6.1 Supporting the Child Care Workforce

Lead Agencies have broad flexibility to implement policies and practices to support the child care workforce. 6.1.1 Strategies to improve recruitment, retention, compensation, and well-being a. Identify any Lead Agency activities related to strengthening workforce recruitment and retention of child care providers. Check all that apply: i. [ ] Providing program-level grants to support investments in staff compensation. ii. [ ] Providing bonuses or stipends paid directly to staff, like sign-on or retention bonuses. iii. [ ] Connecting family child care providers and center-based child care staff to health insurance or supporting premiums in the Marketplace. iv. [ ] Subsidizing family child care provider and center-based child care staff retirement benefits. v. [ ] Providing paid sick, personal, and parental leave for family child care providers and center-based child care staff. vi. [ ] Providing student loan debt relief or loan repayment for family child care providers and center-based child care staff. vii. [x] Providing scholarships or tuition support for center-based child care staff and family child care providers. viii. [x] Other. Describe: Effective October 2022, a verified employee in a licensed center or certified family child care home can have all income excluded from the eligibility determination for CCAP if they meet the employment and technical eligibility guidelines (922 KAR 2:160 Child Care Assistance Program https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/160/). Child care employees were identified as a vulnerable population and income is excluded on a case-by-case basis. b. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to assess and improve the compensation of the child care workforce in the State or Territory, including increasing wages, bonuses, and stipends. We are not aware of any direct plans to improve monetary compensation, however the ongoing CCAP benefit to child care professionals does improve a compensation package able to be offered for employees. c. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to expand access to benefits, including health insurance, paid sick, personal, and parental leave, and retirement benefits. N/A d. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to support the mental health and well-being of the child care workforce. Each year the Division of Child Care partner with Child Care Aware of Kentucky (CCR&R Network) to host a "Trainer's Institute", in which KY ECE Credentialed Trainers can attend and participate in a variety of sessions. The trainings focus on how to train adults. The content is not necessarily ECE-focused, but more so how to support our specific workforce in the training/professional development capacity. Last year in 2023, sessions that supported the mental health and well-being of the workforce included: "Feel Better, Lead Better" with Michell Clark and "Thriving Through Change" with Amy Posey. This year, in May 2024, included was the session: "Cultivating Opportunity: The Power of Courage and Connection" with Dr. Damien Sweeney. The support given to these credentialed trainers that deliver much of the professional development and ongoing training in the state assists providers and staff with their own mental health and self-care. In upcoming years, topics will continue to focus on supporting overall mental health and well-being, along with self-care, of the trainers and providers alike. The Division of Child Care and the Department for Public Health, Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists, are contracting with Conscious Discipline in 2024 to engage in trainings for ECE providers beginning in 2025. These trainings and ongoing coaching opportunities for providers will support not only the mental health and well-being of the children in the program, but the professionals who care for them as well. e. Describe any other strategies the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to support providers’ recruitment and retention of the child care workforce. The KY Governor's Office of Early Childhood (GOEC) sponsors the Registered Apprenticeship program, which includes bonuses and incremental wage increases. The Division of Child Care collaborates and partners with GOEC in its recognition of how critical the program is to creating a nationally recognized pathway among our early childhood landscape in Kentucky. 6.1.2 Strategies to support provider business practices a. Describe other strategies that the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to strengthen child care providers’ business management and administrative practices. The Division of Child Care (DCC), through contractual services provided by the Child Care Resource and Referral Network of Services, provides regional coaching, technical assistance, and resources to support prospective and current child care providers. A DCC developed and approved training is delivered by coaches as a requirement of licensure. This training includes information pertinent to the successful operation of a child care program to deliver quality child care. Regional Child Care Administrators have established relationships with the network of Small Business Development Centers throughout KY and regularly refer programs to them for specific business management assistance to complement coaching efforts. The Family Child Care Network (FCCN) operates across the state specifically for business needs related to licensed/certified family child care homes. The Kentucky Director's Credential is available to individuals who complete twelve college credit hours in the prescribed major areas of core knowledge and receive a recommendation from the institution where the coursework was completed. 