6.4 Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines

Lead Agencies must develop, maintain, or implement early learning and developmental guidelines appropriate for children from birth to kindergarten entry. Early learning and developmental guidelines should describe what children should know and be able to do at different ages and cover the essential domains of early childhood development, which at a minimum includes cognition, including language arts and mathematics; social, emotional, and physical development; and approaches toward learning. 6.4.1 Early learning and developmental guidelines a. Check the boxes below to certify the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines are: i. [x] Research-based. ii. [x] Developmentally appropriate. iii. [x] Culturally and linguistically appropriate. iv. [x] Aligned with kindergarten entry. v. [x] Appropriate for all children from birth to kindergarten entry. vi. [x] Implemented in consultation with the educational agency and the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body. vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: b. Check the boxes below to certify that the required domains are included in the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines. i. [x] Cognition, including language arts and mathematics. ii. [x] Social development. iii. [x] Emotional development. iv. [x] Physical development. v. [x] Approaches toward learning. vi. [x] Other optional domains. Describe any optional domains: Creative Expression and Aesthetic Appreciation-From infancy, children respond emotionally, cognitively, and with their whole bodies to the arts and the natural world. Children develop the ability to create and appreciate beauty in all its forms. The arts (music, dance, drama, visual arts) and other forms of creative expression foster children’s ability to conceptualize and solve problems, develop their imagination, and experience and express powerful emotions. Through their experiences with the natural world, children develop the capacity for wonder and awe. Experiences with the arts and the natural world help children to integrate sensory, emotional, physical, and cognitive learning. Adults can support children’s development through providing opportunities to encounter the arts and the natural world and encouraging exploration and creativity vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: c. When were the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines most recently updated and for what reason? The revision of the 2005 NH Early Learning Guidelines began in 2012. The updated version was published in 2016 with a name change to NH Early Learning Standards. It was updated in order to be a much more comprehensive tool than previous versions and to reflect updated research on child development. d. Provide the Web link to the Lead Agency's early learning and developmental guidelines. https://www.nh-connections.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/NH-Early-Learning- Standards.pdf 6.4.2 Use of early learning and developmental guidelines a. Describe how the Lead Agency uses its early learning and developmental guidelines. Southern New Hampshire Services uses the guidelines to create trainings around the five developmental domains. It has been incorporated into the NH Professional Development System’s Core Knowledge Areas ￿Promoting Child Growth and Development￿ and ￿Developing as a Professional￿. b. Check the boxes below to certify that CCDF funds are not used to develop or implement an assessment for children that: i. [x] Will be the primary or sole basis to determine a child care provider ineligible to participate in the CCDF. ii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole basis to provide a reward or sanction for an individual provider. iii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. iv. [x] Will be used to deny children eligibility to participate in CCDF. v. If any components above are not checked, describe: 7 Quality Improvement Activities The quality of child care directly affects children’s safety and healthy development while in care settings, and high-quality child care can be foundational across the lifespan. Lead Agencies may use CCDF for quality improvement activities for all children in care, not just those receiving child care subsidies. OCC will collect the most detailed Lead Agency information about quality improvement activities in annual reports instead of this Plan. Lead Agencies must report on CCDF child care quality improvement investments in three ways: 1. In this Plan, Lead Agencies will describe the types of activities supported by quality investments over the 3-year period. 2. An annual expenditure report (the ACF-696). Lead Agencies will provide data on how much CCDF funding is spent on quality activities. This report will be used to determine compliance with the required quality and infant and toddler spending requirements. 3. An annual Quality Progress Report (the ACF-218). Lead Agencies will provide a description of activities funded by quality expenditures, the measures used to evaluate its progress in improving the quality of child care programs and services within the State/Territory, and progress or barriers encountered on those measures. In this section of the Plan, Lead Agencies will describe their quality activities needs assessment and identify the types of quality improvement activities where CCDF investments are being made using quality set-aside funds.