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: The 16 regional Early Learning Hubs are the state's entity for bringing together community partners and interested parties, including local governments, to implement early learning goals. Several Hubs are part of local government and others have local government representatives on their governance councils. The Lead Agency holds weekly consultation meetings with the Early Learning Hubs and these meetings as well as the work described next informs plan development. The Hubs work across multiple sectors, actively collaborating to identify community needs through the Early Care and Education Sector Planning process. Hubs engage leaders to understand barriers to system goals, design and implement strategies, and for continuous quality improvement to achieve positive outcomes for children. Early Learning Hub Sector Plans were reviewed and utilized to develop strategies to engage each region's priority populations in all phases of work. These plans including local government representation are utilized to target outreach to provide services within the state plan. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with the State Advisory Council or similar coordinating body: The Early Learning Council (ELC) is the state advisory council appointed by the Governor, made up of a citizen from each congressional district and representing early care and education, business, health, human services, K-12, and Oregon's Tribal Nations. There are nine voting members, and the Governor appointed the Directors of the Lead Agency, the Oregon Department of Education, the Oregon Department of Human Services, the Oregon Health Authority and the Oregon Housing and Community Services as ex officio members. These agencies are responsible for oversight of coordinating programs related to early care and education such as Maternal and Child Home Visitation, Medicaid, developmental screening, public health, child welfare, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, refugee and immigrant services, child care subsidy, licensing, and quality improvement, and public pre-k. The ELC is the state advisory body, informing Early Learning System policy decisions and holding rule-making authority for the Lead Agency. The ELC advises the Lead Agency on policy issues, challenges and priorities related to affordable, quality child care and early education programs in Oregon; reviews all Lead Agency rules leading to promulgation; and provides input on policy decisions. In 2018, Early Learning Council adopted Raise Up Oregon, Oregon's cross-sector five-year early childhood strategic plan, which the ELC monitors progress towards implementation. The CCDF State Plan was compared with Raise Up Oregon and presented to the ELC for review and discussion at its April 2024 meeting. The Lead Agency presented the draft plan at a high level to the Early Learning Council for review and comment during their April meeting. b. Describe, if applicable, how the Lead Agency consulted with Indian Tribes(s) or Tribal organizations(s) within the State: The Lead Agency and the Oregon Department of Human Services are subject to Oregon Statute 182.162. The statute defines and guides the government-to- government relationship existing between Oregon's nine recognized tribes and the State of Oregon. The government-to-government relationships are organized around various topical areas referred to as "clusters." The education cluster focuses on areas of partnership that expand along the education spectrum from early childhood to college and the health services cluster includes human services and child care subsidies. The CCDF plan preprint and high level topics of the state plan were provided to this group in April 2024 to consult on specific policy topics. In addition, the Lead Agency meets monthly with the Tribal CCDF Administrators of the 9 Tribes sharing borders with Oregon to discuss coordination and consultation on licensing, quality, rate-setting, and other issues. The CCDF Tribal Administrators provided their feedback both for the CCDF state plan and Lead Agency strategic plan in both the December 2023 and January 2024 meetings and this information was used to provide consultation on the plan. Information regarding the public comment process was shared with CCDF Tribal Administrators as well as other community partners in April 2024. 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 Lead Agency created its first strategic plan in the winter and spring of 2024. CCDF state planning engagement efforts were completed in tandem with the strategic planning process to receive a comprehensive view of Oregon’s early childhood and education system from a current state and future state lens. Other entities and community partners consulted throughout the CCDF and strategic plan engagement process include: DELC staff, families, child care providers (all types), Child Care Resource & Referral agencies, Early Childhood Equity Fund Grantees, the Early Learning Equity Engagement Committee, Early Learning Hubs, Early Learning Advocates, Healthy Families Oregon, Oregon After School and Summer for Kids Network (Oregon ASK), CCDF Tribal Administrators, Early Learning Advocates, the Oregon Child Care Research Partnership, the State Interagency Coordinating Council, the Oregon Sustaining Partnership, Healthy Families Oregon, Baby Promise grantees, Preschool Promise grantees, and Oregon Prenatal to Kindergarten grantees. 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: 6/5/2024 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: 4/11/2024 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 noticeInformation about the public hearing was shared via the bi-weekly Child Care Newsletter, through the Lead Agency’s social media, and on the Public Meeting Calendar at https://www.oregon.gov/transparency/Pages/Public-Meetings.aspx. It was also shared on the bi-weekly Early Learning Advocates call, with the provider unions, with the Early Learning Council, and with Lead Agency staff to share with their contacts. v. Describe how the approach to the public hearing was inclusive of all geographic regions of the State or Territory: The public hearing was held virtually and open for attendance to anyone in Oregon. 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.): Oregon’s draft CCDF state plan was posted for public viewing on May 1, 2024 on the Lead Agency’s website alongside past state plans and amendments here: https://www.oregon.gov/delc/about-us/pages/state- plans.aspx In addition, three information sessions are being held in mid-May to help break down the high level content of the state plan draft so the public could understand where to find information within the draft to provide their own public comment. vii. Describe how the information provided by the public was taken into consideration regarding the provision of child care services under this Plan: The public comment period was held May 1, 2024, through June 7, 2024. The Lead Agency received three public comments which will be viewable on DELC's website (https://www.oregon.gov/delc/about-us/pages/state-plans.aspx). Key themes emerged primarily around coming into full compliance with the new CCDF Final Rule requirements and recommendations effective April 30, 2024. At this time, Oregon has requested a waiver for enrollment-based payment, prospective payment, and expansion of grants and contracts, and intends to come into compliance by August 1, 2026. Additional analysis is required to determine implementation of optional rule recommendations. The Lead Agency will continue to communicate with community partners to ensure their feedback is considered and that collaboration is continued for the benefit of the early care and education workforce and Oregon families. 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://www.oregon.gov/delc/about-us/pages/state- plans.aspx 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 Lead Agency consults with the Early Learning Council prior to implementation of any drafts or amendments to Oregon’s CCDF State Plan. ii. [x] Working with child care resource and referral agencies. Describe: Information regarding initial CCDF plan drafts and plan amendments are shared with Child Care Resource & Referral agencies statewide. iii. [ ] Providing translation in other languages. Describe: iv. [x] Sharing through social media (e.g., Facebook, Instagram, email). Describe: The Lead Agency makes approved plans and plan amendments available on their website and shares updates through Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram accounts. v. [x] Providing notification to key constituents (e.g., parent and family groups, provider groups, advocacy groups, foundations, and businesses). Describe: Information about updates to the state plan are shared at bi-weekly Early Leaning Advocate meetings and through the bi-weekly Child Care Update newsletter. vi. [x] Working with Statewide afterschool networks or similar coordinating entities for out-of-school time. Describe: Representatives from Oregon ASK receive updates at the bi-weekly Early Learning Advocates meetings. vii. [x] Direct communication with the child care workforce. Describe: Child care providers can subscribe the bi-weekly Child Care Update newsletter and follow the Lead Agency on social media. 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.