9.3 Increasing Engagement and Access to Information

Lead Agencies must collect and disseminate information about the full range of child care services to promote parental choice to parents of children eligible for CCDF, the general public, and child care providers. 9.3.1 Information about CCDF availability and eligibility Describe how the Lead Agency shares information with eligible parents, the general public, and child care providers about the availability of child care services provided through CCDF and other programs for which the family may be eligible. The description should include, at a minimum, what is provided (e.g., written materials, the website, and direct communications) and what approaches are used to tailor information to parents, the general public, and child care providers. The Lead Agency shares information with parents, the general public and child care providers utilizing four media: 1) written materials; 2) in-person interactions; 3) websites; and 4) social media. The written materials the Lead Agency distributes are crafted for various audiences and are available in English and Spanish. The written information helps parents understand how to identify and select high quality child care. Written information for providers explains the various programs available to them that can help them operate a more efficient, more profitable, and higher quality child care program. The information for the public is intended to increase awareness about the Lead Agency and the state’s quality rating and improvement system for child care providers. In-person interactions are targeted mostly towards new or expecting parents; however, outreach staff also attend events to discuss the importance of stable, accessible and affordable high-quality child care programs with pediatricians, obstetricians, and municipal officials. In addition, partnering agencies, organizations and businesses request our presence to attend their events specifically to provide CCDF information to parents and/or early childhood educators. Distribute information on quality child care, availability of child care scholarships and other initiatives at four statewide early childhood professional organizations with national affiliation, (SC Montessori Alliance, South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children, South Carolina Early Childhood Association, and South Carolina Early Care and Education Association) to conference attendees. Information regarding child care services availability and eligibility at the Greenville Technical College’s Returning Citizens Program events that support parents who have been incarcerated. The mission is to remove barriers from parents who are transitioning from the criminal justice system to society. Child care is an integral part of job success. The Lead Agency’s representatives attends the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (DEW) job fairs. This provides the opportunity to engage with job seekers and connect them in finding quality child care. Participation at the annual community events such as Countdown to Kindergarten, Week of the Young Child, School Backpack and other signature community events, provides an opportunity to engage with families to educate on the services available from child care search to child care scholarships and financial assistance. The Lead Agency’s websites provide information about all of the programs that support the provision of high quality child care to all children in SC. The website allows parents to directly apply for child care scholarships through the online portal, or email or call the child care scholarship program control center for questions. The Lead Agency constantly updates its websites to provide updated, accurate, and complete information to consumers, providers, and the general public about priority areas and how to apply for those scholarship opportunities. The Lead Agency has an existing Facebook page, and recently launched an Instagram account, both which promote ABC Quality. The social channels are utilized to provide helpful information, on a variety of topics, to both parents and providers and increase awareness about the ABC Quality program. Our Instagram account allows us to share visually dynamic content, such as videos, images and infographics, throughout the platform’s various features such as feeds, stories, reels, and Instagram TV (IGTV). We use both social channels to provide parents, the general public, and child care providers with a variety of resources such as parenting and child care tips, and focus on topics including brain development, learning through play, how to find a high-quality provider, nutrition, what ABC Quality means and why it’s important, and more. The Division also launched a highly successful consumer awareness campaign for parents, families, child care providers and the general public, to highlight three important buckets in regards to child care: accessibility, affordability and quality. The campaign is titled, Work Doesn’t Work, and speaks to the important role child care plays in our overall economy. The campaign serves as a reminder and think piece that parents cannot work unless they have access to affordable, accessible and quality child care. The campaign included an array of informative media, promoting financial resources available to assist with affording child care through the various scholarship categories. These media included the following: updates to both the www.scchildcare.org and www.abcquality.org websites; targeted advertisements utilizing social media; connected