8.1 Coordination with Partners to Expand Accessibility and Continuity of Care

Lead Agencies must coordinate child care services supported by CCDF with other federal, State/Territory, and local level programs. This includes programs for the benefit of Indian children, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. 8.1.1 Coordination with required and optional partners Describe how the Lead Agency coordinates and the results of this coordination of the provision of child care services with the organizations and agencies to expand accessibility and continuity of care and to assist children enrolled in early childhood programs in receiving full-day services that meet the needs of working families. The Lead Agency must coordinate with the following agencies: a. State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care in New Mexico is called the Early Childhood Education and Care Advisory Council (ECECAC). This 23-member body was established through Executive Order in Dec. 2022. The ECECAC meets six times a year and has four subcommittees that include Council and non-Council members. These subcommittees are: Early Childhood Professionals, Program Quality and Accountability, Data Visualization and Analysis, and Public Private Partnerships. The ECECAC is focused on improving the supply of child care in New Mexico, specifically infant and toddler care and non-traditional hour care, improving the credentials and compensation of early childhood professionals through the development and implementation of a wage and career ladder, redesigning the state￿s quality rating and improvement system to improve outcomes for young children, and strengthening the capacity of agencies across the prenatal to five system through robust public and private partnership. The ECECAC meeting on Oct. 4, 2023, included a review of the 2025-2027 CCDF Preprint. Members of the ECECAC had an opportunity to ask questions and provide input on the process for developing the state plan. The Oct. meeting also included a discussion of the cost alternative methodology. The ECECAC voted in Oct. 2023 to continue using alternative methodology for rate setting. b. Indian Tribe(s) and/or Tribal organization(s), at the option of the Tribe or Tribal organization. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination, including which Tribe(s) was (were) involved: ECECD’s Assistant Secretary for Native American Early Childhood Education and Care and the ECECD CCDF co-administrator meet quarterly with the 15 Tribal CCDF grantees to share resources, problem solve issues, and collaborate on shared goals and priorities. ECECD coordinates with Eight Northern Indian Pueblo Council (ENIPC) who serves as the CCDF administrator for Picuris, Okhay Owingeh, Santa Clara, Nambe, San Ildofonso, and Pojoaque Pueblos. In addition, ECECD coordinates with Kewa, Cochiti, Acoma, Isleta, Jemez, Laguna, Sand Felipe, Sandia, Tesuque, Zia, Santa Ana, Taos, and Zuni Pueblos and the Mescalero Apache Tribe. An example of our collaboration includes a recent request from two Tribal CCDF administrators for assistance in completing background checks, ECECD developed an MOU with San Felipe and Zuni Pueblos to have the state conduct background checks on their behalf. The CCDF Administrator and the Assistant Secretary have ongoing consultation with Tribal leaders that have resulted in increased coordination around early intervention, parent engagement, expanded PreK options, and language preservation. The Assistant Secretary also convenes a monthly call with Tribal Education Directors, Head Start, Child Care and other organizations working in Tribal communities. The purpose of the Tribal Monthly communication call is to provide agency updates and share information on ECECD initiatives to the tribal early childhood community, inform tribal education leaders what is happening in early childhood care and education at the local and national level, and give an opportunity for authentic dialogue between the 23 Tribes, Pueblos and Nations and the state of New Mexico and those that work with Indigenous families and children. ECECD also partners with the 23 Tribes, Pueblos and Nations of New Mexico through its New Mexico Early Childhood Tribal Advisory Coalition (NMECTAC). The NMECTAC facilitates regular communication and engagement with tribal early education communities. NMECTAC primarily focuses on capacity building and advising ECECD on changes to policies and protocols that have the potential to affect Indigenous children across the state. In FY23, NMECTAC has focused on building capacity around community and family engagement, the legislative process, and professional development. The coalition has also offered feedback on best practices for tribal relations, changes to the FOCUS tiered quality rating system, topics and training opportunities for other state partners, and updates to the state CCDF plan. Additionally, this is a unique and critically important Indigenous coalition because they also share current community initiatives to collaborate and share resources and wisdom amongst each other. NMECTAC works closely with other state Early Childhood advisory bodies to increase collaboration within the New Mexico Early Childhood Ecosystem. [ ] Not applicable. Check here if there are no Indian Tribes and/or Tribal organizations in the State/Territory. c. State/Territory agency(ies) responsible for programs for children with disabilities, including early intervention programs authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD administers the Part C Early Intervention program for New Mexico and