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 Statewide Early Learning Connection (ELC) Partnerships engage in an annual needs assessment. The ELCs use information from training evaluations, surveys of partners, and annual partnership engagement to determine the saturation level of state required training. They also determine the training needed in local areas to increase provider competency and program involvement. CCDF funds also support the work of some of the contracted coaches to guide programs participating in Step Up to Quality. Programs completing the work to meet the requirements to be rated Step 2 complete a coaching questionnaire. Based on the needs identified, a Step Up to Quality Coach Specialist contacts the program director/owner to assess the program’s need for support. If the program wants coaching services, the Coach Specialist matches the program with a coach with skills to match the needs identified in the coaching questionnaire. Additionally, Early Childhood Education Endowment Grantees (commonly known as Sixpence) use their annual grantee application for continuation of funding to identify their needs. This information is used by the Sixpence Endowment Technical Assistance provider to plan technical assistance. Finally, the Rooted in Relationships/Nurturing Healthy Behaviors project includes needs assessments for their suite of activities, including needs assessments around the implementation of the Pyramid Model. All grantees of CCDF funds provide regular reports demonstrating the work they are doing and the impact these funds have on providers, families, and the communities. All grantees provide a final report at the end of their grant. All reports are reviewed, and the success of the program is assessed to determine additional funding. 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: The following items were most often reported as needs or barriers to professional development: Providers in very rural parts of the state reported that distance to in-person training was a barrier. Nebraska has converted every training required for child care licensing to a virtual learning format and has trained cadres of trainers and computer assistants in delivering each of these training virtually. An ongoing goal is to increase additional types of trainings available virtually including asynchronous eLearning options. In addition to virtual training options, interest, ability, and/or availability of computers and internet access has been reported as a barrier. The Early Learning Connection Partnerships and the Early Childhood Training Center (ECTC) are exploring ways to offer training on use of computers for child care training to those who are hesitant. Another barrier reported was that there are few Spanish-speaking trainers or trainers fluent in other languages available across the state. Nebraska has created a statewide Bilingual training coordinator position as part of one of the Early Learning Connection partnership grants. The person in this role works with the ECTC to build cadres of bilingual trainers. A goal was created to translate every training required by child care licensing or Step Up to Quality into Spanish with appropriate training supports and resources for growing bilingual training pool. There was also a need identified surrounding professional development to address behavior challenges. The goal moving forward is to increase availability of coaches with knowledge of the Pyramid Model. Family engagement resources were also identified as a need. The ECTC plans to partner with the Nebraska Department of Education (NDE) and Community Engagement Coordination Initiative to provide family engagement materials in the Nebraska Early Learning Library. These resources will be available to the early childhood community on a free loan basis. Many communities continue to struggle with a lack of childcare options and cannot find adequate child care for their children who have special needs. A goal has been developed to continue to offer Special Care training regularly. All grantees of CCDF funds provide regular reports demonstrating the work they are doing and the impact these funds have on providers, families, and the communities. All grantees provide a final report at the end of their grant. All reports are reviewed, and the success of the program is assessed to determine additional funding.