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. Information about the full diversity of child care services available to parents of eligible children, providers, and the general public is made through Connecticut’s CCR&R (United Way of Connecticut), the Office of Early Childhood’s (OEC) website and microsite. The OEC provides materials for families that promote informed childcare choices, including consumer-friendly strategies. The website’s Google translator posts all information on the OEC’s website in html format to allow for translation. The Care 4 Kids eligibility case managers are aware of the availability of all state and federally funded financial support for child care, where funded childcare vacancies exist and how to access services. This allows them to support families in meeting child care needs. Additionally, information is provided on the OEC’s website about the Care 4 Kids Child Care Subsidy Program, as well as information regarding other publicly funded early care and education programs including School Readiness, Child Day Care, Smart Start, federal Head Start, and the federal Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships. 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: 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? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: 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. OEC provides several guidance documents related to the CT Early Learning and Development Standards (CT ELDS), including the series for providers entitled Supporting All Children Using the CT ELDS (https://www.ctoec.org/supporting- all-children-using-the-ct-elds/) which include evidence-based practices to promote development across all developmental domains. One documents in this series includes resources to share with families related to the CT ELDS. The OEC also provides resources (video clips, etc.) related to child development specifically designed for families (https://www.ctoec.org/child-development/) and promotes the use of the Sparkler app by child care programs in CT to foster family engagement and support families in completing developmental screenings. 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: 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: Existing materials and strategies on social-emotional and behavioral issues and early childhood mental health of young children: (1) OEC, in collaboration with Eastern Connecticut State University, has developed a series of video rich training modules for home visitors to improve their knowledge and skills in serving young children and families. These videos are posted on the Center of Early Childhood’s website and are available to the public. (2) The OEC also collaborated with the Connecticut Health and Development (CHDI) to develop training tools for child health care providers on infant mental health and maternal depression. These tools were utilized in workshops with pediatricians. (3) The OEC’s Help Me Grow staff regularly hosts community networking sessions that bring together the public to share information. The OEC is implementing the use of enhanced technology in the form of a phone based mobile application, Sparkler, for early screening (ASQ) and (ASQ-SE). Families and providers can now track children’s development through Sparkler and alerts are sent to the child’s pediatrician, home visitor and child care providers. The Connecticut State Department of Education has requested that all school districts in CT post the link to the free app, Sparkler on their district website for families. (4) OEC continues to fund the work of the Association of Infant Mental Health to provide trainings, an infant mental health credential, and materials. (5) The OEC also continues to invest in the distribution of over 100 online training courses free of charge, to all providers, through CCEI/registry. The OEC plans to continue contracting with partners to provide community-based, free in-person and online training on social/emotional and behavioral issues. (6) The state currently provides limited access to the Early Childhood Consultation Partnership (ECCP) for providers, and expanded access to providers through the Preschool Development Grant. ECCP provides both in-person and remote professional learning opportunities as well as technical assistance for staff working with children with social-emotional and behavioral concerns. (7) OEC’s home visiting program was awarded an Innovation Grant to develop online trainings for the field, which include a focus on infant mental health and social-emotional development and related issues. Public Information Communications: As indicated in the Agency’s Early Care and Education Action Plan, the OEC is currently developing improved ways to routinely communicate with parents, providers, and the public and build feedback loops to better inform stakeholders and to better include stakeholder feedback in policy setting. Additionally, OEC is developing partnerships to support other sector’s increased knowledge of early childhood services and best practices, for example, workers that refer families to homeless shelters and homeless shelter staff. OEC is working with the O’Donnell Company to develop ongoing communication about social- emotional developmental and behavioral issues and early childhood mental health of young children. The OEC and CSDE have jointly developed information on best practices on family support working with the Early Childhood Funder’s Collaborative. The has culminated in a statewide definition and best practices white paper on high impact family engagement that focuses on relationships and partnership with families. CT is a Pyramid Model State and promotes the use of Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in infants and young children through training and technical assistance to childcare providers. The OEC is a member of the Pyramid Model Consortium and three divisions of the OEC (Family Support, Quality Improvement, and the CT Head Start State Collaborative Office) provide resources, trainings and conferences to assist programs and providers in implementing the Pyramid Model for supporting social emotional competence in infants and young children. 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 OEC Statement on Exclusionary Discipline https://www.ctoec.org/forms-documents/oec-statement-on-exclusionary-discipline.pdf/), and an accompanying executive summary (https://www.ctoec.org/forms- documents/behavior-and-discipline-in-early-childhood-programs-ct-oec-9-20-23.pdf/ ) were released in September of 2023. OEC partnered with Walter Gilliam and several CT agencies to provide a webinar to highlight the issue of suspension and expulsion. introduce the documents and share resources available to help programs support social and emotional competence. The statements are posted on the OEC website and we are currently planning next steps in dissemination to providers and families. 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: N/A