9.3 Increasing Engagement and Access to Information

Lead Agencies must collect and disseminate information about the full range of child care services to promote parental choice to parents of children eligible for CCDF, the general public, and child care providers. 9.3.1 Information about CCDF availability and eligibility Describe how the Lead Agency shares information with eligible parents, the general public, and child care providers about the availability of child care services provided through CCDF and other programs for which the family may be eligible. The description should include, at a minimum, what is provided (e.g., written materials, the website, and direct communications) and what approaches are used to tailor information to parents, the general public, and child care providers. The Department of Human Services disseminates information to parents, providers, and the general public through the Department’s website as well as the contracted statewide child care resource and referral agency about the following: 1. Information about the availability of the full diversity of child care services that will promote informed child care choices; 2. Information about choosing quality child care and information about national accreditation with the National Association for the Education of Young Children or the National Early Childhood Program Accreditation or National Association for Family Child Care; 3. Availability of child care services provided through CCDF; 4. Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); 5. Head Start and Early Head Start; 6. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); 7. Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program; 8. Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP); 9. Other programs specifically Medicaid and States Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP); 10. Individuals with Disabilities Education ACT (IDEA) programs and services; 11. Available community resources providing developmental screening; 12. Newsletters with information about research and best practices in child development, including all domains of early childhood development, including social and emotional development, cognitive, and physical health and development (particularly healthy eating and physical activity); 13. Research and best practices in meaningful parent and family engagement; and 14. Other community resources for child care providers, including professional development opportunities, scholarships for early childhood education/child development coursework or courses toward attaining the Child Development Associate credential, or other services that support quality child care, such nutrition information and menu reviews, the Child and Adult Care Food Program ), heath consultation services, educational outreach services, technical assistance, and resources to promote quality of care for subsidy families utilizing legally exempt friend, family, and neighbor care and their child care providers as well as registered family child care providers, or resources for health consultation. The Department of Human Services contracted statewide child care resource and referral agency, People Attentive To Children mails packets or emails documents with the resource information to families and the public and makes the information available on their website. The Department of Human Services also maintains information about the same types of services and programs for families and child care providers on its public website. For families eligible for child care subsidy, they are referred to the child care resource and referral agency to assist in selecting a child care provider, complete the required documents for their selected child care provider and receive information about consumer education services and resources. A needs assessment to identify and understand the options available to meet the families’ child care needs is conducted by the child care resource and referral agency’s family navigator. 9.3.2 Information about child care and other services available for parents Does the Lead Agency certify that it provides information described in 9.3.1 for the following required programs? • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. • Head Start and Early Head Start programs. • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). • Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) program. • Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). • Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). • Programs carried out under IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C. [ ] Yes. [x] No. If no, describe: With the implementation of the Department of Human Services consumer education website, it will address all items 1-8. Currently, the information is found on the Department of Human Services’ website. 9.3.3 Consumer statement for parents receiving CCDF services Lead Agencies must provide parents receiving CCDF services with a consumer statement in hard copy or electronically that contains general information about the CCDF program and specific information about the child care provider they select. Please certify if the Lead Agency provides parents receiving CCDF services a consumer statement that contains the following 8 requirements: 1. Health and safety requirements met by the provider 2. Licensing or regulatory requirements met by the provider 3. Date the provider was last inspected 4. Any history of violations of these requirements 5. Any voluntary quality standards met by the provider 6. How CCDF subsidies are designed to promote equal access 7. How to submit a complaint through the hotline 8. How to contact a local resource and referral agency or other community-based organization to receive assistance in finding and enrolling in quality child care Does the Lead Agency provide to families, either in hard copy or electronically, a consumer statement that contains the required information about the provider they have selected, including the eight required elements above? [ ] Yes. [x] No. If no, describe: While the Department of Human Services works on putting phase 1 of the consumer education website into production, the Department of Human Services contractor, People Attentive To Children (PATCH) is the department’s resource and referral agency. PATCH maintains a list of licensed and registered child care providers, which is searchable by zip code. Phase 2 of the consumer education website will make available the provider’s monitoring reports, history of violations and substantiated complaint information. 