6.1 Supporting the Child Care Workforce

Lead Agencies have broad flexibility to implement policies and practices to support the child care workforce. 6.1.1 Strategies to improve recruitment, retention, compensation, and well-being a. Identify any Lead Agency activities related to strengthening workforce recruitment and retention of child care providers. Check all that apply: i. [ ] Providing program-level grants to support investments in staff compensation. ii. [x] Providing bonuses or stipends paid directly to staff, like sign-on or retention bonuses. iii. [ ] Connecting family child care providers and center-based child care staff to health insurance or supporting premiums in the Marketplace. iv. [ ] Subsidizing family child care provider and center-based child care staff retirement benefits. v. [ ] Providing paid sick, personal, and parental leave for family child care providers and center-based child care staff. vi. [ ] Providing student loan debt relief or loan repayment for family child care providers and center-based child care staff. vii. [x] Providing scholarships or tuition support for center-based child care staff and family child care providers. viii. [ ] Other. Describe: b. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to assess and improve the compensation of the child care workforce in the State or Territory, including increasing wages, bonuses, and stipends. In July 2019, the Connecticut General Assembly passed Public Act 19-61, an Act requiring the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) to develop a proposed early childhood educator compensation schedule for lead teachers employed by State-funded programs. PA 19-61 was enacted during a time of unprecedent emphasis at the federal level on early education - the intent of the act was to position the state to be better prepared for a federal commitment to this area, as such the OEC expanded the scope of the salary scale to include credential levels beyond those considered in the Qualified Staff Member requirement. The OEC leveraged this momentum to demonstrate alignment with the nationally recognized Power to the Profession’s ￿Unifying Framework￿, a product of a collaboration of 15 national organizations which moves the field towards long overdue professional recognition and highlights the role of the bachelor’s degree in the lead teacher (or ECE III) position. In December, 2022, the OEC issued the legislatively required report to provide guidance to state-funded programs to meet minimum compensation recommendations for ECE educators to help sustain the workforce It is not currently a mandate for providers, as the OEC acknowledges that the compensation levels in the proposed schedule are not feasible for most providers in the current funding environment. The OEC suggests that programs strive for a 3% annual increase for educators to account for yearly cost-of-living adjustments and accrued experience. To support this increase, the OEC has raised subsidy rates by 11% per year for three years, which will prove additional compensation to programs which could increase salary for ECE educators. Additionally, the OEC is providing Qualified Workforce Incentives to staff with early childhood credentials (CDA, AA, BA) These are described more fully in section 6.1.5. c. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to expand access to benefits, including health insurance, paid sick, personal, and parental leave, and retirement benefits. CT OEC is not able to offer health care insurance, paid sick time, personal time or retirement to child care providers. However, child care providers in CT can apply for affordable health care through Access Health CT. Access Health CT offers both health and dental plans and financial help to reduce costs for child care providers. CT OEC holds a labor contract with CSEA SEIU for family child care providers who participate in the Care 4 Kids subsidy program. In accordance with the bargaining agreement, a work group has been established to study the issues of health insurance coverage in relation to members of the bargaining unit, consisting of representation from the Union; The State; Access Health CT; Office of Health Care Advocate; Department of Insurance. This workgroup will draft a system of support to help guide FCC providers. d. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to support the mental health and well-being of the child care workforce. OEC’s Behavioral Health Initiatives monthly webinars offer professional development opportunities to childcare providers; an overarching theme for all webinars promotes the importance of mental wellness. Whatever a specific topic may be, within each webinar a message promoting practice of self-care in order to optimize effectiveness in caring for others is conveyed. For example, a webinar focused on suspension and expulsion and how to mitigate such occurrences addressed exclusionary disciplinary actions. However, the webinar also addressed the importance for a provider to be self-aware and able to self-regulate his/her own emotions when engaging with children; if one is mentally unwell, this outcome may be more challenging. Another webinar focused specifically on mental health and included mental health professionals offering words of insight and validation as to the importance of mental health and wellness. In all, eight webinars have been held to date, all of which were open to the public at large to attend. e. Describe any other strategies the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to support providers’ recruitment and retention of the child care workforce. The workforce pipeline is in year three, having $5 million allocated for FY24 and 25 in the state budget. We have gleaned some best practices from years one and two and sites are implementing them in year three. In partnership with the CT Department of Labor, OEC and the SEIU Education and Support Fund developed a family child care registered apprenticeship program. OEC is supporting this effort with ARPA funding to administer the apprenticeship program for family child care apprentices. Once they complete the apprenticeship, they will have obtained their CDA credential, NAFCC accreditation, and a 12.5% wage increase for subsidized children in their care. OEC also helped to design a center-based registered apprenticeship in cooperation with the CT DOL and child care center leaders. OEC has a $4.275 million funding opportunity open as of August 2024 to help centers and industry sponsors implement apprenticeship programs at their sites. 