7.2 Use of Quality Set-Aside Funds

Lead Agencies must use a portion of their CCDF expenditures for activities designed to improve the quality of child care services and to increase parental options for and access to high-quality child care. They must use the quality set-aside funds on at least one of 10 activities described in CCDF and the quality activities must be aligned with a Statewide or Territory-wide assessment of the State's or Territory’s need to carry out such services and care. 7.2.1 Quality improvement activities a. Describe how the Lead Agency will make its Quality Progress Report (ACF – 218) and expenditure reports, available to the public. Provide a link if available. https://dhs.ri.gov/regulations/state-plans b. Identify Lead Agency plans, if any, to spend CCDF funds for each of the following quality improvement activities. If an activity is checked “yes”, describe the Lead Agency’s current and/or future plans for this activity. i. Supporting the training and professional development of the child care workforce, including birth to five and school-age providers. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The Lead Agency partners with the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children (RIAEYC) to operate the RI Teacher Education and Compensation Helps scholarship program (T.E.A.C.H.) The early childhood workforce, with the support of their employer, may apply to receive a scholarship to obtain early childhood certificates, college credits, and degrees at the Community College of RI (CCRI), Rhode Island College (RIC), and the University of Rhode Island (URI). RI supports several models that vary per program of study but typically include tuition reimbursement (typically offering 90% of the cost of tuition), educator-paid time off, student stipends, textbooks, wage enhancements, and bonuses for the educator and sponsoring employer. In 2023, DHS received additional funds to expand scholarship models and increase the number of recipients. The new scholarship models include 3-6 college credits, two post-baccalaureate programs, and a Master's Degree. RIAEYC is also the fiscal and programmatic intermediary for the DHS Infant Toddler Registered Apprentice Program (RA). The RA program offers two options for the Infant Toddler workforce. In level I, infant toddler assistants enroll in the Infant Toddler (IT) training and earn the CDA credential. Lead Infant Toddler Teachers enroll in RA level II to earn the RIC 16-Credit Birth through age 3 Certificate of Undergraduate Studies. All RAs complete on-the-job learning requirements, receive pre- and post-Infant Toddler Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale assessments, participate in coaching and mentoring, and complete on-the-job learning requirements. RIAEYC will enroll both level 1 RAs and Level II RAs for the Fall of 2024. Additionally, the lead agency partners with the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) to operate the Rhode Island Early Childhood Education and Training Program (ECETP). The ECETP is a comprehensive education and training program that strengthens the knowledge and skills of both seasoned and novice early childhood educators by providing supportive mentoring, coaching, cohort- based learning, and formal academic coursework. RIECETP offers three free-of- cost, stackable pathways for educators to achieve portable and stackable certificates and/or college credits that are integral to the DHS Sponsored Professional Development & Technical Assistance (PD/TA) Early Childhood Education Workforce Development Pathways Quality Continuum. CCRI will recruit new educators to facilitate Infant Toddler, Family Home Care (Spanish), and Preschool CDA training in the Fall of 2024 and Spring of 2025. The lead agency partners with Rhode Island College (RIC) to implement two pathways for educators to earn stackable college credits in infant toddler development, earning the RIC 16-credit B3 Certificate of Undergraduate Studies. Educators can choose to enroll in an English language learning Cohort 1E, where the first 4 courses are delivered in Spanish, followed by a contextualized ELL course; the final course is delivered in English, or the non-ELL Cohort, where all courses are delivered in English. RIC will recruit and enroll a minimum of 12 students per cohort for the Fall 2024 semester. lead agency partners with the Emma Pendleton Bradley Hospital to operate and manage the SUCCESS (Supporting Children’s Competencies in Emotional and Social Skills), which is a statewide infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) program for early care and education settings. IECMHC promotes nurturing relationships and enhances the capacity of staff, families, programs, and systems to prevent, identify, and intervene with the social, emotional, and behavioral health needs of young children (0-5 years). It is expected that 120 educators will benefit from this service. ii. Developing, maintaining, or implementing early learning and developmental guidelines. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. RIDE launched the revised, 2023 RI Early Learning and Development Standards in Spring, 2023. Utilizing funding from the Preschool Development Grant (PDG), the RIELDS PD Training coursework across Summer, Fall, and Winter 2023/2024 were revised. RIDE offers and provides access for registration to asynchronous online RIELDS Foundations Training Modules (Guiding Principles and 9-Domains) in both English and Spanish throughout the year. A variety of professional development trainings of various levels of difficulty to early learning professionals were facilitated including: The Guiding Principles, The 9-Domains, Infant/Toddler Instructional Cycle, Preschool Instructional Cycle, Infant/Toddler Curriculum and Planning, Preschool Curriculum and Planning, Implementing a Standards-Based Program for Education Coordinators, and Implementing a Standards-Based Program for Administrators. The course content of the Preschool Instructional Cycle course was translated into Spanish to increase accessibility, and a new trainer to facilitate the Preschool Instructional Cycle course in Spanish was trained. RIDE trained 3 new high school Career and Technical Education teachers to facilitate foundational RIELDS courses (Guiding Principles and 9-Domains) RIDE built out a ￿Curriculum Frameworks￿ webpage series on the https://www.rields.com [rields.com] to communicate high quality, RIELDS-aligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment practices to the early learning community. Each webpage includes a section-specific, animated introduction video followed by narrative content and resources for further research, presented in a user friendly way. iii. Developing, implementing, or enhancing a quality improvement system. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. RIAEYC will continue the implementation of Rhode Island’s Quality Rating & Improvement System (QRIS) for child care programs (BrightStars). RIAEYC will ensure that BrightStars remains aligned with other statewide program standards; They will participate in the review and potential revision of BrightStars standards, practices and policies, as well as the overall system structure and/or model; They will ensure the provision of child care referral services. RIAEYC will also continue to measure and improve quality by maintaining the QRIS data system, providing reliable data to determine internal efficiency, program participation and quality. RIAEYC will continue to collaborate with other identified state systems, to share, support and develop compatible platforms. iv. Improving the supply and quality of child care services for infants and toddlers. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. LearnERS is a series of modules and professional development for educators to address quality improvement within the lens of the classroom learning environment. LearnERS will provide pre and post ERS Assessments for programs providing child care who also demonstrate a desire to move up the quality continuum. ERS scores are directly tied to improved quality interactions and environment for children, while also increasing reimbursement rates for participating programs. RIAEYC will facilitate the purchase of quality materials and/or participation supplements for programs to achieve a higher quality rating in BrightStars through grants. These grants will be awarded through an application process created by RIAEYC (and approved by DHS) to programs who participated in low-stakes program assessments (ERS), with priority given to programs serving infant and toddlers. RIAEYC will purchase materials for participating LearnERS cohorts based on identified need in programs. v. Establishing or expanding a statewide system of CCR&R services. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The Lead Agency is currently partnering with an external vendor to prop up a child care data system (RISES)that will include the development of a new consumer website. This website will provide additional information for anyone looking for care, including the ability for providers to enter real time availability. This consumer website is directly related to the CCR&R system as this site is used by the CCR&R to support those looking for care. The updated site will also streamline for families a one stop space to learn all things child care while also being able to search for care in their area. vi. Facilitating compliance with Lead Agency child care licensing, monitoring, inspection and health and safety standards. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x]Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The new child care data system (RISES) mentioned previously will also include a new licensing system of record. Currently, the Lead Agency utilizes a child welfare data system to license, monitor and inspect child care programs. The licensing system of record found in RISES will be built specifically for child care. This will streamline the process of becoming licensed to one location while also interfacing with other various data systems in the state used by our child care workforce and owners/operators. This includes the Center for Early Learning Professionals, the state’s QRIS system and the CCAP data system (BRIDGES) used for CCAP enrollment and payment. Future development phases also include an updated consumer website where monitoring and inspection reports will be posted. RISES will allow these reports to be posted in even clearer language than they are currently while also allowing for clear indicators such as the reason for the visit, complaints etc. vii. Evaluating and assessing the quality and effectiveness of child care services within the State/Territory. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The new child care data system (RISES) will, as previously mentioned, include a new licensing system of record as well as a new consumer website. The ability for these two scopes of work to be housed in the same system allows for improvement in real time data accessibility regarding basic health and safety as well as quality in the state while also ensuring that families have accurate information on child care programs throughout the state. viii. Accreditation support. [x] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [ ] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. ix. Supporting State/Territory or local efforts to develop high-quality program standards relating to health, mental health, nutrition, physical activity, and physical development. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The Lead Agency is continuing to reopen the regulations every other year based on provider type. During this process, the Lead Agency works closely with other various content experts such as the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), and Bradely Hospital to ensure that the most up to date national best practice standards related to these topics are phased into regulation when appropriate. In addition, the Lead Agency has consistent collaboration meetings with other state agencies to discuss standards in this category that may be high priority at the time ￿ lead testing and water testing for example. x. Other activities determined by the Lead Agency to improve the quality of child care services and the measurement of outcomes related to improved provider preparedness, child safety, child well-being, or kindergarten entry. [ ] No plans to spend in this category of activities at this time. [x] Yes. If yes, describe current and future investments. The Lead Agency continues to invest in quality improvement through various vendors who support these topics. For example, the Lead Agency is developing an orientation and preservice training specifically for new center owners and operators. This will be modeled after the system currently in place for family child care providers. The goal of this is to ensure that there is a systematic way to train new owners on the requirements not only needed to initiate the licensing process but also to build a foundation of compliance and quality when opening a new program. 8 Lead Agency Coordination and Partnerships to Support Service Delivery Coordination and partnerships help ensure that the Lead Agency’s efforts accomplish CCDF goals effectively, leverage other resources, and avoid duplication of effort. Such coordination and partnerships can help families better access child care, can assist in providing consumer education to parents, and can be used to improve child care quality and the stability of child care providers. Such coordination can also be particularly helpful in the aftermath of disasters when the provision of emergency child care services and the rebuilding and restoring of child care infrastructure are an essential part of ensuring the well-being of children and families in recovering communities. This section identifies who the Lead Agency collaborates with to implement services, how match and maintenance-of-effort (MOE) funds are used, coordination with child care resource and referral (CCR&R) systems, and efforts for disaster preparedness and response plans to support continuity of operations in response to emergencies.