7.1 Quality Activities Needs Assessment

7.1.1 Needs assessment process and findings a. Describe the Lead Agency needs assessment process for expending CCDF funds on activities to improve the quality of child care, including the frequency of assessment, how a diverse range of parents and providers were consulted, and how their views are incorporated: The annual professional development needs assessment is a requirement in the Child Care Workforce Professional Development agreement. In the past, the providers were asked to complete a survey to determine their general wellness, their training needs, preferences, and interests of early childhood care and education professionals in Kansas. The survey also asked participants to identify the supports needed to achieve their career goals, their knowledge of existing CCDF funded quality programs and their utilization of those programs, and areas where providers identify a need for additional support. These survey finding were incorporated into the three focus areas of the All In For Kansas Kids Needs Assessment 2024: early childhood workforce, early childhood ecosystem, and the experiences of children and families. The All in For Kansas Kids needs assessment 2024, is used to inform the Strategic Plan, and therefore CCDF State Plan. The three focus areas were guided by questions derived from the findings of previous investigations, past Needs Assessments and from goals and strategies articulated in the All In For Kansas Kids Strategic Plan. The methods used for data collection and analysis were iterative processes that began January 2023 and continued into December. Data were integrated as they became available and were synthesized into key findings by the following methodology; review and analysis by examining existing Needs Assessments and other pertinent reports, input from a collection of diverse perspectives from various audiences who are a part of the early childhood system including child care professionals (Needs Assessment completed through Workforce Professional Development agreement and engagement sessions with workforce), 1,479 Kansas families (Developmental health survey and engagement sessions with families), other systems partners (Statewide community engagement tour led by the task force), and data synthesis to identify trends, barriers, gaps, and opportunities by cross-walking findings from a range of data sources and analytic approaches. These findings informed the strategic plan, which was compared to the CCDF spending requirements and helped the Early Childhood Director’s to prioritize the activities that used the CCDF funds. This continued use of the combination of the All in For Kansas Kids Strategic plan and the CCDF spending requirements will be used to continue to prioritize and inform the use of the CCDF quality related funds. b. Describe the findings of the assessment, including any findings related to needs of different populations and types of providers, and if any overarching goals for quality improvement were identified: Kansas child care professionals earn an average salary of $25,570 according to 2023 Bureau of Labor Statistics , which is below the Federal Poverty Level for a family of four at $30,000 and far below the estimated annual income of $46,645 needed to afford a three-bedroom apartment in Kansas. Kansas has an unmet child care need of about 56%, according to Child Care Aware of Kansas, which is in part attributable to the shortage of child care professionals. Respondents to the KCCTO Statewide Workforce Needs Assessment indicate that 60% are unaware of early childhood core competencies, and 44% do not have professional development plans. According to Child Care Aware of Kansas, many families need care outside of traditional work hours, but only 6.4% of licensed programs offer evening hour care, 1.2% offer overnight care, and 3.6% offer weekend care. Findings related to the Kansas early childhood workforce were developed through in-depth review of existing data and relevant reports, collection of perspectives from across the Kansas early childhood ecosystem, and data synthesis of these important yet distinct insights. As a result of these findings integrated initiatives are being launched to recruit, retain, and elevate highly qualified early childhood professionals. Kansas is also implementing statewide strategies to help child care administrators keep their doors open despite workforce shortages. Some of the overarching goals that have come out of these needs assessments and the All In For Kansas Kids Needs Assessment 2024 and strategic plan center mainly around the need to recruit and retain quality staff. To do this, quality improvement efforts will focus on the need to engage the providers in the new Core Competencies, the development of their staff through Individual Professional Development Plans as a part of the Career Pathway, and the utilization of the Workforce Registry. Shared Service Networks, funded by CCDF quality funds, represent one model that is working to reduce administrative costs and other barriers to the child care industry long-term. These Share Service Network Hubs are designed to reduce operating costs for participating child care programs by offering a range of shared services and supports, including administrative services, substitute pools, and telehealth options. The need for care outside of traditional hours helped inform the work that is being done to allow the use of differential payments above the Child Care Assistance maximum for child care services offered during non-traditional hours to encourage child care supply outside of typical business hours. These findings from All In For Kansas Kids 2024 Needs Assessment also enforced the need for affordable child care and was a driving factor in the agencies decision to ensure that the Child Care Assistance Rates were at levels that supported the cost of operating a program. There were many findings around how fundamental basic needs are for families and how the CCDF related funding plays a role in helping families access high quality child care to further their education and attend job training and afford other basic needs by having affordable child care. Collaboration across state agencies and organizations has increased, creating greater efficiency and increased access to services. Multiple funding streams were blended and braided to support child care needs within the early childhood ecosystem and these other funding sources play a role in determining which quality improvement goals CCDF funds are used for.