8.1 Coordination with Partners to Expand Accessibility and Continuity of Care

Lead Agencies must coordinate child care services supported by CCDF with other federal, State/Territory, and local level programs. This includes programs for the benefit of Indian children, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. 8.1.1 Coordination with required and optional partners Describe how the Lead Agency coordinates and the results of this coordination of the provision of child care services with the organizations and agencies to expand accessibility and continuity of care and to assist children enrolled in early childhood programs in receiving full-day services that meet the needs of working families. The Lead Agency must coordinate with the following agencies: a. State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The State Early Childhood Development Coordinating Council (SECDCC) serves as the District’s State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care. The Office of the State Superintendent of Education’s (OSSE’s) Deputy Superintendent of Early Learning chairs the SECDCC, and in the dual role as SECDCC Chair and Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Administrator, plays a vital role in ensuring the coordination of child care and early learning programs across the District. As a result of this coordination, OSSE receives input on policies and practices across the District’s comprehensive early childhood system, and early childhood stakeholders are informed and have the opportunity to engage on comprehensive issues related to child development across sectors and District agencies. During the fiscal year 2025-27 (FY2025- 27) CCDF Plan period, the SECDCC will continue to play a crucial role in the District’s efforts to ensure a comprehensive early childhood education and development system for infants, toddlers, and young children and improve collaboration and coordination among agencies and community partners in the District. b. Indian Tribe(s) and/or Tribal organization(s), at the option of the Tribe or Tribal organization. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination, including which Tribe(s) was (were) involved: [x] Not applicable. Check here if there are no Indian Tribes and/or Tribal organizations in the State/Territory. c. State/Territory agency(ies) responsible for programs for children with disabilities, including early intervention programs authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE is both the CCDF lead agency and the State Education Agency (SEA) for the District. In the latter function, OSSE is responsible for carrying out state-level functions and monitoring local education agency (LEA) compliance with local functions of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B (including Part B 619). OSSE is also responsible for administering the District’s IDEA Part C early intervention program, and the Part C state coordinator, local Part C director, and Part B 619 coordinator are all located with OSSE’s Division of Early Learning and report to the CCDF administrator. As such, OSSE is optimally positioned to facilitate coordination across CCDF, Part C, and Part B 619 activities, as well as between these activities and Part B special education services for K-12 students. The State Part C director, Local Part C director, and Part B 619 coordinator meet regularly with one another and with the CCDF administrator to promote coordination. Strong Start, the District’s early intervention program, uses the Natural Learning Environment Practices (NLEP) framework to deliver early intervention services in natural settings, including child development facilities. Strong Start staff work closely with child development facilities to increase the participation of teachers and caregivers in the implementation of Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP) goals and strategies. In addition, State Part C staff are approved trainers in the District’s professional development system for early educators and regularly deliver training to child development facility leaders, facility teams, and early educators on topics related to identifying children with disabilities and developmental delays and understanding developmentally appropriate strategies for supporting children with disabilities and developmental delays and their families. OSSE’s DC Early Intervention Program (DC EIP) Child Find team developed eight professional development training offerings and a document to guide interested child care providers and families to topics that best meet their individual needs. Strong Start holds 12 annual trainings for the OSSE Learning Management System (LMS) on developmental milestones for infants and toddlers, developmentally appropriate practice for infants and toddlers, and Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) developmental screening. OSSE and DC Health have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support the early identification and Part C eligibility determination of infants and toddlers and implement a District-wide system of coordinated developmental screening for children from 2 to 60 months of age. The implementation of the online ASQ aims to build the capacity of staff and expand developmental screenings by bringing all child development centers that participate in the District’s Child Care Subsidy Program into the ASQ online initiative. The CCDF administrator and subsidy program leadership are coordinating with Part C and Part B staff in the design and implementation of the Access to Quality Child Care for Children with Disabilities grant program, which will launch in FY25 to expand access to quality child care and out-of-school time (OST) programming for infants, toddlers, and school-age children with disabilities through a grant program. d. State/Territory office/director for Head Start State collaboration. