1.3 Consultation in the Development of the CCDF Plan

The Lead Agency is responsible for developing the CCDF Plan, and consultation with and meaningful input and feedback from a wide range of representatives is critical for CCDF programs to continually adapt to the changing needs of families, child care programs, and the workforce. Consultation involves meeting with or otherwise obtaining input from an appropriate agency in the development of the State or Territory CCDF Plan. As part of the Plan development process, Lead Agencies must consult with the following: (1) Appropriate representatives of general-purpose local government. General purpose local governments are defined by the U.S. Census at https://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/g12_org.pdf. (2) The State Advisory Council (SAC) on Early Childhood Education and Care (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act) or similar coordinating body pursuant to 98.14(a)(1)(vii). (3) Tribe(s) or Tribal organization(s) within the State. This consultation should be done in a timely manner and at the option of the Tribe(s) or Tribal organization(s). 1.3.1 Consultation efforts in CCDF Plan development Describe the Lead Agency’s consultation efforts in the development of the CCDF Plan, including how and how often the consultation occurred. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with appropriate representatives of general- purpose local government: DCY communicates regularly with local governmental partners from the local state systems: -Local County Departments of Job and Family Services- Monthly opportunities are available for all 88 county departments to interact with staff on child care policies, regulations, funding and the overall availability and affordability of services. -Local school districts/education service centers- School districts are critical partners in our shared goal of improving access t high early care and education and school age services. Local superintendents are offered a chance to meet with leadership to discuss the opportunities for collaboration and the challenges school district face with implementing services. Many school districts have provider agreements with ODJFS/DCY to accept families that receive financial support through Publicly Funded Child Care. -Local early care and education/universal PreK partnerships- Monthly meetings are held with 8 local organizing agencies, some of whom are housed within local governmental agencies, to coordinate resources between the state and local partners and to offer an chance for the local organizations to suggest changes in policies or funding to improve the early care and education system. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with the State Advisory Council or similar coordinating body: The Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) is an active group of diverse early childhood stakeholders that provide advice to the administration of the development and implementation of policy and funding decisions. The membership, which is appointed by the Governor, includes a diverse array of stakeholders from early childhood programs, schools, health, social services, unions, philanthropy, and other groups. Here is a link to the current membership list: ECAC Current Membership list. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and DCY sit on this Council with the Director of DCY currently serving as the co-chair. The ECAC, who meets at least quarterly, provides feedback on publicly funded child care policies and funding, Step Up To Quality, child care licensing and any other state operated early care and education programs to ensure a systematic approach to the availability and accessibility of services is inclusive of family and provider perspectives. A draft version of this plan was shared with the ECAC prior to the public hearing. b. Describe, if applicable, how the Lead Agency consulted with Indian Tribes(s) or Tribal organizations(s) within the State: Not applicable. c. Identify other entities, agencies, or organizations consulted on the development of the CCDF Plan (e.g., representatives from the child care workforce, or statewide afterschool networks) and describe those consultation efforts: The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS)/Ohio Department of Children and Youth convene the Child Care Advisory Council (CCAC). The CCAC is statutorily required (ORC Section 5104.08) and provides feedback and advises the departments throughout the year regarding the implementation of child care including the Publicly Funded Child Care (PFCC) Program, Step Up To Quality (SUTQ) and child care licensing. The CCAC membership includes representatives from county agencies, parents, family child care providers, child care centers, state agencies and stakeholders. Many of the early childhood programs have moved into the Ohio Department of Children and Youth, which has increased Ohio's ability to enhance feedback from Subject Matter Expertise from other federally and state funded programs. The following programs have moved into DCY and team members provide input on child care policy on a regular basis: State Preschool Program (Early Childhood Education) Part B- Preschool Special Education Part C- Early Intervention Children Services/Title IV-E MIECHV/State Funded Evidence-Based Home Visiting Ohio Children's Trust Fund Head Start Collaboration