7.2 Use of Quality Set-Aside Funds

Lead Agencies must use a portion of their CCDF expenditures for activities designed to improve the quality of child care services and to increase parental options for and access to high-quality child care. They must use the quality set-aside funds on at least one of 10 activities described in CCDF and the quality activities must be aligned with a Statewide or Territory-wide assessment of the State's or Territory’s need to carry out such services and care. 7.2.1 Quality improvement activities a. Describe how the Lead Agency will make its Quality Progress Report (ACF – 218) and expenditure reports, available to the public. Provide a link if available. DHS/DFD will post the approved Quality Progress Report on the Child Care Website: https://www.ChildCareNJ.gov/Resources/Reports b. Identify Lead Agency plans, if any, to spend CCDF funds for each of the following quality improvement activities. If an activity is checked “yes”, describe the Lead Agency’s current and/or future plans for this activity. i. Supporting the training and professional development of the child care workforce, including birth to five and school-age providers. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. DHS/DFD offers training and professional development that support the workforce in their interactions with children from birth to age 13. Various elements, such as, technical assistance and coaching, are provided to reinforce training through our contracted agencies, including the Child Care Health Consultants, CCR&Rs (Infant-Toddler Specialists and Quality Improvement Specialists), NJ School-Age Care Coalition, Mental Health Consultants, Grow NJ Kids Training Services (Rutgers) and the GNJK Technical Assistance Specialists. The hands-on implementation approach focuses on developmentally appropriate practices in working with all children. All contracted agencies that provide training and PD focus content on meeting the individualized needs of all children. In addition, all Quality Improvement Specialists and Technical Assistance Specialists have received rigorous training on Dual Language Learners and Cultural Competency. The intent is to provide programs and providers with hands-on supports to individualize education and care for children. Future enhancements to NJ’s PD system include: expansion of existing course topics to ensure progressive and advanced trainings that build on Office of Licensing and other foundational content, additional professional development option for Out-of-School Time and school-age providers and coordination of assessment and survey among NJ’s various PD providers. ii. Developing, maintaining, or implementing early learning and developmental guidelines. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. Training is available virtually in both English and Spanish on the NJ Early Learning Guidelines which include the Birth to Three Standards and the NJ Preschool Teaching and Learning Standards. In addition, the Infant-Toddler Specialists provide intensive technical assistance and coaching to support the implementation of the Birth to 3 Standards. NJCCIS tracks the offering of all virtual asynchronous trainings. To measure progress, NJ will track utilization over a period of time. iii. Developing, implementing, or enhancing a quality improvement system. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. GNJK Standards Revision NJ is currently in the process of revising the Grow NJ Kids standards for center- based and public preschool providers with an expected release in early 2025. These revisions will require enhancements to NJCCIS, statewide training and messaging for all providers and contracted partners, and the development of new documents and supporting resources. iv. Improving the supply and quality of child care services for infants and toddlers. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. Infant-Toddler Specialist Network (ITSN): NJ’s Infant and Toddler Specialist Initiative was developed to support center-based and FCC providers with the implementation of high-quality infant and toddler care. NJ currently has 19 Infant-Toddler Specialists (ITS) who primarily provide coaching support in the classroom using the ITERS-3 and FCCERS-3 and support providers in the development of improvement plans based on classroom observation. NJ prioritizes providers serving infants and toddlers that are NOT currently participating in Grow NJ Kids, however ITSN supports are available to any CCAP serving provider. Socio-Emotional Formation Initiative (SEFI) ￿ The Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health at Montclair State University, has been in contract with DHS/DFD since 2016. This initiative provides specialized technical assistance and infant and early childhood mental health consultation, professional development, and education to improve social emotional development and inclusion in DFD funded programs. SEFI activities include 1. Professional Formation and Development 2. Consultation and Coaching 3. Collaboration with DFD Quality Initiative partners Child Care Health Consultant Quality Initiative: NJ contracts with the Central Jersey Family Health Consortium to develop the Child Care Health Consultants Quality Initiative. The initiative is designed to inform and support early childhood and school-age staff, as well as directors; to ensure health, safety, and nutrition in their programs. It is based on nationally recommended best practice and standards. Additionally, Child Care Health Consultants collaborate with other DFD sponsored programs and initiatives to improve the quality of care and promote the health and safety of children, families and their teachers. Key Deliverables 1. Conduct health and safety assessments and evaluations. 