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The District Head Start State Collaboration Office (HSSCO) is located within OSSE’s Division of Early Learning, optimizing coordination across Head Start program collaboration and other early childhood programs. The HSSCO liaises between federal partners, the DC Head Start Association, local Head Start and Early Head Start programs, and other District agencies and workgroups that serve young children. The HSSCO helps support ongoing collaboration and alignment of services and supports for family and community engagement, continuity of care for children, comprehensive services and supports, and ongoing professional development for early learning professionals. e. State/Territory agency responsible for public health, including the agency responsible for immunizations. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE coordinates with the District of Columbia Department of Health (DC Health) on public health and immunizations. OSSE and DC Health collaborate on policies and strategies to ensure child development facilities comply with the District’s child care licensing regulations provisions related to immunization compliance. District regulations require that all children be fully immunized before entering a child development facility unless the child has an approved exemption. In support of child care immunization compliance efforts, DC Health issues Certificates of Immunization Compliance to child development facilities certifying that a facility has reached immunization compliance targets set by DC Health. In addition, OSSE coordinates with DC Health to share information with child development facilities on public health threats (including outbreaks of contagious disease) and provide guidance and technical assistance on strategies for preventing the spread of contagious diseases. Child development facilities are required to report instances of contagious disease, as defined in 22 DCMR Chapter 22-B2, to both OSSE and DC Health, and staff from both agencies collaborate to conduct an investigation and follow-up activities to ensure that facilities take necessary steps to protect the health of children, staff, and families. This coordination supports OSSE to ensure child development facilities' compliance with licensing regulations and to promote overall child health. Additionally, OSSE collaborates with DC Health to build child development facilities' capacity to utilize the ASQ online screening. Part C and Quality Improvement Network (QIN) staff are training a cohort of staff across the District’s child development facilities participating in the District’s Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS-CCP) to use the ASQ online. These efforts ensure that families are connected to supportive services and that children with disabilities receive appropriate intervention services. f. State/Territory agency responsible for employment services/workforce development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE and the Department of Employment Services (DOES) have a shared goal to ensure that families with low incomes who are seeking job assistance and employment opportunities, have access to the District’s Child Care Subsidy Program. This partnership, along with collaboration with the Department of Human Services (DHS) Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, supports families working towards financial stability and improves child health and well-being, in quality, nurturing child care and early care and education programs. OSSE also supports sharing information from DOES with Child Development Associate (CDA) training and preparation programs on becoming registered apprenticeship programs. OSSE shares DOES and Early Childhood Workforce Connector resources, supports, and available opportunities regularly. The Early Childhood Workforce Connector is a federally funded organization tasked with promoting registered apprenticeship programs to support and sustain the early childhood workforce. g. State/Territory agency responsible for public education, including pre-Kindergarten. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE is the SEA responsible for public education, including the District’s universal pre-K program. The District delivers publicly funded pre-K through a mixed-delivery system, offering pre-K services in District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS), public charter schools, and community-based organizations (CBOs) that have been designated as high-quality through the Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Program (PKEEP). As the SEA, OSSE administers the implementation of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) as the common measure of pre-K quality across all three sectors, which is integrated into both the District’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) for child development facilities, Capital Quality, and the District’s state school report card for all public schools administered by OSSE under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This enables parents to obtain comparable information on pre-K classroom quality for programs across all three sectors to inform parent choice within the mixed delivery system and ensures that both public schools and child development facilities are held accountable for the quality of publicly funded pre-K programs they operate, and allows OSSE to work with LEAs and child development facilities to analyze common data across the system to inform shared quality improvement efforts and professional development activities. h. State/Territory agency responsible for child care licensing. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE is the District’s agency responsible for child care licensing. Child care licensing and child care subsidy are both housed within the Division of Early Learning, offering optimal opportunities to coordinate across licensing and subsidy. With the exception of in-home child care, all subsidy providers are licensed child development facilities, which also offers seamlessness of policies and processes for child care providers. i. State/Territory agency responsible for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and other relevant nutrition programs. