Describe: iv. [ ] Sharing through social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, email). Describe: v. [ ] Providing notification to key constituents (e.g., parent and family groups, provider groups, advocacy groups, foundations, and businesses). Describe: vi. [ ] Working with Statewide afterschool networks or similar coordinating entities for out-of-school time. Describe: vii. [ ] Direct communication with the child care workforce. Describe: viii. [ ] Other. Describe: 2 Child and Family Eligibility and Enrollment and Continuity of Care Stable and reliable child care arrangements facilitate job stability for parents and healthy development of children. CCDF eligibility and enrollment policies can contribute to these goals. Policies and procedures that create barriers to families accessing CCDF, like inaccessible subsidy applications and onerous reporting requirements, interrupt a parent’s ability to work and may deter eligible families from participating in CCDF. To address these concerns, Lead Agencies must provide children with a minimum of 12 months between eligibility determinations, limit reporting requirements during the 12-month period, and ensure eligibility determination and redetermination processes do not interrupt a parent’s work or school. In this section, Lead Agencies will identify how they define eligible children and families and how the Lead Agency’s eligibility and enrollment policies support access for eligible children and families.