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. DOE and DHSS will post the Quality Progress Report on mychildde.org. 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. Delaware partners with the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware to offer professional development to increase access to high quality care and education for all of Delaware’s children, especially those from higher risk environments. As an integral component of the state’s QIS system, the DIEEC professional development team creates, reviews, and delivers on-going competency-based instruction through varied delivery methods to professionals in early care and education and school-age settings. CCDF funding is used to support professional development for all program staff who choose to maintain and increase their quality. Delaware's theory of change for its quality improvement system is that investing in quality people will result in quality programs. As a result, all licensed programs are eligible to receive professional development from this state contract. 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. Delaware partners with the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood (DIEEC) at the University of Delaware to offer technical assistance to increase access to high quality care and education for all of Delaware’s children, especially those from higher risk environments. As technical assistants for the state’s QIS system, the DIEEC Quality Improvement Specialists team engages licensed early childhood programs in a continuous quality improvement cycle. Specialists work with early childhood professionals to create program-wide plans and write award applications for state funds to put towards their plan activities. CCDF funding is used to support technical assistance for program staff who choose to maintain and increase their quality by creating plans and applying for Quality Improvement Awards. All licensed programs are eligible to receive support from a Quality Improvement Specialist through this state contract. iv. Improving the supply and quality of child care services for infants and toddlers. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. 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. Delaware uses CCDF funding to partner with Children & Families First (CFF) for ￿Child Care Resource and Referral￿ (CCR&R). CFF offers different models of service to help families find child care and allow families to choose which service they prefer. CFF offers the option of searching a database from the MyChildDE website as well as a toll-free phone number to talk to a counselor. Families can receive customized lists of licensed and legally operating child care programs, usually based on zip codes. They offer an "Enhanced Searches" service with customized child care searches for families that include program vacancies. Additionally, the resource and referral staff assist early childhood programs by updating their information in this database. This information makes the early childhood program more marketable because the data gathered is in response to families’ needs. Early childhood programs can also request reports that contain competitive analysis on various industries to enhance their business practices. They can request statewide program data to help them decides what services and prices to offer. 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. Delaware uses CCDF funding to support the personnel expenses of its Office of Child Care Licensing team. The objective is to uphold licensing caseloads at a ratio of roughly 1:55. This enables licensing specialists and supervisors to stay available, offering support to individuals navigating the licensing journey, providing technical assistance to licensed programs, ensuring compliance with licensing regulations, and swiftly addressing any complaints that arise. vii. Evaluating and assessing the quality and effectiveness of child care services within the State/Territory. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. 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.