tv, billboards, banners and collateral materials, such as print brochures. The Lead Agency participates in a variety of in person events through partnerships. In addition, partnering agencies, organizations and businesses request our presence to attend their events specifically to provide CCDF information to parents and/or early childhood educators. Distribute information on quality child care, availability of child care scholarships and other initiatives at four statewide early childhood professional organizations with national affiliation, (SC Montessori Alliance, South Carolina Association for the Education of Young Children, South Carolina Early Childhood Association, and South Carolina Early Care and Education Association) to conference attendees. Information regarding child care services availability and eligibility at the Greenville Technical College’s Returning Citizens Program events that support parents who have been incarcerated. The mission is to remove barriers from parents who are transitioning from the criminal justice system to society. Child care is an integral part of job success. Lead Agency representatives attend the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce (SCDEW) job fairs. Opportunity to engage with job seekers and connect them in finding quality child care. Participation at the annual community events such as Countdown to Kindergarten, Week of the Young Child, School Backpack and other signature community events, provides an opportunity to engage with families to educate on the services available from child care search to child care scholarships and financial assistance. 9.3.2 Information about child care and other services available for parents Does the Lead Agency certify that it provides information described in 9.3.1 for the following required programs? • Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. • Head Start and Early Head Start programs. • Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). • Women, Infants, and Children Program (WIC) program. • Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). • Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). • Programs carried out under IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C. [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: 9.3.3 Consumer statement for parents receiving CCDF services Lead Agencies must provide parents receiving CCDF services with a consumer statement in hard copy or electronically that contains general information about the CCDF program and specific information about the child care provider they select. Please certify if the Lead Agency provides parents receiving CCDF services a consumer statement that contains the following 8 requirements: 1. Health and safety requirements met by the provider 2. Licensing or regulatory requirements met by the provider 3. Date the provider was last inspected 4. Any history of violations of these requirements 5. Any voluntary quality standards met by the provider 6. How CCDF subsidies are designed to promote equal access 7. How to submit a complaint through the hotline 8. How to contact a local resource and referral agency or other community-based organization to receive assistance in finding and enrolling in quality child care Does the Lead Agency provide to families, either in hard copy or electronically, a consumer statement that contains the required information about the provider they have selected, including the eight required elements above? [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: 9.3.4 Informing families about best practices on child development Describe how the Lead Agency makes information available to parents, providers, and the general public on research and best practices concerning children’s development, including physical health and development, and information about successful parent and family engagement. At a minimum, the description should include what information is provided; how the information is provided; any distinct activities for sharing this information with parents, providers, the general public; and any partners in providing this information. The Lead Agency provides information to parents, providers, and the general public on research and best practices concerning children’s development via our website www.abcquality.org, as well as our ABC Quality Facebook page. The Lead Agency engages consumers in these topics on the www.abcquality.org site by writing blog articles or having guest expert authors blog articles which are posted at https://abcquality.org/blog/. Blog topics are categorized into the following subsections: Child Care Quality, Early Learning, Parenting, Child Development, ABC Quality, Providers & Settings, Health & Safety, and After School. We highlight the importance the first five years a child’s life has on their overall growth and development, through our existing Leap Years campaign. The blogs are posted to the www.abcquality.org site and provide pertinent information on the following topics: how to search for a quality child care provider, child care reopening and COVID safety, understanding ABC Quality ratings, the importance of the leap years, and the importance of the outdoors to a child. The Lead Agency also uses the Facebook page account to provide information to parents, providers, and the general public concerning things related to children and child care, on a variety of topics, to include: child and infant mental health, behavioral health, general health and wellness, nutrition, improving social skills, outdoor learning and much more. The Lead Agency has