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE is the District’s agency responsible for the administration of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), which is administered by OSSE’s Division of Health and Wellness (H&W). All CCDF child care providers are required to participate in CACFP. H&W and the Division of Early Learning partner on CACFP compliance, outreach, and education. Facilities that apply to CACFP receive training and technical assistance from OSSE throughout the application process. Individual and group CACFP training for child development facilities is held at individual facilities and OSSE headquarters. The Assistant Superintendent of H&W, the Deputy Superintendent of Early Learning, and their teams meet regularly to support a Culture of Wellness (CoW) in early childhood education. This includes increasing participation in and improving the experience of child care programs in accessing the CACFP and coordinating other programs and initiatives that support wellness and nutrition across the birth-12 system. An example includes planning a statewide Farm to CACFP coalition focused on expanding young children’s access to healthy food, promoting lifelong healthy eating habits, and creating a cohort of young children primed for successful Farm to Child Nutrition programs. H&W and the Division of Early Learning also partner in supporting H&W’s implementation of the Healthy Tots Act of 2014, which provides funding and resources to support child care facilities’ ability to serve nutritious meals and to offer high-quality wellness programming. Child care facilities that participate in CACFP are automatically eligible to receive Healthy Tots reimbursements and technical assistance. In 2024, the divisions partnered to update the OSSE Wellness Guidelines for Child Care Facilities and promote the incorporation of its guidance and best practices. j. McKinney-Vento State coordinators for homeless education and other agencies providing services for children experiencing homelessness and, to the extent practicable, local McKinney-Vento liaisons. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE’s McKinney-Vento Liaison partners with the CCDF administrator and co- administrator to provide training to OSSE's McKinney-Vento team and the homeless liaisons and registrars in LEAs. The training helps build awareness of and eliminate barriers to children and families experiencing homelessness experience while accessing subsidized child care. The Virginia Williams Family Resource Center serves as an intake hub for screening and placement for families seeking emergency shelter and other essential resources. OSSE has established a partnership with the Virginia Williams Family Resource Center to provide OSSE staff onsite to assist parents who have children in need of child care or other educational supports, such as enrollment or transportation. OSSE developed a Homeless Education Program Fact Sheet for Parents which is a guide on the educational rights of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness. Additionally, the CCDF co- administrator and a representative from one of the District’s child care providers that work primarily with families experiencing homelessness delivered a joint training for LEA McKinney Vento liaisons on supporting these children and families. k. State/Territory agency responsible for the TANF program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: DHS is the agency responsible for the TANF program. Under an MOU with OSSE, DHS staff conduct intake and eligibility determinations for the Child Care Subsidy Program. DHS child care eligibility workers work in partnership with TANF staff to obtain referrals for TANF customers. OSSE coordinates with the DHS Child Care Services Division (CCSD) to conduct presentations for TANF contractors with the goal of increasing the vendor's knowledge and understanding of the Child Care Subsidy Program to serve as an additional resource for families. DHS and OSSE work closely to align the District's child care and TANF eligibility policies and both agencies have a shared goal of developing policies and financing strategies that ensure the most vulnerable children have access to continuous, comprehensive high-quality child care. Additionally, representatives from DHS’s Economic Security Administration participate in OSSE's bi-monthly QIN Interagency Steering Committee meetings. These meetings allow participants to review data on QIN participation, discuss topics such as wait lists in specific areas, and outline strategies for connecting families receiving TANF to the QIN. Additionally, these meetings support the QIN in sharing updates related to the TANF program and the two-generational approach for providing support, so that more families who may qualify can be connected to TANF resources. l. State/Territory agency responsible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The District Department of Health Care Finance (DHCF) is the agency responsible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance program. OSSE works closely with the DHCF on outreach, communication, and sharing information about these programs. As the District prepared for and implemented the resumption of Medicaid eligibility redeterminations following the conclusion of the federal coronavirus (COVID-19) public health emergency, OSSE and DHCF collaborated to share information on the Medicaid redetermination process with child development facilities, to build their capacity to support families and staff in navigating the redetermination process. Additionally, a DHCF representative for the Division of Children’s Health Services participates in OSSE’s bi-monthly QIN interagency steering committee meetings. Coordination during these meetings has contributed to an increased number of children participating in the QIN receiving Medicaid in the District. OSSE and the DC Health Benefits Exchange Authority (DCHBX), the District’s health care exchange