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. [x] 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. [x] 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: We also provide child care financial assistance to eligible staff working in early education programs through priority access to the waitlist and expedited enrollment. The entry income threshold is also increased to 85% for early education staff. 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. EEC’s C3 grant is provided to all licensed and funded providers that apply and the funding incorporates adjustments based on program staffing levels which the program can then invest in compensation increases. Data gathered over the past two and a half years of grant funding have shown increases in educator salaries over time and most programs report that they were able to do this without relying on tuition increases to cover these increased costs. EEC is also developing a new educator credentialing system, which will include potential professional pathways for credentialed educators. Once implemented, the credential will provide a framework around which recommendations and expectations for compensation can be developed. 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. EEC is using data from the C3 grantees to understand the current field’s access to benefits. In the future, this information will support planning around ways to provide systemic support for access to benefits that are not well supported in the field. By leveraging insights gained from this data, EEC aims to implement targeted strategies to expand access to benefits such as health insurance, paid sick, personal, and parental leave, as well as retirement benefits for educators across Massachusetts. These efforts will be focused on addressing gaps in coverage and ensuring that all educators have access to essential benefits, thereby promoting their well-being, professional development, and retention within the early education and child care workforce. d. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to support the mental health and well-being of the child care workforce. EEC funds a regional network of Early Childhood Mental Health Grantees who provide consultation and support to early education and care programs across each licensing region. Clinicians experienced in behavioral and mental health consult with classroom teachers on children exhibiting challenging behaviors in the classroom. The clinicians are able to provide coaching and support to classroom teachers and Family child care educators on specific approaches to manage their classroom effectively. These grantees also provide mental health supports such as book groups and other self-care and stress reduction approaches for the early education and child care workforce. We also recently hired mental health specialists who will assist in supporting and managing the Early Childhood Mental Health grantees, working with Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) Grantees who engage in expansion of special education services to community partners, and engaging with licensors and regional office staff on programs that work to prevent suspensions and expulsions. e. Describe any other strategies the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to support providers’ recruitment and retention of the child care workforce. EEC has been working with the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOWLD) to establish registered apprenticeship models aimed at recruitment and retention of early childhood teachers. The registered apprenticeship model provides a structure and a set of foundational standards that can be readily incorporated into the classroom experience. Coaching and mentoring of newcomers to the field is also included to provide support and assistance as part of a retention strategy. Apprenticeships also offer incremental pay increases as part of the recruitment and retention design. In addition, EEC is soliciting vendors to develop and implement supported workforce pipeline programs and mentor training for all program types, including FCC. We also partnered with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), identifying alignment within the emerging workforce in the Chapter 74 early childhood education vocational programs, and dual enrollment and Early College courses offered at many traditional high schools. Students enrolled in these programs have opportunities to explore the field, earn college credit toward an ECE certificate or degree, and realize the benefits of the articulation agreements available among high schools and community colleges. We also provide child care financial assistance to eligible staff working in early education programs through priority access to the waitlist and expedited enrollment. The entry income threshold is also increased to 85% for early education staff. Finally, we fund the Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation grant to send out clinicians experienced in behavioral and mental health to consult with classroom teachers on children exhibiting behaviors that challenge in the classroom. The clinicians are able to provide coaching and support to classroom teachers and Family child care educators on specific approaches to manage their classroom effectively. EEC is also developing a Family Child Care (FCC) Supported Pathways Toolkit which will provide potential FCC providers with all information and forms required to become a licensed provider in Massachusetts. 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. EEC funds a Professional Development Academy where Family Child Care Programs and Leaders of Center Based and After and Out of School Time Programs can receive business training. The program offers synchronous instruction online, coaching and opportunities for reflective practice. 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. [ ] Hiring, developing, and retaining qualified staff. v. [ ] Risk management. vi. [ ] 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. [ ] Other. Describe any other efforts to strengthen providers’ administrative business: 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: Child Care Resource and Referral agencies, contracted providers and FCC systems hire staff that represent the diversity of the communities they are serving, and to the extent possible, provide training, technical assistance and support for child care financial assistance management in languages other than English. CCRRRs are also required to contact providers as outlined in the scope of work within their contract. This includes hosting provider information sessions in languages other than English. EEC also ensures that professional learning opportunities are available in multiple languages to the extent possible. All courses available on the learning management system are translated into Spanish at minimum and, in most cases also include Portuguese and Chinese. The Professional Development Centers also hire staff who reflect local demographics and dominant languages to ensure opportunities are available and accessible to educators that speak languages other than English. b. Providers and staff who have disabilities: Accessibility is also a core principle behind the development of all learning opportunities. The courses on the learning management system meet accessibility guidelines and the Professional Development Centers ensure the accessibility of all offerings.