7.2 Use of Quality Set-Aside Funds

Lead Agencies must use a portion of their CCDF expenditures for activities designed to improve the quality of child care services and to increase parental options for and access to high-quality child care. They must use the quality set-aside funds on at least one of 10 activities described in CCDF and the quality activities must be aligned with a Statewide or Territory-wide assessment of the State's or Territory’s need to carry out such services and care. 7.2.1 Quality improvement activities a. Describe how the Lead Agency will make its Quality Progress Report (ACF – 218) and expenditure reports, available to the public. Provide a link if available. The District will prepare a summary overview of the final approved annual Quality Progress Report (QPR) and post the QPR on the OSSE website. The summary overview of the QPR will provide a high-level overview of the grants, programs, and projects reported in the annual report. b. Identify Lead Agency plans, if any, to spend CCDF funds for each of the following quality improvement activities. If an activity is checked “yes”, describe the Lead Agency’s current and/or future plans for this activity. i. Supporting the training and professional development of the child care workforce, including birth to five and school-age providers. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. Building and Sustaining Quality in Early Care and Education ￿ CCDF funds combine with local funds to cover the costs of this grant, which supports training offered through the OSSE Learning Management System (LMS) and implementation of the implementation of the Trainer Approval Program (TAP), which certifies professional development trainers and training organizations that deliver quality training aligned to the District’s core knowledge areas for early childhood professionals. Quorum eLearning ￿ CCDF funds support Quorum eLearning, which provides free asynchronous professional development and learning opportunities to DC’s early childhood workforce. Through Quorum, early childhood educators can complete all of the health and safety training mandated for CCDF-eligible providers (excluding in-person CPR training), as well as the 120 training hours needed to obtain or renew a Child Development Associate (CDA) credential and a variety of other professional development courses. Scholarship programs ￿ CCDF funds combine with local funds to cover the costs of grants that fund the CDA Training and Preparation program as well as the DC Leading Educators toward Advanced Degrees (DC LEAD) program, which provides scholarships to obtain an associate and/or bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a related field to meet the education requirement based on the scholar’s staff type. ii. Developing, maintaining, or implementing early learning and developmental guidelines. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. iii. Developing, implementing, or enhancing a quality improvement system. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The District’s QRIS, Capital Quality, is administered statewide. OSSE uses CCDF quality set-aside funds, as well as local funds, to cover the costs of the Building and Sustaining Quality in Early Care and Education grant, which provides quality facilitators (coaches), who work with Capital Quality participating facilities to develop continuous quality improvement plans and provide technical assistance to improve program quality. OSSE developed its QRIS, Capital Quality, to be reflective of and responsive to the different types of provider settings participating in the QRIS. The 10 quality indicators included in Capital Quality reflect dimensions of quality early education practices that are applicable across the range of settings in which young children birth to 5 are served and are flexible enough to define quality in home, expanded home, and center environments, as well as for centers serving infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. iv. Improving the supply and quality of child care services for infants and toddlers. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. OSSE’s strategic plan prioritizes the development and implementation of long-term strategies and investments to increase the supply, quality, and affordability of infant and toddler seats. OSSE directs CCDF and local funding across a range of strategies to improve the supply and quality of child care services for infants and toddlers. In FY24, OSSE raised infant subsidy rates by 15 to 29 percent for homes and centers, depending on a provider’s Capital Quality designation, to address the gap between cost and rates for infant care in centers demonstrated in our cost modeling analysis. Rates for child development homes are set to prioritize infant-toddler care. OSSE's long- term plan is to continue to adjust rates to meet the cost of care when funds are available in the District, with a focus on increasing rates for infants in centers. Additionally, investments in Capital Quality support quality improvement for infant-toddler care providers, through quality facilitators and other supports. Findings from observations using the ITERS-3 (for child development centers) and FCCERS-3 (for child development homes and expanded homes) help OSSE target CCDF resources supporting training and professional development, towards trainings focused on building infant-toddler teachers’ capacity in domains of ITERS (personal care routines and activities) where the greatest growth opportunities were identified based on data, as well as trainings for family child care homes. v. Establishing or expanding a statewide system of CCR&R services. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. OSSE provides a grant to a local community-based organization (CBO) to operate the state-wide child CCR&R program, DC CCC, which provides families, early childhood educators and child care businesses with responsive services and evidence-based supports that promote improved access to high-quality early care and education in the District. The CCR&R includes a hotline, two walk-in service centers with lending libraries, and a website to improve access to and awareness of community resources that improve family engagement and the home-school connection. The CCR&R also hosts weekly opportunities for families to engage in learning opportunities aimed at supporting their children, as well as additional topics based on the needs of the community served. DC CCC assesses community needs based on calls, emails, and walk-in data related to the topics that individuals are seeking support (e.g., programs for children with special needs, resources for child care subsidies, etc.) and follow-up survey data. vi. Facilitating compliance with Lead Agency child care licensing, monitoring, inspection and health and safety standards. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x]Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. OSSE uses CCDF quality funds to train child care providers on the District’s health and safety requirements outlined in the child development facility licensing regulations. Additionally, CCDF quality funds are used to support training and professional development offered through the OSSE LMS and Quorum platforms. These platforms facilitate training on a host of early childhood education topics including pre-service orientation and the annual health and safety training. CCDF funds also support staff carrying out announced and unannounced monitoring inspections, initial and renewal licensing inspections, and enforcement actions. vii. Evaluating and assessing the quality and effectiveness of child care services within the State/Territory. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. CCDF and local funds support OSSE’s administration of evidence-based observational tools, the ITERS-3, FCCERS-3 and CLASS® for Pre-K, that are used to assess the quality of early care and education programs participating in Capital Quality, as well as publicly funded pre-K programs across the mixed delivery system. These funds support contracts with independent vendors to provide valid and reliable observers certified by the publishers of observational tools used in Capital Quality, to conduct independent observations annually in all Capital Quality and publicly funded pre-K programs and provide data to OSSE. viii. Accreditation support. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. ix. Supporting State/Territory or local efforts to develop high-quality program standards relating to health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, and physical development. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. x. Other activities determined by the Lead Agency to improve the quality of child care services and the measurement of outcomes related to improved provider preparedness, child safety, child well-being, or kindergarten entry. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. 8 Lead Agency Coordination and Partnerships to Support Service Delivery Coordination and partnerships help ensure that the Lead Agency’s efforts accomplish CCDF goals effectively, leverage other resources, and avoid duplication of effort. Such coordination and partnerships can help families better access child care, can assist in providing consumer education to parents, and can be used to improve child care quality and the stability of child care providers. Such coordination can also be particularly helpful in the aftermath of disasters when the provision of emergency child care services and the rebuilding and restoring of child care infrastructure are an essential part of ensuring the well-being of children and families in recovering communities. This section identifies who the Lead Agency collaborates with to implement services, how match and maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds are used, coordination with child care resource and referral (CCR&R) systems, and efforts for disaster preparedness and response plans to support continuity of operations in response to emergencies.