under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), partner to provide no- or low-premium coverage to child care employers and District residents employed in child care. In 2023 and 2024, OSSE and DCHBX worked with DHCF to refer eligible child care staff for Medicaid and to postpone the timing of resumption of Medicaid redeterminations for child care employees enrolled in Medicaid until the end of the redetermination implementation, to minimize disruption in health care coverage for these workers as OSSE implemented new programming to increase the wages and salaries of early childhood educators. Early educators who lose Medicaid coverage as a result of the resumption of redeterminations will automatically be referred to DCHBX to enroll in zero-premium coverage supported through the partnership between OSSE and DCHBX. DHCF works closely with OSSE through the SECDCC, the Interagency Coordinating Council (ICC), the QIN Interagency Steering Committee, and the Early Intervention Collaborative. OSSE coordinates with DHCF to ensure that timely health issues are brought to the SECDCC. This partnership helps to build stronger connections between early education and health, specifically sharing information on immunizations and facilities’ collaboration with managed care organizations (MCOs) to increase the number of young children on track for scheduled early childhood immunizations. m. State/Territory agency responsible for mental health services. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE partners with DBH on their Healthy Futures program to ensure that children and families in early care and education programs supported with CCDF funds have access to mental health support and services. DBH’s Healthy Futures program provides an evidence-based approach to mental health consultation. The implementation of mental health consultation offers child- and family-centered consultation services to early childhood educators and families to build their skills and capacity to promote social-emotional development and prevent escalation of services. Mental health consultants provide training, link families to resources, and provide coping strategies to families and staff who have experienced trauma. Through OSSE’s partnership with DBH, Healthy Futures provides mental health consultation services to child development facilities participating in the QIN and PKEEP. During the FY25-27 CCDF Plan period, OSSE will continue to partner with DBH to implement a planned expansion of Healthy Futures to additional child development facilities and expand mental health support for the early childhood education workforce. n. Child care resource and referral agencies, child care consumer education organizations, and providers of early childhood education training and professional development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: DC Child Care Connections (DC CCC) is the District’s Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agency. DC CCC supports OSSE with consumer education, including helping families find child care that meets their needs through the My Child Care DC website, providing linkages to other state agencies and resources for families and providers, conducting outreach in the community, and managing the state professional development including the Trainer Approval Program (TAP). DC CCC works collaboratively with other OSSE-funded grantees to support families with early childhood resources, including identifying and finding child care, maintaining an effective system of support for child development facilities, and supporting various training and professional development initiatives. o. Statewide afterschool network or other coordinating entity for out-of-school time care (if applicable). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OSSE partners with the Out-of-school (OST) Grants and Youth Outcomes office, located within the office of the Deputy Mayor for Education (DME), and OSSE’s Division of K-12 Systems and Supports (K-12) to coordinate and leverage resources and supports with the goal to make OST opportunities available. The Division of Early Learning works with the OST Grants and Youth Outcomes Office and K-12 Division to share information with CBOs and LEAs on child care licensure, subsidies, and other programs and support efforts to improve access to and coordination of OST care. OSSE coordinated with the OST Grants and Youth Outcomes Office and K-12 on the development of OSSE’s first grant program for direct child care slots for infants, toddlers, and school-age children with disabilities and will continue to do so when the program launches in FY25. p. Agency responsible for emergency management and response. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The agency responsible for emergency management and response in the District of Columbia is the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (HSEMA). OSSE worked closely with HSEMA in the development of the District’s Child Care Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan, which ensures that the Plan is included in the District of Columbia Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). HSEMA supported the update to the Child Care Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan and provided coordination support in the event of an emergency. As an example, HSEMA, the Executive Office of the Mayor, and other DC agencies responsible for emergency response, recently worked with OSSE and DC CCC to support child care in response to a severe emergency that impacted a child care facility in DC. DC CCC coordinated with DBH to provide mental health support, worked with DCPS and Metro Transit Policy Department Community Engagement teams to get metro (subway) cards to impacted families, and supported coordinated material donations. HSEMA remained in contact with OSSE and relevant DC agencies to communicate updates on impact and support across agencies and to the Executive Office of the Mayor. As a result of this coordinated response, the child care facility was