6.4 Early Learning and Developmental Guidelines

Lead Agencies must develop, maintain, or implement early learning and developmental guidelines appropriate for children from birth to kindergarten entry. Early learning and developmental guidelines should describe what children should know and be able to do at different ages and cover the essential domains of early childhood development, which at a minimum includes cognition, including language arts and mathematics; social, emotional, and physical development; and approaches toward learning. 6.4.1 Early learning and developmental guidelines a. Check the boxes below to certify the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines are: i. [x] Research-based. ii. [x] Developmentally appropriate. iii. [x] Culturally and linguistically appropriate. iv. [x] Aligned with kindergarten entry. v. [x] Appropriate for all children from birth to kindergarten entry. vi. [x] Implemented in consultation with the educational agency and the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body. vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: b. Check the boxes below to certify that the required domains are included in the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines. i. [x] Cognition, including language arts and mathematics. ii. [x] Social development. iii. [x] Emotional development. iv. [x] Physical development. v. [x] Approaches toward learning. vi. [ ] Other optional domains. Describe any optional domains: vii. If any components above are not checked, describe: c. When were the Lead Agency’s early learning and developmental guidelines most recently updated and for what reason? Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards were launched in September of 2021 and no revisions or updates have been made at this time. d. Provide the Web link to the Lead Agency's early learning and developmental guidelines. Virginia's Early Learning & Development Standards (ELDS): Birth-Five Learning Guidelines: https://www.doe.virginia.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/421/63789060507257000 0 6.4.2 Use of early learning and developmental guidelines a. Describe how the Lead Agency uses its early learning and developmental guidelines. Through a partnership with Radford University, Virginia launched an Introductory Micro- credential to support understanding and use of the Virginia Early Learning and Development Standards. The 5-hour, non-credit bearing micro-credential is available to educators who work in varied Birth through 5 early childhood settings, including family day homes and center-based settings. The course is offered in English and Spanish. Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards have been cross walked with the State’s Virginia Kindergarten Readiness Assessment, Head Start’s Early Learning Outcomes Framework, and serve as the foundation for the State’s approved curriculum list. All vetted curricula must show full alignment across all Focus Areas of Virginia’s ELDS to support holistic and developmentally appropriate teaching and learning strategies for all children in Birth-5 early childhood settings. The Virgina Early Learning and Development Standards are a foundational tool to promote school readiness, supporting understanding of growth and development of children age Birth-5, and identify topics for professional development that will improve instructional practices that result in better outcomes for all Virginia’s children. The VA ITSN provides hard copies of Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards to programs that are receiving coaching; both VA ITSN coaching and TA for providers of infants and toddlers (0-36 months) can address use of the standards. These standards are used by VA ITSN staff to provide trainings; a webinar titled Getting to Know Virginia’s Early Learning and Development Standards is archived on the VA ITSN website (https://va- itsnetwork.org/webinars/) for viewing and the standards are incorporated into other trainings. b. Check the boxes below to certify that CCDF funds are not used to develop or implement an assessment for children that: i. [x] Will be the primary or sole basis to determine a child care provider ineligible to participate in the CCDF. ii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole basis to provide a reward or sanction for an individual provider. iii. [x] Will be used as the primary or sole method for assessing program effectiveness. iv. [x] Will be used to deny children eligibility to participate in CCDF. v. If any components above are not checked, describe: 7 Quality Improvement Activities The quality of child care directly affects children’s safety and healthy development while in care settings, and high-quality child care can be foundational across the lifespan. Lead Agencies may use CCDF for quality improvement activities for all children in care, not just those receiving child care subsidies. OCC will collect the most detailed Lead Agency information about quality improvement activities in annual reports instead of this Plan. Lead Agencies must report on CCDF child care quality improvement investments in three ways: 1. In this Plan, Lead Agencies will describe the types of activities supported by quality investments over the 3-year period. 2. An annual expenditure report (the ACF-696). Lead Agencies will provide data on how much CCDF funding is spent on quality activities. This report will be used to determine compliance with the required quality and infant and toddler spending requirements. 3. An annual Quality Progress Report (the ACF-218). Lead Agencies will provide a description of activities funded by quality expenditures, the measures used to evaluate its progress in improving the quality of child care programs and services within the State/Territory, and progress or barriers encountered on those measures. In this section of the Plan, Lead Agencies will describe their quality activities needs assessment and identify the types of quality improvement activities where CCDF investments are being made using quality set-aside funds.