9.3.4 Informing families about best practices on child development Describe how the Lead Agency makes information available to parents, providers, and the general public on research and best practices concerning children’s development, including physical health and development, and information about successful parent and family engagement. At a minimum, the description should include what information is provided; how the information is provided; any distinct activities for sharing this information with parents, providers, the general public; and any partners in providing this information. For parents, the public, and providers, the Department of Human Services website contains the following information and written materials for: 1. Research and best practices in child development, including all domains of early childhood development, including social and emotional development, cognitive, and physical health and development, nutrition, and physical activity. 2. Information about the Hawaii Child Care Nutrition Program which provides nutrition consultation and training on physical activity, nutrition planning in licensed and registered homes and facilities to meet licensing requirements with regards to nutrition. 3. The Department’s Basic Health & Safety Practices: Child Care Provider’s Guide which includes all of the required topics for the initial health and safety training for all licensed and registered child care providers and staff as well as for legally exempt centers listed with the Department and exempt, non-relative providers that care for children whose families receive child care subsidies. http://humanservices.hawaii.gov/bessd/child-care-program/health-safety-training/; and 4. Research and best practices in meaningful parent and family engagement, including the Hawaii Family Partnership Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings, which is a source document to guide early childhood providers and practitioners in their efforts to create and/or enhance ongoing, responsive and reciprocal relationships with the families enrolled in their programs. It is a set of guidelines that includes key principles and provides actions or strategies practitioners can use to engage more effectively with families. 9.3.5 Unlimited parental access to their children Does the Lead Agency have procedures to ensure that parents have unlimited access to their children whenever their children are in the care of a provider who receives CCDF funds: [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: 9.3.6 Informing families about best practices in social and emotional health Describe how the Lead Agency shares information with families, providers, and the general public regarding the social-emotional and behavioral and mental health of young children, including positive behavioral intervention and support models based on research and best practices for those from birth to school age: Licensed, registered, and legally exempt providers are required to have a written policy of expulsion of children which includes the conditions under which a child may be expelled and sufficient timeframe before expulsion occurs to enable parents to make alternative child care arrangements or to take the necessary action to allow the child to remain enrolled. Parents are required to be provided written notification of the policy and any concerns that could lead to the child’s expulsion. The requirements are found in the Hawaii Administrative Rules which are posted on the Department of Human Services website. 9.3.7 Policies on the prevention of the suspension and expulsion of children a. The Lead Agency must have policies to prevent the suspension and expulsion of children from birth to age 5 in child care and other early childhood programs receiving CCDF funds. Describe those policies and how those policies are shared with families, providers, and the general public: Licensed, registered, and legally exempt providers are required to have a written policy of expulsion of children which includes the conditions under which a child may be expelled and sufficient timeframe before expulsion occurs to enable parents to make alternative child care arrangements or to take the necessary action to allow the child to remain enrolled. Parents are required to be provided written notification of the policy and any concerns that could lead to the child’s expulsion. The requirements are found in the Hawaii Administrative Rules which are posted on the Department of Human Services website. b. Describe what policies, if any, the Lead Agency has to prevent the suspension and expulsion of school-age children from child or youth care settings receiving CCDF funds: Suspension and expulsion of children which includes the following: (A) The conditions under which a child may be suspended or expelled, if applicable; (B) Sufficient timeframe before suspension or expulsion occurs to enable parents to make alternative child care arrangements or to take the necessary action to allow the child to remain enrolled; (C) Conditions that may warrant immediate expulsion such as imminent danger to the health, welfare, or safety of the children; (D) Parents and guardians are provided written notification of any concerns that could lead to the child’s expulsion; and (E) When expulsion occurs, the provider shall maintain a record of the conditions, parental notification, and action taken; (F) Other policies which may be required by the department.