acquired an Instagram account to expand our avenues in reaching our target audience to further spread awareness of available resources and best practices to parents, child care providers, and the general public. The platform allows us to share visually dynamic content, such as videos, images and infographics, throughout the platform’s various features such as feeds, stories, reels, and IGTV. We use these media to provide our audience with a variety of resources such as parenting and child care tips, and focus on topics including brain development, learning through play, how to find a high-quality provider, nutrition, what ABC Quality means and why it’s important, and more. The Lead Agency also makes information on best practices and research available for child care providers on www.scchildcare.org in the form of a newsletter, copies of which can be viewed at https://scchildcare.org/library/newsletters.aspx. The newsletters are created by the Lead Agency and include input from DHEC, SC Infant Mental Health Association, SC Inclusion Collaborative, ABC Quality, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Scholarship, Head Start, SC Endeavors and SC CCR&R. The Lead Agency is also in the process of updating their Statewide Resources page on the www.abcquality.org website, which will highlight a variety of resources to include access to platforms that provide best practices concerning children’s development, including physical health and development, and access to platforms that aid in successful parent and family engagement. 9.3.5 Unlimited parental access to their children Does the Lead Agency have procedures to ensure that parents have unlimited access to their children whenever their children are in the care of a provider who receives CCDF funds: [x] Yes. [ ] No. If no, describe: 9.3.6 Informing families about best practices in social and emotional health Describe how the Lead Agency shares information with families, providers, and the general public regarding the social-emotional and behavioral and mental health of young children, including positive behavioral intervention and support models based on research and best practices for those from birth to school age: The Lead Agency provides information to parents, providers, and the general public on research and best practices concerning children’s development via our website www.abcquality.org, as well as our ABC Quality Facebook page. The division engages consumers in these topics on the www.abcquality.org site by writing blog articles or having guest expert authors blog articles which are posted at https://abcquality.org/blog/. Blog topics are categorized into the following subsections: Child Care Quality, Early Learning, Parenting, Child Development, ABC Quality, Providers & Settings, Health & Safety, and After School. We highlight the importance the first five years a child’s life has on their overall growth and development, through our existing Leap Years campaign. The blogs are posted to the www.abcquality.org site and provide pertinent information on the following topics: how to search for a quality child care provider, child care re-opening and COVID safety, understanding ABC Quality ratings, the importance of the leap years, and the importance of the outdoors to a child. The Lead Agency also uses the Facebook page account to provide information to parents, providers, and the general public concerning things related to children and child care, on a variety of topics, to include: child and infant mental health, behavioral health, general health and wellness, nutrition, improving social skills, outdoor learning and much more. The Division has acquired an Instagram account to expand our avenues in reaching our target audience to further spread awareness of available resources and best practices to parents, child care providers, and the general public. The platform allows us to share visually dynamic content, such as videos, images and infographics, throughout the platform’s various features such as feeds, stories, reels, and IGTV. We use these media to provide our audience with a variety of resources such as parenting and child care tips, and focus on topics including brain development, learning through play, how to find a high-quality provider, nutrition, what ABC Quality means/why it’s important, and more. The Lead Agency also makes information on best practices and research available for child care providers on www.scchildcare.org in the form of a newsletter, copies of which can be viewed at https://scchildcare.org/library/newsletters.aspx. The newsletters are created by the Lead Agency and include input from DHEC, SC Infant Mental Health Association, SC Inclusion Collaborative, ABC Quality, Child and Adult Care Food Program, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Scholarship Program, Head Start, SC Endeavors and SC CCR&R. The Division is also in the process of updating their Statewide Resources page on the www.abcquality.org site, which will highlight a variety of resources to include social-emotional and behavioral and mental health resources, as well as positive behavioral intervention resources and supports. 9.3.7 Policies on the prevention of the suspension and expulsion of children a. The Lead Agency must have policies to prevent the suspension and expulsion of children from birth to age 5 in child care and other early childhood programs receiving CCDF funds. Describe those policies and how those policies are shared with families, providers, and the general public: ABC Quality has implemented suspension and expulsion prevention policies and procedures within the structural quality review for which providers can earn credit towards their overall quality level score. The Lead Agency has multiple initiatives in place to support child care programs in the prevention of suspension and expulsion. One of the Lead Agency contractors, SC Inclusion Collaborative (SCIC), www.scinclusion.org, provides a myriad of resources, technical assistance, trainings and materials for families and child care programs. Recently released are online trainings specifically targeted to child care programs in the understanding and prevention of suspension and expulsion in early childhood settings. In addition, Pyramid Model supports are available in SC through a program-wide Pyramid Model Implementation, Behavior Support Network, State Leadership Team, and Pyramid Model Community of Practices. Families can contact SCIC if they have concerns pertaining to prevention of suspension and expulsion of children. The SC Infant Mental Health Association (SCIMHA), www.scimha.org, a grantee partner of the Lead Agency also provides numerous supports to both child care programs and families in dealing with challenging behaviors of children and the prevention of suspension and expulsion. Partners for Early Attuned Relationships (PEAR Network) is a prevention-based program pairing childhood mental health consultants with adults who work with children (ages 0-5). Help Me Grow SC’s healthy development resource hub for families of young children offers child development specialists to connect parents to the right resources, such as Ages and Stages Questionnaire and (ASQ) developmental screenings. Recently Help Me Grow SC has implemented their centralized point of access for families and child care programs to contact when dealing with challenging behaviors. This referral resource provides an individualized navigation pathway for each family and/or connects them to the appropriate supports. In conjunction with these initiatives the Lead Agency has collaborated with other early care and education stakeholders on definitions for social emotional development, challenging behavior, expulsion, out-of-school suspension, and in-school suspension. The stakeholders represented in this collaboration are SC Department of Social Services- Division of Early Care and Education, SC Inclusion Collaborative, SC Department of Education, Office of Special Education Services, SC Department of Mental Health, SC First Steps, SC Infant Mental Health Association, SC DHHS-BabyNet, SC Program for Infant Toddler Care, SC Partnerships for Inclusion, SC Head Start/Early Head Start, Family Connection of SC, Team for Early Childhood Solutions, PEAR Network, Help Me Grow SC, and Pyramid PIECES. The Director of the SC Department of Social Services shared these definitions and stakeholder consensus with the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC). This collaboration and adoption of definitions represented a consensus for use of terms and has paved the way in supporting a clearer understanding of the issue of suspension and expulsion in early care and education settings in our state. The Lead Agency is exploring ways to use existing data systems and developing new data systems to measure the number of suspension and expulsion occurrences in early care and education child care settings receiving child care scholarships in SC. This information will identify gaps and needs for resources and supports related to the prevention of suspension and expulsion while influencing decisions surrounding policies and procedures to promote change. These definitions and policy have been shared with child care providers in trainings, webinars, Town Hall sessions as well as state conference sessions. The Division of Early Care and Education along with our ECE partners are currently in a communication strategy planning process to determine how we will ensure this information to ensure families, providers and the public are aware of the policy. This information will be shared with the Child Care Scholarship families via a mail out of the information. The information will also be available as families are searching for quality child care from our consumer education website. b. Describe what policies, if any, the Lead Agency has to prevent the suspension and expulsion of school-age children from child or youth care settings receiving CCDF funds: ABC Quality has implemented suspension and expulsion prevention policies and procedures within the structural quality review for which providers can earn credit towards their overall quality level score. The Lead Agency has multiple initiatives in place to support child care programs in the prevention of suspension and expulsion. One of the Lead Agency contractors, SC Inclusion Collaborative (SCIC), www.scinclusion.org, provides a myriad of resources, technical assistance, trainings and materials for families and child care programs. Recently released are online trainings specifically targeted to child care programs in the understanding and prevention of suspension and expulsion in early childhood settings. The Division of Early Care and Education along with our ECE partners are currently in a communication strategy planning process to determine how we will ensure this information to ensure families, providers and the public are aware of the policy. This information will be shared with the Child Care Scholarship families via a mail out of the information. The information will also be available as families are searching for quality child care from our consumer education website.