7.1 Quality Activities Needs Assessment

7.1.1 Needs assessment process and findings a. Describe the Lead Agency needs assessment process for expending CCDF funds on activities to improve the quality of child care, including the frequency of assessment, how a diverse range of parents and providers were consulted, and how their views are incorporated: Pennsylvania is undertaking a Needs Assessment to begin in 2024. The Institute of State Regional Affairs - Harrisburg will be leading the Needs Assessment which will include in-depth data dives, community conversations, and interviews with leadership from OCDEL and the Pennsylvania Key focusing on the following areas: • System Challenges • System Capacity and Need • Service Populations • Availability of Services and Programs • Mental Health Needs • Identify Gaps in Data and Resource Efficiency • PDO/Registry/Pelican assessment • Efficiency • Access • Evaluation Framework • Process Evaluation • Outcome Evaluation • Community Conversations • Synthesis • Deliverables will include the following: • Leadership Dashboard • Public Dashboard • Needs Assessment Final Report • Evaluation Comprehensive Report • Research Briefs Prior to the 2024 Needs Assessment, the most recent Assessment was conducted in 2018. This was a birth through five system needs assessment to better understand the strengths and opportunities that exist within the state’s early childhood system. The resultant report was used to identify key themes and opportunities. Pennsylvania’s approach was to conduct analysis of several cross-sector needs assessments completed under previous work, review an environmental scan to identify current strengths and challenges/barriers to providing an equitable support system. ECE systems partners included a wide range of representation including direct service providers such as child care, Head Start/Early Head Start (HS), IDEA Part B and C, and state funded preschool, families, business leaders. OCDEL utilized surveys, key informant interviews, stakeholder meetings and data scans to get feedback. b. Describe the findings of the assessment, including any findings related to needs of different populations and types of providers, and if any overarching goals for quality improvement were identified: The 2018 Needs Assessment resulted in a comprehensive, ambitious plan to accelerate progress toward the statewide vision to equitably support families and their children from prenatal through school age. OCDEL leveraged PDG needs assessment, stakeholder feedback, and additional strategic planning activities to identify five strategic goals toward achieving this vision. Goal 1. Maximize stable and equitable access to high quality early care and education with specific focus on underserved populations and regions. In 2018, Pennsylvania state and federally funded quality ECE programs reached 34 percent of children under age five statewide, though there is considerable geographic variability in access to quality programs. Increasing access overall and for high-risk counties was identified as a top priority in the needs assessment. This includes leveraging Provider Self Service (PSS), Keystone STARS QRIS, and home visiting data system improvements to identify gaps and increase provider capacity and quality, especially in rural counties where capacity gap is highest. OCDEL is promoting new online tools to assist in understanding child care operating capacity and vacancy rates. Reforming the child care desert maps and understanding targeted communities in need of licensed care will be a priority. Work will also continue to prioritize STAR 1 and STAR 2 programs serving CCW enrolled children as a priority for STARS supports. OCDEL has a goal to increase the percentage of child care providers submitting their capacity and vacancy information in Provider Self-Service (PSS) from 5 percent of all child care providers to 90 percent of all child care providers by May 2025. Goal 2. Strengthen family knowledge and engagement in early childhood education systems. Parents and families have the strongest influence on the growth and development of their children, and the aim of this goal is to bring ECE staff and families together around the common cause of supporting children’s development and learning. Goal 3. Improve quality of ECE system by strengthening the knowledge, skills, and abilities of the ECE workforce. High-quality ECE can be achieved when all children have equal access to a well-qualified and well- compensated, culturally sensitive, professional ECE workforce. All ECE professionals across age ranges and settings need core knowledge of developmental science and content knowledge; mastery of practices that help children learn and develop on individual pathways; knowledge of how to work with diverse populations of children; the capability to partner with children’s families and with professional colleagues; and the ability to access and engage in ongoing professional learning to keep current in their knowledge and continuously improve their professional practice. Goal 4. Promote the health, safety, mental health, and wellness of the ECE workforce, families, and children. Ensuring that all children and families receive the support they need is crucial to achieving high quality services across the ECE system. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) and Early Intervention (EI) services provide necessary programs that enable ECE providers the capacity to address the needs of the most vulnerable populations. The mental health and well-being of the early childhood community, providers, educators, children, and families is of the utmost importance. A trauma-informed lens can aid the support staff in engaging in, not only an informed response, but it will also build a healthy foundation for systems level staff persons. Goal 5. Prioritize high-quality early care and learning to support state economic growth and stability. Access to high-quality early learning provides a valuable support to families and communities as it provides a safe and developmentally appropriate place for children and enables caregiver employment. Child care is fundamental for working families and early learning is the most cost-effective, long-term strategy for states to build a long-term stable workforce. A broad overarching goal is to improve racial equity in Pennsylvania’s child care system. In the DHS Racial Equity Report 2021 more than 50 percent of families enrolled in CCW are Black, despite making up 13 percent of the population in the state. 65 percent of the children enrolled in CCW are attending child care settings with lower ratings (1 or 2 STARS in the Keystone STARS system). Child care settings with 3 or 4 STARS serve the fewest number of families receiving CCW. Within populations identified as Black and White, 31 percent of Black children enrolled in CCW are in STAR 3 or 4 programs as compared to 46 percent of White children enrolled in CCW. OCDEL’s previous efforts focused on quality improvement were broad, and support was provided to programs who expressed interest in moving up in STARS versus programs with lower quality service. The data that demonstrates that the majority of families enrolled in CCW are served by STAR 1 and 2 child care settings underscores the importance of using a more targeted approach to prioritize these providers and include non- certified legally operating relatives who are providing child care, and who make up 23 percent of the providers serving CCW children. As such, OCDEL will work with ELRCs to improve the quality of child care in these settings as a priority and look for opportunities through parent engagement, enhanced parent and relative provider orientation, creation of an early learning tool kit and targeted training for relative providers and the certified STAR 1 and 2 providers. We must meet our families and children where they are to provide each and every child (no matter the race, economic or environmental background) the opportunity to experience quality early learning at the youngest age.