Office DCY participates in a quarterly meeting with the Head Start Association, partnering state agencies and HS federal partners to ensure open lines of communication exist to strengthen services for families. DCY also host a monthly early care and education stakeholder call, where funding, eligibility and regulatory changes are often discussed. Additionally, DCY leadership regularly attends provider association meetings to receive specific feedback from provider groups. These associations include the Ohio Afterschool Network, the Ohio Association of Child Care Providers, the Ohio Association for the Education of Young Children, the Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association, the Ohio Head Start Association, the Ohio Association of YMCAs, the State Support Teams and the CEO Project (representing family child care). 1.3.2 Public hearing process Lead Agencies must hold at least one public hearing in the State or Territory, with sufficient Statewide or Territory-wide distribution of notice prior to such a hearing to enable the public to comment on the provision of child care services under the CCDF Plan. Describe the Statewide or Territory-wide public hearing process held to provide the public with an opportunity to comment on the provision of child care services under this Plan. i. Date of the public hearing: 6/20/2024 Reminder: Must be no earlier than January 1, 2024. If more than one public hearing was held, enter one date (e.g., the date of the first hearing, the most recent hearing date, or any hearing date that demonstrates this requirement). ii. Date of notice of public hearing: 5/30/2024 iii. Was the notice of public hearing posted publicly at least 20 calendar days prior to the date of the public hearing? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: iv. Describe how the public was notified about the public hearing, including outreach in other languages, information on interpretation services being available, etc. Include specific website links if used to provide noticeDCY maintains a list of all early care and education providers. The public hearing notice will be made available to the provider list. In addition, on 5/28, DCY will host its monthly Early Care and Education stakeholder call which typically has over 4,000 participants. Information regarding the state plan will be made available during that meeting. Special calls to review the contents of the plan, will be held with the Early Childhood Advisory Council and the Child Care Advisory Council prior to the public hearing. All information, including the announcement of the public hearing and the posting of the draft plan, on the DCY website is able to be translated into 4 languages, including Spanish and Soomaali, on 4 browsers including Safari and Chrome. In addition, in person translation services would have been available to anyone attending the public hearing through an on-going contract DCY has with a state term contractor. v. Describe how the approach to the public hearing was inclusive of all geographic regions of the State or Territory: Public comments will be able to be submitted to DCY at any time, not just during the public hearing. The state plan will be posted on the DCY website and all providers across the state will be sent notifications regarding the plan. The public hearing will be promoted and will be set at a time that allows providers adequate time to travel to Columbus if they would like to attend in person. Most providers can travel to Columbus within three hours. In addition to attend the public hearing in person, a virtual/online option was provided, allowing the public to participate and or observe the hearing process. The virtual/online option for this meeting was offered through TEAMS and publicized to all early care and education providers and stakeholders throughout the state. vi. Describe how the content of the Plan was made available to the public in advance of the public hearing (e.g., the Plan was made available in other languages, in multiple formats, etc.): The plan will be posted on the DCY website. The DCY website does allow for the instant translation of content for four other languages. Translation services can be made available for other languages, if necessary. vii. Describe how the information provided by the public was taken into consideration regarding the provision of child care services under this Plan: Since the development of DCY, monthly meetings with Early Care and Education stakeholders have been held with feedback gathered during every interaction. DCY, in partnership with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, has posted every rule for public comment, which provides DCY with information about the affordability and accessibility of child care. In addition to the formal feedback process, DCY has held two rounds of family feedback sessions in five regions across the state, where child care policies and affordability where discussed at each. All comments were thoroughly reviewed, considered and incorporated as appropriate. Individual responses were drafted and sent to all individuals that submitted a comment. 