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about supports Georgia’s ECE system needed. Based on the feedback, the Urban Institute shared nine recommendations with DECAL to improve Georgia’s ECE system: 1) Provide support to encourage more people to become and remain early childhood educators; 2) Focus attention on and provide information about basic health and safety; 3) Reconsider group sizes and child-to-staff ratios; 4) Provide more accessible information to families about available early care and learning services; 5) Consider how to support more providers in offering care, providing longer hours, and participating in CAPS (the child care subsidy program); 6) Support providers in supporting child’s developmental needs including challenging behaviors and responses to trauma; 7) Consider new benchmarks for affordable care in Georgia and CAPS parent contributions; 8) Support CAPS program operations to increase responsiveness to parents; and 9) Offer more grants and supports for financial sustainability and business planning. DECAL used this feedback to inform how the agency allocated federal COVID-19 relief funding and continues to reference the results to inform needed improvements to Georgia’s ECE system. 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 Quality Progress Report is available on the Lead Agency’s website: https://www.decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/GAQualityProgressReportFFY2023.pd f

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. The Georgia Training Approval (GTA) System, which is managed by the Lead Agency, oversees approval of all trainings offered to providers. When submitting trainings for approval, trainers must indicate the topic areas covered in each training, goals/objectives for the training, competencies that will be addressed, and a scope and sequence of content delivery. Trainers are also required to provide information about relevant research used to inform trainings in these areas. Additionally, GTA approves trainers with relevant experience and education in key specialty areas to offer trainings in those areas. Specialty areas include Health and Safety; Foods and Nutrition; School-Age Care; Children with Disabilities; Administrative Management