6.1.2 Strategies to support provider business practices a. Describe other strategies that the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to strengthen child care providers’ business management and administrative practices. OEC has partnered with The Connecticut Community College System (CT State) in order to increase the capacity and create an early childhood education (ECE) pathway for child care workers in the State of Connecticut. These supports include ECE program leadership training through the offering of a Program Leader Initiative (PLI), I2 defined credit hours at an Associates level, the offering of an enhanced Child Development Associate Credential (CDA) effort across the state and additional adult learning theory classes (ALT) to better educate future higher ed educators and trainers in the field of early childhood learning programs. The OEC has a business support contract since 2020 with the Women’s Business Development Council to provide (1) training for staff of licensed family homes, centers, and group homes on all aspects of healthy business creation, management, and expansion, (2) individualized program support for assessment and strategic planning, (3) grant opportunities to eligible licensed (or license aspiring) programs for start up, expansion, emergency operating funds, emergency facilities funds, and business technology (hardware, software, access, technical support, etc.), and (4) providing the OEC support in assessing, sequencing and building business related work of the agency and its partners. The OEC is implementing an RFP in the spring of 2024 for the continuation of business services via a contract with an awardee for the period 7/1/24 through 6/30/27. The OEC offers scholarship to program administrators and family home owners to strengthen their business competency. In addition, continuation of the Governor’s Education Emergency Relief Fund (GEER) project provides and Online Learning Hub where directors receive technical assistance, coaching and mentoring to support program management around the use of technology for communication and learning with families. Priority School Readiness Programs, a state-funded program, received the Administrative Funds Enhancement Grant to support the role of School Readiness Liaisons in districts identified by OEC as underfunded based on the number of School Readiness spaces allocated to the district. The amount of Administrative Funds Enhancement provided to each district will equal 3% of the district’s current space funding allocation. The funds are intended to support the role of the Liaison in the coordination, program evaluation and administration of the School Readiness Grant. These funds will provide communities with increased access to resources to enhance monitoring and support program quality improvement. A portion of these funds may be dedicated to compensating parent members of the School Readiness Council for any time and travel related to council meetings, and any activities related to training, leadership, and community engagement. The OEC provides an incentive program (Qualified Workforce Incentives ￿ QWI) to licensed providers who meet QWI eligibility requirements Qualified Workforce Incentives (QWI). The QWI awards providers monetarily for achievement of defined education benchmarks (CDA Credential, associate’s degree in early childhood education or bachelor’s degree with early childhood education credits or OEC equivalent). Awards are per benchmark and each provides opportunity for bonuses if the applicant: works at an NAEYC Accredited or Head Start Approved program (quality building); the program has an SVI rating of .6 or higher (equity building); and/or if the applicant works with infants or toddlers (capacity building). These awards build on the OEC’s scholarship assistance fund that provides debt free paths to those benchmarks. The OEC encourages programs to use these opportunities as recruitment and retention strategies. QWI was deployed in phases. The program opened January 2022 and included eligibility for OEC funded School Readiness, Child Day Care and State Head Start programs. Later phases expanded to OEC licensed centers and group homes, included administrators, and awarded incentives for holders of BA plus 12 ECE credits. b. Check the topics addressed in the Lead Agency’s strategies for strengthening child care providers’ administrative business practices. Check all that apply: i. [x] Fiscal management. ii. [x] Budgeting. iii. [x] Recordkeeping. iv. [x] Hiring, developing, and retaining qualified staff. v. [x] Risk management. vi. [x] Community relationships. vii. [x] Marketing and public relations. viii. [x] Parent-provider communications. ix. [x] Use of technology in business administration. x. [x] Compliance with employment and labor laws. xi. [ ] Other. Describe any other efforts to strengthen providers’ administrative business: 6.1.3 Strategies to support provider participation Lead Agencies must facilitate participation of child care providers and staff with limited English proficiency and disabilities in the child care subsidy system. Describe how the Lead Agency will facilitate this participation, including engagement with providers to identify barriers and specific strategies used to support their participation: a. Providers and staff with limited English proficiency: The OEC ensures that applications and documents for Care 4 Kids are available in Spanish. Additionally, United Way of CT has bilingual caseworkers or translators available. The C4K and OEC websites are available in multiple languages. The Staffed Family Child Care Networks also have staff and resources available in languages other than English. Additionally, The OEC has a multi-year contract with the O’Donnell Company to increase awareness of why quality childcare is important and what services are available to families. This campaign will ensure consistent messaging through a set of communications that are easily accessed by families. Through this contract a list of community partners, non-profits who work with families, and key influences, for example, local community action groups and churches are given print friendly and attractive materials for distribution in five languages. These materials include information regarding the importance of quality child care, what to look for in quality childcare and the important roles families play in their child’s life. Outreach to targeted groups including English as a second language, homeless, deep poverty and families with new infants. Strategies include press outreach, Google ads, Facebook, community newspapers in English and Spanish billboard and bus cards, and shelter ads in major cities. b. Providers and staff who have disabilities: Care 4 Kids staff are available to assist providers, staff and families who have disabilities to assist with completion of applications and supporting documentation. Care 4 Kids offers deaf families teletypewriter (TTY) for phone calls.