1.3 Consultation in the Development of the CCDF Plan

The Lead Agency is responsible for developing the CCDF Plan, and consultation with and meaningful input and feedback from a wide range of representatives is critical for CCDF programs to continually adapt to the changing needs of families, child care programs, and the workforce. Consultation involves meeting with or otherwise obtaining input from an appropriate agency in the development of the State or Territory CCDF Plan. As part of the Plan development process, Lead Agencies must consult with the following: (1) Appropriate representatives of general-purpose local government. General purpose local governments are defined by the U.S. Census at https://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/g12_org.pdf. (2) The State Advisory Council (SAC) on Early Childhood Education and Care (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act) or similar coordinating body pursuant to 98.14(a)(1)(vii). (3) Tribe(s) or Tribal organization(s) within the State. This consultation should be done in a timely manner and at the option of the Tribe(s) or Tribal organization(s). 1.3.1 Consultation efforts in CCDF Plan development Describe the Lead Agency’s consultation efforts in the development of the CCDF Plan, including how and how often the consultation occurred. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with appropriate representatives of general- purpose local government: The proposed state plan was sent to the Georgia's Children's Cabinet (Georgia's State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care) for review and comment. The Commissioner of the Lead Agency is the co-chair of the Cabinet. The proposed State Plan was summarized and shared in total for comment to the following state agencies: Department of Education, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Health, Department of Community Health, Georgia Office of Student Achievement, Technical College System of Georgia, Georgia Office of the Child Advocate, Council of Juvenile Court Judges, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The Lead Agency meets three times a year with all the aforementioned state agencies as primary members of the Children's Cabinet. Each agency was afforded the opportunity to review the plan and comment directly by e-mail or at the May 14th meeting in person. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with the State Advisory Council or similar coordinating body: The proposed state plan was sent to the Georgia's Children's Cabinet (Georgia's State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care) for review and comment. The Commissioner of the Lead Agency is the co-chair of the Cabinet. The proposed State Plan was summarized and shared in total for comment to the following state agencies: Department of Education, Department of Juvenile Justice, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Health, Department of Community Health, Georgia Office of Student Achievement, Technical College System of Georgia, Georgia Office of the Child Advocate, Council of Juvenile Court Judges, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, and Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The Lead Agency meets three times a year with all the aforementioned state agencies as primary members of the Children's Cabinet. Each agency was afforded the opportunity to review the plan and comment directly by e-mail or at the May 14th meeting in person. b. Describe, if applicable, how the Lead Agency consulted with Indian Tribes(s) or Tribal organizations(s) within the State: Not applicable. c. Identify other entities, agencies, or organizations consulted on the development of the CCDF Plan (e.g., representatives from the child care workforce, or statewide afterschool networks) and describe those consultation efforts: The Lead Agency meets with the Georgia Child Care Association, The Professional Family Child Care Association of Georgia, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students, Voices for Georgia's Children, Black Child Development Institute of Atlanta individually on a quarterly basis. Each organization was afforded the opportunity to review the plan and comment directly by e-mail or at either of the Lead Agency's public hearings. 1.3.2 Public hearing process Lead Agencies must hold at least one public hearing in the State or Territory, with sufficient Statewide or Territory-wide distribution of notice prior to such a hearing to enable the public to comment on the provision of child care services under the CCDF Plan. Describe the Statewide or Territory-wide public hearing process held to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the provision of child care services under this Plan. i. Date of the public hearing: 5/29/2024; 5/30/2024 Reminder: Must be no earlier than January 1, 2024. If more than one public hearing was held, enter one date (e.g., the date of the first hearing, the most recent hearing date, or any hearing date that demonstrates this requirement). ii. Date of notice of public hearing: 5/6/2024 iii. Was the notice of public hearing posted publicly at least 20 calendar days prior to the date of the public hearing? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: iv. Describe how the public was notified about the public hearing, including outreach in other languages, information on interpretation services being available, etc. Include specific website links if used to provide noticeThe public was notified by placing an advisory on the Lead Agency’s website, mass email to stakeholders, and through multiple social media platforms. If requested, the Lead Agency uses a translation service that provides translation for multiple languages. https://www.decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/CCDFStatePlan25- 27PublicHearingNotice.pdf v. Describe how the approach to the public hearing was inclusive of all geographic regions of the State or Territory: All public hearings were conducted virtually. The virtual public hearings allowed all Georgia citizens interested in making public comment to attend and allowed their voices to be heard. vi. Describe how the content of the Plan was made available to the public in advance of the public hearing (e.g., the Plan was made available in other languages, in multiple formats, etc.): The Plan was made available on the Lead Agency’s website, social media platforms, and in local media. vii. Describe how the information provided by the public was taken into consideration regarding the provision of child care services under this Plan: All written and verbal comments made by the public were reviewed, considered, and incorporated into the Plan if deemed necessary and applicable. 1.3.3 Public availability of final Plan, amendments, and waivers Lead Agencies must make the submitted and approved final Plan, any approved Plan amendments, and any approved requests for temporary waivers publicly available on a website. a. Provide the website link to where the Plan, any Plan amendments, and waivers (if applicable) are available. Note: A Plan amendment is required if the website address where the Plan is posted changes. http://www.decal.ga.gov/BftS/CCDFPlan.aspx b. Describe any other strategies that the Lead Agency uses to make submitted and approved CCDF Plan and approved Plan amendments available to the public. Check all that apply and describe the strategies below, including any relevant website links as examples. i. [x] Working with advisory committees. Describe: Information about the Plan was shared with the Lead Agency's advisory committee through email announcing that the Plan was made available on the Lead Agency’s website, social media platforms, and in local media. ii. [x] Working with child care resource and referral agencies. Describe: Information about the Plan was shared with child care resource and referral agencies through email announcing that the Plan was made available on the Lead Agency’s website, social media platforms, and in local media. iii. [x] Providing translation in other languages. Describe: If requested, the Lead Agency uses a translation service that provides translation for multiple languages. iv. [x] Sharing through social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, email). Describe: Information was posted and shared through the Lead Agency's social media platforms. The Lead Agency uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest v. [x] Providing notification to key constituents (e.g., parent and family groups, provider groups, advocacy groups, foundations, and businesses). Describe: An email blast was sent to all providers and applicable stakeholder groups with information about public hearings and with links to the State Plan. vi. [x] Working with Statewide afterschool networks or similar coordinating entities for out-of-school time. Describe: Information about the Plan was shared with statewide afterschool networks or similar coordinating entities. vii. [x] Direct communication with the child care workforce. Describe: An e-mail blast was sent to all providers and applicable stakeholder groups with information about public hearings and with links to the State Plan. viii. [ ] Other. Describe: 2 Child and Family Eligibility and Enrollment and Continuity of Care Stable and reliable child care arrangements facilitate job stability for parents and healthy development of children. CCDF eligibility and enrollment policies can contribute to these goals. Policies and procedures that create barriers to families accessing CCDF, like inaccessible subsidy applications and onerous reporting requirements, interrupt a parent’s ability to work and may deter eligible families from participating in CCDF. To address these concerns, Lead Agencies must provide children with a minimum of 12 months between eligibility determinations, limit reporting requirements during the 12-month period, and ensure eligibility determination and redetermination processes do not interrupt a parent’s work or school. In this section, Lead Agencies will identify how they define eligible children and families and how the Lead Agency’s eligibility and enrollment policies support access for eligible children and families.