2. Provide Health and Safety trainings. 3. Provide consultation and technical -assistance on health-related matters (on-site and/or by telephone, email or virtually); 4. Provide Resources and Referral services - community resources and referrals for health, mental health and social needs, including accessing medical homes, children’s health insurance programs (e.g., CHIP), and services for special health care needs. 5. Offer technical assistance and provide online health consultation to plan quality improvements. 6. In collaboration with the programs, provide templates, best practice standards and guidance on developing written policies and procedures. 7. Provide generalized guidance regarding health records and care plans for children with special needs. 8. Coordinate services in collaboration with other approved agencies and health care professionals. 9. Provide training on safe medication administration practices. 10. Help interpret Grow NJ Kids standards, and OOL regulations requirements related to health and safety, as well as providing technical advice. 11. Assist in the development of disaster/emergency medical plans (especially for those children with special health care needs) in collaboration with DFD. 12. Work with other consultants such as nutritionists, physical activity, oral health consultants, TA, QRIS and other quality specialists. 13. Assess the need for and provide recommendations to DFD on suggested trainings for childcare and school-age programs, including: child health and development, injury prevention, management of illness, medication administration, prevention and control of infectious diseases, food allergy management, caring for children with special needs, oral health, social- emotional development, and environmental health. 14. Support childcare providers on the implementation of childcare guidance in NJ via trainings, webinars, health consultation and technical assistance. 15. Provide short virtual presentations (Huddles) and statewide e-blasts on important health & safety topics in childcare as needed. Statewide Parent Advocacy Network (SPAN): The overall goal of this initiative is to provide support to early care and education providers, both center-based and home-based, and parents, via trainings, technical assistance, information, and resources to enhance understanding of the needs of all young children, including those with special needs and how to include them in early care and education settings. Priority is given to childcare centers serving children receiving subsidies, Pyramid Implementation and Demonstration sites, and centers and home-based providers enrolled in Grow NJ Kids. SPAN also supports the statewide efforts to enroll and recruit providers into the Grow NJ Kids initiative and Pyramid Model implementation. Thriving by Three Act: This grant program was established in NJ to incentivize the expansion of capacity for infants and toddlers, and to address shortages in infant and toddler care capacity that is available for working families and support the developmental needs of young children. Eligible licensed childcare centers and registered family child care providers received grant funding to support the expansion of infant and toddler childcare capacity and agreed to participate in the State’s child care QRIS, Grow NJ Kids. The goals of the Thriving by Three Initiative are to support the developmental needs of young children, increase working families’ access to high quality early care and education programs and provide technical assistance through the expansion of childcare capacity in communities lacking infant and toddler care. The program was publicly launched on 3/22/2023 for center-based programs and 11/1/2023 for Family Child Care ￿ $28 million was allocated to support this initiative, of which DHS/DFD received $20 million. v. Establishing or expanding a statewide system of CCR&R services. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The CCR&R agencies are responsible for providing resources and referrals for families. This information is tracked and reported regularly. CCR&Rs expanded their staffing to include Family Engagement Specialists to provide an array of services to support families' connections and increase their understanding of child development. This includes hosting regular "Books, Balls, and Blocks" events and Parent Cafes. Both activities support early screening for developmental delays and referrals for families needing additional resources and follow up for any developmental concerns. These events and referrals are tracked and reported quarterly. vi. Facilitating compliance with Lead Agency child care licensing, monitoring, inspection and health and safety standards. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x]Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. DHS/DFD plans to invest in technology and system modification necessary to comply with the CCDBG health and safety requirements. Three state agencies share the responsibility of overseeing New Jersey’s child care providers. A viable technology solution is essential to manage the criminal background check process and collect data from three different state systems to capture monitoring data and post inspection reports. vii. Evaluating and assessing the quality and effectiveness of child care services within the State/Territory. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. In addition to the efforts referenced above, DHS/DFD has contracted with Rutgers University, National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) to conduct an evaluation study on quality outcomes for programs and children enrolled in Grow NJ Kids. This study is a three-year project. We are entering year 4 of the project that has had to adapt to issues caused by the pandemic. NIEER is working on finishing observations and assessments in the child care centers. Findings will be able to be reported next program year. In 2023, the Center for Research and Evaluation on Education and Human Services (CREEHS) at Montclair State University (MSU) conducted an evaluation of the GNJK quality improvement process, using both qualitative and quantitative data collected from childcare stakeholders (QIS, TAS, Training Partners, DFD, GNJK Rating Team.) and providers (center-based programs, family childcare, Head Start, state funded preschool) within NJ’s QRIS. The evaluation focused on 4 overall questions: 1. How is GNJK ratings process currently working?; 2. How do ECE providers and GNJK supporters throughout New Jersey define ￿quality early childhood education?; 3. To what extent does this vary by program/center type or role?; 4. To what extent are the existing GNJK training, supports, processes, and tools (e.g. ERS assessments) equitable and aligned with ECE providers’ and GNJK supporters’ definition of quality, and where do they differ? Recommendations based on the evaluation were bucketed into 4 phases of GNJK. Phase One (Enrollment and Introduction) was targeted to GNJK recruitment practices and resources for recruitment. Phase Two (Assess, Plan and Support) was targeted to streamlining the self-assessment and quality improvement process. Phase Three (Rating) was targeted to better understanding of the standards and guidance for ECE providers on document submission. Lastly, Phase Four (CQI) was targeted to more detailed protocols for CQI and tools to support both the TASs and ECE providers in this phase. viii. Accreditation support. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. NJ offers non-monetary support through technical assistance and coaching that assists programs with quality improvement that is aligned with national accreditation standards. These supports assist programs in their pursuit of achieving a rating or proceeding through the accreditation process. GNJK is aligned to accreditation and provides a pathway to ratings of those who are accredited. Onsite observations during the rating process are waived for programs that are accredited that submit for a 3-star rating. Lastly, DHS/DFD continues to contract with NJAEYC for supporting Child Care and Family Child Care providers with access to the Shared Services Platform. ix. Supporting State/Territory or local efforts to develop high-quality program standards relating to health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, and physical development. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. In addition to the Health and Safety Basics Training Course, Health Safety Refresher Course (offered in English and Spanish), as well as a pull-out course for emergency preparedness to ensure programs have access to a refresher course. This will be highlighted next year as Lead Trainers just received a train the trainer on the course for implementation. Furthermore, as described above NJ continues to support programs and providers in meeting high quality standards related to Health, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Mental Health in a number of ways. It is important to highlight that during the past fiscal year 1,569 programs participating in GNJK and 339 Programs received Star Rating of 3, 4 or 5. NJ also continues to support Montclair State University, Center for Autism and Early Childhood Mental Health through a contract to implement the Pyramid Model training and coaching, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation and number of social-emotional and relational health activities. The SEFI initiative provides specialized technical assistance on inclusion teaching practices to improve inclusion for children with significant developmental delays which are resulting in risk of expulsion or suspension. Furthermore, to support the development of high-quality program standards related to health, physical activity and physical development, providers may access support from NJ’s network of Childcare Health Consultants who provide technical assistance, training, and consultation. x. Other activities determined by the Lead Agency to improve the quality of child care services and the measurement of outcomes related to improved provider preparedness, child safety, child well-being, or kindergarten entry. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. 8 Lead Agency Coordination and Partnerships to Support Service Delivery Coordination and partnerships help ensure that the Lead Agency’s efforts accomplish CCDF goals effectively, leverage other resources, and avoid duplication of effort. Such coordination and partnerships can help families better access child care, can assist in providing consumer education to parents, and can be used to improve child care quality and the stability of child care providers. Such coordination can also be particularly helpful in the aftermath of disasters when the provision of emergency child care services and the rebuilding and restoring of child care infrastructure are an essential part of ensuring the well-being of children and families in recovering communities. This section identifies who the Lead Agency collaborates with to implement services, how match and maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds are used, coordination with child care resource and referral (CCR&R) systems, and efforts for disaster preparedness and response plans to support continuity of operations in response to emergencies.