922 KAR 2:230 Section 1 (1) (https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/kar/titles/922/002/230/) explains the requirements in greater detail. b. Check the topics addressed in the Lead Agency’s strategies for strengthening child care providers’ administrative business practices. Check all that apply: i. [x] Fiscal management. ii. [x] Budgeting. iii. [x] Recordkeeping. iv. [x] Hiring, developing, and retaining qualified staff. v. [x] Risk management. vi. [x] Community relationships. vii. [x] Marketing and public relations. viii. [x] Parent-provider communications. ix. [x] Use of technology in business administration. x. [ ] Compliance with employment and labor laws. xi. [x] Other. Describe any other efforts to strengthen providers’ administrative business: The Lead Agency has partnered with brightwheel, a platform for child care businesses, free of charge to providers. Existing and new brightwheel customers can use this platform for attendance, business needs, communication with families, etc. The brightwheel contract offers ongoing training and technical support to all enrolled providers. The platform is also in the beginning stages of being utilized for auditing of staff records, which assists the licensing agency in their inspections. 6.1.3 Strategies to support provider participation Lead Agencies must facilitate participation of child care providers and staff with limited English proficiency and disabilities in the child care subsidy system. Describe how the Lead Agency will facilitate this participation, including engagement with providers to identify barriers and specific strategies used to support their participation: a. Providers and staff with limited English proficiency: The state provider registry ECE-TRIS includes providers' first languages. In order to assess the demand for supports to LEP providers, an inventory of providers who report a first language other than English could be taken from the state provider registry on an annual basis. The CHFS office of Human Resource Management Language Access Program provides accurate, quality interpretation services for providers predominantly in Spanish and other Indo-European languages identified through a statewide assessment. In addition, information is available to families through the Integrated Eligibility & Enrollment System (IEES) in the top eight most common languages spoken in Kentucky, other than English. The Division of Child Care through contractual services provided by Child Care Resource and Referral Network, and in consultation with the Cabinet for Health & Family Services (CHFS) Office of Human Resource Management Language Access Program and the Human Development Institute, provide regional coaching, technical assistance, and resources to support providers with limited English proficiency. Additionally, Child Care Aware provides tips and tools forms translated in Spanish. The "Getting Started" video explains the CCAP program to providers. Additionally when we encounter prospective providers with Limited English Proficiency we partner with the Language Access Section to help minimize language barriers. Via the Language Access Section we have access to Language Services Associates (InterpreTALK), the current CHFS telephonic interpretation vendor. This service provides interpretation services in more than 266 languages and is available to us 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have recently contracted to have our entire Orientation module, and affiliated activities, translated into Spanish so that providers can take this regulatory training in a language other than English. Additionally, we are working with Language Services to also have Pediatric Abusive Head Trauma translated into Spanish. b. Providers and staff who have disabilities: Each year the Division of Child Care partners with Child Care Aware of Kentucky (CCR&R Network) to host a "Trainer's Institute", in which KY ECE Credentialed Trainers can attend and participate in a variety of sessions. The trainings focus on how to train adults. The content is not necessarily ECE-focused, but more so how to support our specific workforce. Last year in 2023, sessions included: "(Re)Designing Equitable Online Assignments, from back to front" and "ABC, 123: Use Audio and Visuals for Memory". This year, in May 2024, sessions included: "Teaching Neurodiverse Learners", "A Journey Through Learning Experience Design", and several additional topics on diversifying training design and engagement. The support given to these credentialed trainers through the annual Trainer's Institute further supports the child care workforce, including staff with disabilities. In upcoming years, topics will continue to focus on supporting the specific needs of providers and staff with varying abilities. The Division of Child Care through contractual services provided by Child Care Resource and Referral Network, and in consultation with the Cabinet for Health & Family Services (CHFS) Office of Human Resource Management Language Access Program and the Human Development Institute, provide regional coaching, technical assistance, and resources to support providers and staff with disabilities. The Lead Agency facilitates participation in the subsidy program for providers and staff with disabilities by promoting our regional family support offices, where individuals can seek specific supports in helping explain the program, and enroll if applicable. Additionally, DCC Office Staff have set up streamlined communications in order to serve individuals of all abilities in a timely and efficient matter when enrolling in subsidy.