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. [ ] Social development. iii. [x] Emotional development. iv. [x] Physical development. v. [x] Approaches toward learning. vi. [ ] Other optional domains. Describe any optional domains: vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: The Social Emotional Standards were not included in the newly revised 2023 Nevada Pre-K Standards. They are currently being revised by the Nevada Department of Education and will be aligned from Pre-K to 12th grade. They will be added to the Revised 2023 Nevada Pre-K Standards when they are completed. Until completion, the 2010, Social Emotional Standards will be in effect for Early Childhood Educators and other statewide stakeholders to support their instruction and program practices. The current Infant and Toddler Early Learning Guidelines include Social Emotional development and will be aligned to the Pre-K Standards when they are revised. c. When were the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines most recently updated and for what reason? The 2010 Nevada Pre-K Standards were reviewed in 2022 and were deemed to be revised. In 2023, the standards were updated, and new research and domains were added. The new Standards were organized into eight domains and include indicators based on a child’s early learning and development. Approaches to Learning and Technology were two new domains that were included. New research on Developmentally Appropriate Practice, Diversity and Culture, Home Language, Equity and Inclusion provided guidance to the revision and additional research was included to support early childhood educators with their practice. d. Provide the Web link to the Lead Agency's early learning and developmental guidelines. https://www.nevadaregistry.org/ece-resources/nevada-pre-k-standards/ 6.4.2 Use of early learning and developmental guidelines a. Describe how the Lead Agency uses its early learning and developmental guidelines. The Nevada Early Learning Guidelines Program provides Nevada Registry approved content standards trainings for statewide early childhood educators. Implementation of Nevada Pre-K Content Standards and Early Guidelines provide educators, caregivers, and program directors with a framework and the guidance for planning curriculum, instruction, and assessment of young children. The Pre-kindergarten standards describe the knowledge and skills that can be measured with developmentally appropriate indicators and outcomes for children to master by the end of pre-kindergarten. Trainings and technical support are provided to parents, families, and other community stakeholders to introduce them to importance of the standards. These training are not Nevada Registry approved but provide important information on how to support learning at home and school readiness skills. 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.