coordinates closely with the Public Education Department (PED) on provision of Part B services. In March 2024, an MOU was executed between PED and ECECD that transfers the 619 Coordinator from PED to ECECD. The goal of ECECD is to ensure coordination and collaboration between child care, Part C, and Part B and PreK to make services seamless for families. Both Part B and Part C service providers collaborate with early childhood professionals in their community to provide services in a child’s natural environment. The NM Department of Health houses the Children’s Medical Services (CMS) program, which is the state’s Title V program for children with special needs. ECECD collaborates with CMS to ensure children with special needs are connected to services, including early intervention, medical care, vision and hearing screening, and insurance coverage. In spring of 2024 ECECD hosted a webinar where CMS staff gave a presentation to early childhood professionals on the services provided by the program and how families can access those services. d. State/Territory office/director for Head Start State collaboration. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD is the lead agency for the Head Start State Collaboration office. Our shared coordination goals include improving the credentials and compensation of the Head Start early childhood workforce and redesigning our quality rating and improvement system with a more intentional focus on teacher interactions and credentials and group size and ratios that aligns with Head Start Program Performance Standards. Through the Head Start State Collaboration Office, ECECD is partnering with the New Mexico Head Start Association to support conversion of Head Start to Early Head Start and strengthen coordination and partnerships between local education agencies and Head Start recipients. The result of this coordination will be increased access to high-quality infant and toddler care, improved outcomes for children with special needs, and more seamless transitions for Head Start children. e. State/Territory agency responsible for public health, including the agency responsible for immunizations. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The state agency responsible for public health, including immunizations, is the NM Department of Health (NM DOH). ECECD coordinates with DOH in a variety of ways, including training the early childhood workforce on the importance of immunizations and other health topics. ECECD is working with DOH, the Immunization Coalition, and the NM Pediatric Society to increase COVID vaccine rates in children under five. ECECD also works with DOH on statewide prevention and promotion activities such as safe sleep education and training and distribution of safe sleep spaces (bassinets or pack-and-plays). ECECD collaborates with the DOH Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program to provide healthy foods, nutrition education, and support with breastfeeding. ECECD is also partnering with DOH to implement the Family Connects light touch home visiting program. ECECD funded DOH staff in Bernalillo County to successfully pilot the program, which recently became certified by Family Connects International. The result of this coordination will be improved immunization rates for children, a decrease in infant deaths related to safe sleep, and an increase in access to an evidence based home visiting program for families. f. State/Territory agency responsible for employment services/workforce development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) is the employment services/workforce development agency in New Mexico. ECECD is coordinating with DWS on developing and expanding apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeships for early childhood educations to provide aspiring educators with essential practical training, mentorship, and direct classroom engagement. DWS is also convening employers and ECECD to hear about challenges to establishing employer-based child care services and identify actionable solutions to address challenges. The result of this coordination will be increased number of early childhood apprenticeships, improved relationships with local businesses around child care needs, and an increase in child care supply. g. State/Territory agency responsible for public education, including pre-Kindergarten. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD is the agency responsible for administering and monitoring the state pre-Kindergarten program. The coordination with community-based child care centers and homes include offering 1080 or 1380 hours of instruction options which supports child care programs in offering close to full-day, full-year services with wrap around supports through child care funding. The result of this coordination includes technical assistance and coaching that benefits the leadership in the community-based child care programs, which includes a specific focus on early literacy and social and emotional development. h. State/Territory agency responsible for child care licensing. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD is the lead agency for child care licensing. The results of this coordination include improved communication to child care providers about opportunities for families and early childhood professionals. i. State/Territory agency responsible for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and other relevant nutrition programs. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD is the lead agency for the Child and Adult Care Food Program and the Summer Food Services Program. The results of this coordination include ensuring most child care programs are enrolled in the CACFP program and result in improved communication for family child care providers through ECECD’s coordination with food sponsors to deliver key messages and sharing opportunities for support. j. McKinney-Vento State coordinators for homeless education and other agencies providing services for children experiencing homelessness and, to the extent practicable, local McKinney-Vento liaisons. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD coordinates with the Public Education Department’s McKinney-Vento State Coordinators for homeless education on needs assessments, screening forms, and through ongoing professional development and intentional and accessible communication for families experiencing homelessness. ECECD and the McKinney-Vento State Director will explore a partnership through their family and community outreach and the School House Connection. The results of our coordination are that staff are more familiar with the resources available to families and more families become connected to critical programs and services. k. State/Territory agency responsible for the TANF program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Health Care Authority is the agency responsible for the TANF program. The agency transfers TANF funding to ECECD to support child care assistance for TANF families and families at or below 100 percent of poverty. We coordinate to ensure accessing child care is not a barrier for families receiving TANF. We are also working with the agency to embed child care eligibility with the other benefit programs to support families in accessing all the services they need at one time. At the Department of Workforce Solutions, TANF participants go through the process of signing up for child care at the same time that they enroll in employment and training services. This can serve as a model for co-enrollment between other programs. The results of this coordination include improved outreach for families eligible to receive child care assistance and the opportunity to move towards a common application to better support families that receive TANF in accessing child care. l. State/Territory agency responsible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Health Care Authority is the agency responsible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program in New Mexico. ECECD coordinates with the HCA to expand access to evidence- based home visiting. ECECD leadership meets monthly with the Managed Care Organizations to review and improve the referral process for members and identify barriers and solutions to increasing awareness and access for families. Home visitors discuss healthcare and insurance needs with families and support them in applying for Medicaid/CHIP. This coordination results in more Medicaid eligible families having access to evidence-based home visiting. m. State/Territory agency responsible for mental health services. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD is a member of the New Mexico Behavioral Health Collaborative (BHC). The coordination goals include expanding the provider network and ensuring services being offered meet the needs of families and children. The BHC has a strategic plan and all cabinet agencies meet quarterly to share updates, review progress, and address challenges. The result of this coordination will include support for the expansion of ECECD’s Social Emotional Early Development (SEED) initiative which provides infant early childhood mental health consultation available to early childhood programs. n. Child care resource and referral agencies, child care consumer education organizations, and providers of early childhood education training and professional development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD coordinates with UNM ECS, the state’s child care resource and referral system, to provide consumer education, offer in-person and virtual trainings on the quality rating and improvement system, improving the business practices of the child care industry is a shared coordination goal which is addressed through the business practices training and the shared services Biz- Toolkit. They also manage the trainer approval system for ECECD which ensures consistency in the quality of trainings that are offered to child care staff across the state. The results of our coordination will be high-quality child care programs across the state that understand the business model for child care and can effectively recruit and retain staff. o. Statewide afterschool network or other coordinating entity for out-of-school time care (if applicable). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Child Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) works with out of school time programs throughout the state to support the provision of snacks and supper during the out of school time program hours through the At-Risk option. At present, there are 305 out of school time sites that participate in the At-Risk option of the Child Adult Care Food Program. On average, 142,962 suppers and snacks are served monthly at the out of school time program sites. The results of this coordination include more vulnerable children having access to nutritious meals in their after school programs and when schools are not in session. p. Agency responsible for emergency management and response. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: ECECD is responsible for emergency management and response. Coordination goals for ECECD were to develop a comprehensive statewide disaster preparedness plan to address emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts specific to child care. Key partners included: Homeland Security; Department of Health; Children, Youth and Families Department, Health and Human Services Department; New Mexico Resource and Referral; and State Advisory Council. On March 16, 2021, ECECD hosted a statewide planning session with state agencies, child care providers, and PreK educators to obtain input on the plan. A follow-up session to finalize the plan was held on May 12,2021. The results of this coordination include timely and effective communication for child care providers and families during an emergency. q. The following are examples of optional partners a Lead Agency might coordinate with to provide services. Check which optional partners the Lead Agency coordinates with and describe the coordination and results of the coordination. i. [x] State/Territory/local agencies with Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants. Describe: ECECD coordinates with the two Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships in the state. We meet quarterly to discuss challenges and address any barriers families are experiencing in accessing child care assistance. The results of this coordination will include more alignment of state policies to support the expansion of Early Head Start Child Care Partnerships in the state. ii. [x] State/Territory institutions for higher education, including community colleges. Describe: ECECD is a member of the NM Early Childhood Higher Education Task force. Our shared coordination goals focus on updating the Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Professionals and seeking the National Association for the Education of Young Children Accreditation for nine of the state’s colleges and universities. Additionally, we are coordinating on developing an early childhood special education pathway to enhance the early intervention workforce, and through private philanthropy, we are engaged with institutions for higher education in developing a multilingual early childhood certificate. The results of this coordination are an improved early childhood system that better supports positive outcomes for early childhood professionals and young children. The coordination will also enhance the quality of the early childhood workforce supporting children with development delays and disabilities. iii. [ ] Other federal, State, local, and/or private agencies providing early childhood and school-age/youth-serving developmental services. Describe: iv. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for implementing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs grant. Describe: ECECD is the agency responsible for implementing MIECHV and coordination goals include linking families to child care and ensuring that families in child care are aware of the benefits of participating in home visiting. The coordination will result in more families enrolled in child care being aware of opportunities for evidence based home visiting. v. [x] Agency responsible for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program. Describe: The agency responsible for EPSDT is the Human Services Department, Medicaid Division. Medicaid covers approximately half of all children in New Mexico and ECECD coordinates with Medicaid and pediatric healthcare providers to ensure young children receive appropriate physical, dental, developmental, and mental health services. Home visitors, early intervention providers, and Families FIRST nurse case managers all provide assistance with Medicaid referrals and enrollment, linkage to a medical home, and screenings to identify children’s needs. This past year home visitors received training on how to address vaccine hesitancy and support families in obtaining needed immunizations, which is one of the goals of EPSDT. vi. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for child welfare. Describe: ECECD coordinates with the Children, Youth and Families Department to offer eligibility services at its Family Resource Centers, and coordinates around infant early childhood mental health consultation and child care for children in foster care. The results of this coordination include more families being connected to promotion and prevention services and increased access to social emotional supports for early childhood professionals, families, and children. vii. [x] Child care provider groups or associations. Describe: ECECD coordinates with the NM Child Care and Education Association (NMCCEA), the New Mexico Head Start Association (NMHSA), the Family Child Care Accelerator through Growing Up New Mexico, and Organizing in the Land of Enchantment (Ole) a grassroots group of early childhood professionals. The results of our coordination include a shared agenda for child care and NM PreK that includes a focus on improved compensation for the early childhood workforce. viii. [x] Parent groups or organizations. Describe: Through ECECD’s partnership with Growing Up New Mexico, the department invests in a statewide Family Leadership Council and an active PN-3 Coalition focused on improving state policies and investments. ECECD developed a public private partnership with Partnership for Community Action to implement Abriendo Puertas statewide to improve parent and family engagement and leadership opportunities. The results of this coordination include more family involvement in decision-making and policy making. ix. [ ] Title IV B 21st Century Community Learning Center Coordinators. Describe: x. [ ] Other. Describe: