2.4 Lead Agency Outreach to Families Experiencing Homelessness, Families with Limited English Proficiency, and Persons with Disabilities

The Lead Agency must conduct outreach and provide services to families with limited English proficiency, families experiencing homelessness, and persons with disabilities. 2.4.1 Families with limited English proficiency and persons with disabilities: outreach and services a. Check the strategies the Lead Agency or partners utilize to conduct outreach and provide services to eligible families with limited English proficiency. Check all that apply. i. [x] Application in languages other than English (application and related documents, brochures, provider notices). ii. [x] Informational materials in languages other than English. iii. [x] Website in languages other than English. iv. [x] Lead Agency accepts applications at local community-based locations. v. [x] Bilingual caseworkers or translators available. vi. [x] Bilingual outreach workers. vii. [x] Partnerships with community-based organizations. viii. [x] Collaboration with Head Start, Early Head Start, or Migrant and Seasonal Head Start. ix. [x] Home visiting programs. x. [x] Other. Describe: DCYF conducts outreach online in multiple languages with focused social media posts and landing pages. b. Check the strategies the Lead Agency or partners utilize to conduct outreach and provide services to eligible families with a person(s) with a disability. Check all that apply. i. [x] Applications and public informational materials available in braille and other communication formats for access by individuals with disabilities. ii. [x] Websites that are accessible (e.g., Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act). iii. [ ] Caseworkers with specialized training/experience in working with individuals with disabilities. iv. [x] Ensuring accessibility of environments and activities for all children. v. [ ] Partnerships with State and local programs and associations focused on disability- related topics and issues. vi. [x] Partnerships with parent associations, support groups, and parent-to-parent support groups, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) federally funded Parent Training and Information Centers. vii. [x] Partnerships with State and local IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C providers and agencies. viii. [x] Availability and/or access to specialized services (e.g., mental health, behavioral specialists, therapists) to address the needs of all children. ix. [ ] Other. Describe: 2.4.2 Families experiencing homelessness: Outreach and technical assistance efforts a. Check, where applicable, the procedures used to conduct outreach for children experiencing homelessness and their families. i. [x] Lead Agency accepts applications at local community-based locations. ii. [x] Partnerships with community-based organizations. iii. [x] Partnering with homeless service providers, McKinney-Vento liaisons, and others who work with families experiencing homelessness to provide referrals to child care. iv. [x] Other. Describe: DCYF contracts with Child Care Aware (CCA) to provide outreach to families experiencing homelessness. CCA created a separate menu choice on its Family Center telephone hotline for families who are experiencing homelessness. CCA provides families experiencing homelessness with case management which includes assistance in identifying resources for child care, early learning, housing assistance, financial assistance, nutrition assistance, medical and other needs identified. b. The Lead Agency must provide training and technical assistance (TA) to providers and appropriate Lead Agency (or designated entity) staff on identifying and serving children and families experiencing homelessness. i. Describe the Lead Agency’s training and TA efforts for providers in identifying and serving children and their families experiencing homelessness. Through DCYF’s coaching framework, providers serving children receiving subsidy have access to an Early Achievers coach. The state’s pre-service requirement Child Care Basics incorporates an intro to serving homeless children and their families and the content is also available in an online stand-alone module for all to access. This allows for providers and coaches to both be trained on serving children experiencing homelessness and for that learning and implementation of practice to happen within the coaching framework of the state’s QRIS system. ii. Describe the Lead Agency’s training and TA efforts for Lead Agency (or designated entity) staff in identifying and serving children and their families experiencing homelessness. Training opportunities for providers are also open to staff. DCYF’s Learning Management System hosts training for agency staff to learn about the same practices and content that providers do for serving children and families experiencing homelessness. DCYF eligibility workers also have access. Further, DCYF contracts with CCA to identify and assist families experiencing homelessness with application assistance and case management. Child care subsidy staff also receive regular training on these topics via staff meetings, and the eligibility desk aid includes example scenarios demonstrating these topics. Finally, all staff must go through child care core training of which homelessness training is part.