able to temporarily relocate with adequate materials and supplies, and families were able to maintain the continuity of child care services. Our shared goal is to ensure the health and safety of all children and staff in the event of an emergency or disaster and to support reunification and recovery as quickly as possible. q. The following are examples of optional partners a Lead Agency might coordinate with to provide services. Check which optional partners the Lead Agency coordinates with and describe the coordination and results of the coordination. i. [x] State/Territory/local agencies with Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants. Describe: OSSE is an EHS-CCP grant recipient and uses EHS-CCP and local funds to implement the QIN to build capacity, increase access, and enhance the quality of care for infants and toddlers. The QIN brings Early Head Start (EHS) services to children and families living below the federal poverty level and enrolled in participating child development facilities throughout the District. Participating child development facilities receive professional development and other support to meet the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS). As the lead agency for CCDF and the EHS-CCP grantee, OSSE aligns policies and resources to meet the needs of QIN-enrolled families and supports the delivery of early childhood programming that meets HSPPS in community-based child care settings. For example, as a result of coordination between OSSE’s CCDF and EHS- CCP roles, the District adopted a policy to waive subsidy co-payments and to lengthen the eligibility period (up to three years) for children enrolled in the QIN. Through a partnership with the QIN hub grantee, OSSE has a deeper insight into child development facilities’ experiences and operating realities, which helps inform the design of and revisions to CCDF-related policies and programs to support children, families, and child care providers across the District’s early learning system beyond the QIN. Through this partnership, OSSE and the QIN hub grantee have developed a deeper understanding of challenges some child care providers are facing related to business practices, staff recruitment, and ongoing enrollment challenges during the pandemic recovery, which inform OSSE and the Early Childhood Educator Business Collaboratory’s investments in and coordination related to supports for child care business practices, including the development of business competencies for child care program leaders. For example, after learning more through the QIN about barriers that some families face in applying for and establishing eligibility for child care subsidies, OSSE made adjustments to subsidy policies and processes, including clarifying and streamlining documentation required to determine some components of subsidy eligibility, in order to reduce or eliminate these barriers. In addition, OSSE convenes the QIN Interagency Steering Committee, composed of representatives of District Government agencies providing services and support for QIN children and families, as a venue for strengthening coordination and collaboration across these agencies and programs they operate and to streamline the process for and reduce barriers to families accessing needed services. These meetings have led to updates that improved the accessibility and awareness of programs and support for children and families and reduced barriers beyond those under the purview of OSSE. ii. [x] State/Territory institutions for higher education, including community colleges. Describe: OSSE regularly meets with CDA program administrators and representatives of institutions of higher education (IHEs) serving the District￿s early learning workforce to discuss program needs, program improvements, and professional development opportunities for early educators. The CDA administrators' committee meetings are attended by leaders of local CDA training and preparation programs (both those funded by OSSE and those supported by other sources, including public charter schools that offer CDA coursework to students), as well as staff from the National Council for Professional Recognition that issues the CDA credential. During these meetings, participants provide updates related to their respective programs and share needs, upcoming events, and professional development opportunities. Through these coordination meetings, OSSE worked with the Council for Professional Recognition to translate the CDA exam into Amharic, thereby reducing barriers to accessing the exam. It is now possible for those who speak Amharic to complete the exam as a part of a group, rather than one-on-one. Additionally, the group of administrators worked to jointly develop a practice exam which is also available in Spanish and Amharic. OSSE also collaborates with Delaware on their CDA and IHE initiatives and Delaware State University supported the translation of the practice exam into Spanish. This cross-state coordination resulted in expanding program opportunities both inside and outside of DC. The District also convenes monthly IHE meetings that are attended by colleges and universities that partner with DC LEAD, the District’s scholarship program for early educators. During these meetings, OSSE and IHEs share programmatic updates, including available support to scholars, professional development needs, and other strategies to help scholars succeed. The Division of Early Learning works closely with OSSE’s Division of Postsecondary and Career Education (PCE) to coordinate engagement and partnerships with IHEs in the District, as well as outreach to early childhood educators about postsecondary education offerings and funding opportunities, such as the Adult College and Credential Fair. The Division of Early Learning and PCE also work together to share information with the early childhood workforce about scholarship opportunities that are available to District residents generally (such as the DC Tuition Assistance Grant [DCTAG]) and align policies and referral processes to support eligible early childhood educators in accessing these funding streams, in order to leverage broader postsecondary investments in support of credential attainment goals for the child care workforce and maximize the reach of OSSE’s targeted investments in early educators. iii. [ ] Other federal, State, local, and/or private agencies providing early childhood and school-age/youth-serving developmental services. Describe: iv. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for implementing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs grant. Describe: OSSE works closely with DC Health, the agency that administers the District’s evidence-based Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) program. Details of OSSE’s collaboration with DC Health are described above. v. [x] Agency responsible for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program. Describe: DHCF is the District agency responsible for the implementation of the Early and Period Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) benefit. OSSE works closely with DHCF on outreach, engagement, and professional development regarding EPSDT. OSSE and DHCF have a shared commitment to provide early, comprehensive, regular, and as-needed medical, behavioral, and dental screenings for all eligible children. Through ongoing meetings and collaborations, OSSE and DHCF align policies so that all CCDF-eligible children receive developmental screenings (within an appropriate timeframe), and child development centers use these screenings to assess a child's health status, identify risks or concerns, and intervene when necessary. vi. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for child welfare. Describe: The District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is the agency responsible for child welfare. A CFSA representative for the Office of Well Being participates in OSSE’s bi-monthly QIN interagency steering committee meetings. These meetings identify areas of collaboration which include aligning early learning supports and policies to support the goals of CFSA￿s Family First Prevention Plan, enhancing access to comprehensive services, and improving outcomes for children in CFSA￿s care. OSSE shares information on QIN EHS-CCP vacancies with CFSA weekly to support connecting vulnerable children served by CFSA with enhanced services available through the QIN to support their development. vii. [x] Child care provider groups or associations. Describe: OSSE regularly collaborates with District organizations representing child care providers, including the DC Head Start Association, DC Association for the Education of Young Children (DCAEYC), DC Family Child Care Association (DCFCCA), Directors Exchange, Multicultural Spanish Speaking Providers Association (MSSPA), and the Washington Association of Child Care Centers. OSSE meets regularly with these groups and convenes representatives of these associations on an as-needed basis throughout the year to solicit input and feedback on policy and practice questions. Coordination with these groups supported and continues to support OSSE in refining communication, policies, updates to professional development core knowledge areas, licensing regulations, and planning for and implementation of the Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. viii. [x] Parent groups or organizations. Describe: In accordance with the HSPPS, OSSE, as the grant administrator for the state’s EHS-CCP grant, ensures that all parents enrolled in the QIN, the District’s state EHS-CCP program, automatically become members of their center’s parent committee, the forum in which parent information is exchanged and learning opportunities are supported. Parents interested in becoming more involved are encouraged to participate on the QIN Policy Council, with whom the State Superintendent works in a shared decision- making model. Through the policy council, parents develop their leadership skills. The policy council consists of parent representatives from each of the participating QIN centers and five members of the community. The chair, vice- chair, and secretary positions that make up the executive members of the policy council are elected annually. The policy council meets monthly during which they inform decision-making on program operations, policies, recruitment, selection and enrollment priorities, applications for funding, budget planning, by-laws, and employment of program staff. OSSE also supports and attends the parent-led ICC. The ICC’s purpose is to advise and assist the Mayor and OSSE in its role as the lead agency in the development and implementation of a District-wide, comprehensive, coordinated, multidisciplinary, interagency system to provide early intervention services for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities. Parents of children served in the District’s mixed delivery system for early childhood care and education are also represented on the SECDCC. Finally, OSSE collaborates with parent groups around specific initiatives. For example, OSSE engaged with Parents Amplifying Voices in Education (PAVE) and the Alliance for Justice and Education to inform the development of the new grant program for child care services for children with disabilities. ix. [x] Title IV B 21st Century Community Learning Center Coordinators. Describe: The 21st Century Community Learning Center program is administered by OSSE’s Office of Special Populations and Programs within the Division of Systems and Supports, K-12. The focus of this coordination is to increase access to OST activities which will enhance families' and students’ academic activities and improve participants’ social and educational outcomes. 21st CCLC staff provided input into the development of the Access to Quality Child Care for Children with Disabilities grant program, through which the lead agency will award grants to support the creation and maintenance of dedicated out-of-school time slots for children with disabilities starting in FY25. x. [ ] Other. Describe: