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: VDOE regularly attends monthly meetings with directors of local departments of social services. Local directors share questions, concerns, and feedback regarding program administration and policy implementation related to eligibility determination and family access to services. As part of these monthly meetings, VDOE provided updates and overviews on the state plan development process with opportunities for questions and feedback. Local departments also received a copy of the draft state plan for feedback and were invited to provide public comment. a. Describe how the Lead Agency consulted with the State Advisory Council or similar coordinating body: VDOE engaged with the Early Childhood Advisory Committee (ECAC) around the contents of the CCDF State Plan in multiple business meetings in early 2024. Members had the opportunity to ask questions and provide feedback on the plan development process and key areas of focus. ECAC members also received a copy of the draft state plan for feedback and were invited to provide public comment. b. Describe, if applicable, how the Lead Agency consulted with Indian Tribes(s) or Tribal organizations(s) within the State: VDOE has monthly meetings with the Chickahominy and Monacan tribes to identify opportunities for collaboration and information- and resource- sharing. During these meetings, state and Tribal leaders discussed opportunities to reflect these strategies in the state plan and additional shared program and policy priorities. Tribal leaders also received a copy of the draft state plan for feedback and were invited to provide public comment. 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: In addition to consulting with the Early Childhood Advisory Committee, Chickahominy, and Monacan Tribes, other entities had the opportunity to consult on the development of the CCDF Plan. Advocates, providers, and others concerned with early childhood care and education provided feedback during the public comment period. 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: 5/5/2024 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 noticeThe notice of the public hearing was posted to the Child Care VA website and the Virginia Department of Education’s newsletter, Readiness Connections. v. Describe how the approach to the public hearing was inclusive of all geographic regions of the State or Territory: The Lead agency held one public hearing. Constituents and Early Childhood Care and Education stakeholders had the opportunity to participate in-person and provide public comment. The public hearing was also streamed live on the Virginia Department Education YouTube Channel. 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 was posted on the Child Care VA public website. The website has a translation feature to promote language accessibility among the most common languages across the Commonwealth. vii. Describe how the information provided by the public was taken into consideration regarding the provision of child care services under this Plan: Early Childhood providers, advocates, and other stakeholders were provided the opportunity to provide feedback on the State Plan via public comment. Public comments were accepted for 30 days. 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.childcare.virginia.gov/reports- resources/administrative-program-manuals-reports-and-data/virginia-child-care-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: VDOE provides a finalized copy of the CCDF State Plan with the Early Childhood Advisory Committee. Substantive edits to the plan are discussed with the committee during business meetings as appropriate. ii. [ ] Working with child care resource and referral agencies. Describe: iii. [ ] Providing translation in other languages. Describe: 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: Notice of the draft and final plans are shared in Readiness Connections, VDOE’s early childhood newsletter. Notice of significant policy changes that would trigger an amendment are also included in the Readiness Connections newsletter. vi. [ ] Working with Statewide afterschool networks or similar coordinating entities for out-of-school time. Describe: vii. [ ] Direct communication with the child care workforce. Describe: 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.