1.3.3 Public availability of final Plan, amendments, and waivers Lead Agencies must make the submitted and approved final Plan, any approved Plan amendments, and any approved requests for temporary waivers publicly available on a website. a. Provide the website link to where the Plan, any Plan amendments, and waivers (if applicable) are available. Note: A Plan amendment is required if the website address where the Plan is posted changes. https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for- providers/resources/child-care-and-development-fund-state-plan b. Describe any other strategies that the Lead Agency uses to make submitted and approved CCDF Plan and approved Plan amendments available to the public. Check all that apply and describe the strategies below, including any relevant website links as examples. i. [x] Working with advisory committees. Describe: The timeline for work on this state plan was shared with the Child Care Advisory Council (CCAC) and the Early Childhood Advisory Council with an invitation extended to both to Councils to review the plan. Plan progress, including submission of amendments and approvals, is shared quarterly with the CCAC and the ECAC. In addition, all documents related to the CCDF plan and amendments will be available on DCY's website at https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for-providers/resources/child-care-and- development-fund-state-plan. ii. [x] Working with child care resource and referral agencies. Describe: The timeline for work on this state plan was shared with the Child Care Advisory Council (CCAC) and the ECAC, which includes a representative from Ohio's CCR&R agencies, with an invitation extended to review the plan. Plan progress, including submission of amendments and approvals, is shared quarterly during meetings that are held with the Directors of the regional CCR&Rs. CCR&R staff also participate in the monthly Early Care and Education stakeholder calls. In addition, all documents related to the CCDF plan and amendments will be available on DCY's website at https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for-providers/resources/child-care-and- development-fund-state-plan. iii. [x] Providing translation in other languages. Describe: Translation services information is available on the child care website. In addition, the DCY website will allow for content to be instantly translated into 4 other languages that represent the leading languages spoken in the State of Ohio. https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for-providers/resources/child-care-and- development-fund-state-plan. iv. [ ] Sharing through social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, email). Describe: v. [x] Providing notification to key constituents (e.g., parent and family groups, provider groups, advocacy groups, foundations, and businesses). Describe: As mentioned, many of the provider association groups are part of ECAC and the CCAC and will receive notifications. In addition, DCY has a newsletter for all stakeholders in the child serving systems. A notice with a description of the child care plan, link to the plan and the details for the public hearing will all be provided. Also included in the notification of the ECAC and CCAC, associations and key partners, such as the State Support Teams, were provided an overview of the plan in May 2024 and were provided the link to the draft plan and instructions for providing comments. In addition, all documents related to the CCDF plan and amendments will be available on DCY's website at https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for-providers/resources/child-care-and- development-fund-state-plan. vi. [x] Working with Statewide afterschool networks or similar coordinating entities for out-of-school time. Describe: The Ohio Afterschool Network and the Ohio Association of YMCAs, the state's largest afterschool provider, are included in all DCY stakeholder calls and notices. In addition, all documents related to the CCDF plan and amendments will be available on DCY's website at https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for-providers/resources/child-care-and- development-fund-state-plan. vii. [x] Direct communication with the child care workforce. Describe: DCY maintains a current provider list serve and will ensure that notices are sent to all licensed providers regarding the state plan and the public hearing. In addition, all documents related to the CCDF plan and amendments will be available on DCY's website at https://childrenandyouth.ohio.gov/for-providers/resources/child-care- and-development-fund-state-plan. viii. [ ] Other. Describe: 2 Child and Family Eligibility and Enrollment and Continuity of Care Stable and reliable child care arrangements facilitate job stability for parents and healthy development of children. CCDF eligibility and enrollment policies can contribute to these goals. Policies and procedures that create barriers to families accessing CCDF, like inaccessible subsidy applications and onerous reporting requirements, interrupt a parent’s ability to work and may deter eligible families from participating in CCDF. To address these concerns, Lead Agencies must provide children with a minimum of 12 months between eligibility determinations, limit reporting requirements during the 12-month period, and ensure eligibility determination and redetermination processes do not interrupt a parent’s work or school. In this section, Lead Agencies will identify how they define eligible children and families and how the Lead Agency’s eligibility and enrollment policies support access for eligible children and families.