6.1 Supporting the Child Care Workforce

Lead Agencies have broad flexibility to implement policies and practices to support the child care workforce. 6.1.1 Strategies to improve recruitment, retention, compensation, and well-being a. Identify any Lead Agency activities related to strengthening workforce recruitment and retention of child care providers. Check all that apply: i. [x] Providing program-level grants to support investments in staff compensation. ii. [x] Providing bonuses or stipends paid directly to staff, like sign-on or retention bonuses. iii. [ ] Connecting family child care providers and center-based child care staff to health insurance or supporting premiums in the Marketplace. iv. [ ] Subsidizing family child care provider and center-based child care staff retirement benefits. v. [ ] Providing paid sick, personal, and parental leave for family child care providers and center-based child care staff. vi. [ ] Providing student loan debt relief or loan repayment for family child care providers and center-based child care staff. vii. [x] Providing scholarships or tuition support for center-based child care staff and family child care providers. viii. [x] Other. Describe: While providers are not connected directly to health insurance or supporting premiums in the Marketplace, the Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) does provide support from a Tiered Membership Specialist to connect providers with 24/7 telehealth access to doctors and mental wellness experts. b. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to assess and improve the compensation of the child care workforce in the State or Territory, including increasing wages, bonuses, and stipends. The Child Care Counts program provides payments to eligible providers to invest in staff compensation as well as cover operating expenses, invest in program quality, and reduce costs for families. Specifically, payments through Child Care Counts Program B: Funding Workforce Recruitment and Retention are based on the number of staff at the provider, the part-time or full-time employment status of the staff, and YoungStar Quality Rating and Improvement System rating. Program B funds can be used for staff compensation and professional development. The Lead agency also invests in Wisconsin’s child care workforce through funding T.E.A.C.H. scholarships and REWARD stipends. T.E.A.C.H. scholarships were awarded to 1285 participant which amassed completion and earning of over 10,000 college credits. These credits helped increase scholarship recipient wages by an average of nearly 5% and the receipts went on to provide care for over 39,000 children throughout Wisconsin. c. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to expand access to benefits, including health insurance, paid sick, personal, and parental leave, and retirement benefits. N/A d. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to support the mental health and well-being of the child care workforce. The lead agency approaches workforce mental health and wellbeing through multiple programs, projects, and initiatives. For example, the Lead Agency contracted with the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health to develop and administer a statewide Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) program in early care and education settings, Healthy Minds Healthy Children. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation is a prevention- based approach that pairs a mental health consultant with adults who work with infants and young children in different settings where they learn and grow, to equip caregivers to facilitate children’s healthy social and emotional development. IECMHC has been shown to be an effective strategy for preventing suspension and expulsion, and focuses on the well-being of caregivers and children. Healthy Minds Healthy Children was launched in July 2023, and is available in the Southeastern and Southern Regions in Wisconsin, with ten IECMH Consultants serving the community and child care programs. Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultants have deep expertise in early childhood, social and emotional development, and mental health for children ages birth through five. As part of the Healthy Minds Healthy Children project, the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health developed the Early Childhood Feelings Thermometer, a visual aid for the early care and education workforce, as well as families, to use with young children ages 0- 5. This tool can be used to help children begin to name emotions and learn strategies for emotional regulation. The Early Childhood Feelings Thermometer is currently being distributed through local CCR&R agencies and YoungStar Connect. The Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) launched the Educator Assistance Program (EAP) in 2023. EAP provides a comprehensive set of tools to help participants address emotional wellbeing, including free and confidential short-term counseling and follow-up services. To date, 20,225 individuals employed by regulated child care providers have access to EAP. Through YoungStar Connect and CCR&R agencies, trainings and coaching are available to increase provider preparedness, child and adult well-being, and child safety. YoungStar Evaluation Criteria includes a quality indicator for being trained in Wisconsin Pyramid Model for Social and Emotional Competence, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, Guiding Children's Behavior in School-Age Care or other equivalent training to meet the social-emotional needs of children. These trainings provide strategies for adult wellbeing, emotional regulation, and effective behavior management including positive behavior interventions and support models. The trainings promote positive social and emotional development and give providers research-based strategies to reduce challenging behaviors and help providers manage stress. The training is further supported by coaching and mentoring through either YoungStar Connect coaching or through specific assistance provided by a Pyramid Model External Coach. YoungStar Connect offers individualized and group-based coaching, on-demand resources and live trainings, and a help desk to ensure that child care providers have the tools they need to support and manage their mental health and wellbeing and to build their capacity to nurture and care for young children. e. Describe any other strategies the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to support providers’ recruitment and retention of the child care workforce. Under the YoungStar QRIS, there are high-quality practices required at higher star ratings focused on high-quality employment policies and strategic planning for staff retention for group and school-age programs. The Lead Agency is committed to this because a positive working environment leads to high-quality programming and improved staff retention. In order to meet this strategic planning requirement, higher rated providers must demonstrate the following. The program director/administrator must have read one of these resources: Model Work Standards ￿ 2019 revised edition or previous edition ￿ Center for the Study of Child Care Employment https://cscce.berkeley.edu/publications/report/creating-better-child-care-jobs-model- work-standards/ Blueprint for Action: Achieving Center-Based Change Through Staff Development ￿ Paula Jorde Bloom Program Administration Scale (PAS) ￿ Teri N. Talan and Paula Jorde Bloom A Great Place to Work ￿ Paula Jorde Bloom, Ann Hentschell, and Jill Bella The program must have held a strategic planning meeting focused on improving the working environment with at least 75% of staff in attendance. The meeting must have included opportunities for all staff to participate. A written agenda and meeting notes are required for verification. At least one goal and an action plan have been developed with all staff having had an opportunity to provide input. The goal and action plan must: Identify how the work environment will be improved. Identify who is responsible for implementing each part of the action plan. List next steps that may be required. Programs having met this indicator in the previous rating year must show evidence of progress on at least one goal from the previous rating year. There must also be evidence that staff provided feedback on evaluating the progress made toward the goal. The program director is interviewed by a consultant to verify which resource has been read an to understand the strategic planning process. The following documentation is then required: Meeting attendance records, including the date of the meeting(s) and who attended. Identified goal(s) and action plan. Evidence of the participatory process (e.g., survey). Progress on previous year’s goal, if applicable. 6.1.2 Strategies to support provider business practices a. Describe other strategies that the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to strengthen child care providers’ business management and administrative practices. The Lead Agency provides numerous trainings, resources and technical assistance focusing on best business practices through contracts with the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA), Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA) and Child Care Resource and Referral agencies (CCR&Rs). Consultants and trainers for YoungStar, the Quality Rating and Improvement System, are equipped with skills to aid in supporting providers' business practices. Both in-person and online training opportunities are offered to all early childhood programs in Wisconsin. Professional development opportunities assist individual programs' quality improvement goals and support programs in meeting the requirements of the YoungStar evaluation criteria. Technical assistance is available to child care programs onsite or virtually and can include business practices if the provider chooses. The Business Practices element in the YoungStar evaluation criteria includes a mandatory indicator for all 3, 4, and 5 Star providers, requiring programs to have a yearly budget, perform budget reviews, establish payment agreements, and maintain records. Business Tool Kits offering helpful information related to owning and operating a child care business are available by various CCR&R agencies with consultation from pre- licensing specialists. Additional resources are available for providers on the YoungStar website: https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/youngstar/providers/resources. With funding from the Lead Agency, WECA implements the Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) to provide business practice supports including payroll support, healthy business practices, benefits management, banking, taxes, staffing services, and personal wellness. b. Check the topics addressed in the Lead Agency’s strategies for strengthening child care providers’ administrative business practices. Check all that apply: i. [x] Fiscal management. ii. [x] Budgeting. iii. [x] Recordkeeping. iv. [x] Hiring, developing, and retaining qualified staff. v. [x] Risk management. vi. [x] Community relationships. vii. [x] Marketing and public relations. viii. [x] Parent-provider communications. ix. [x] Use of technology in business administration. x. [ ] Compliance with employment and labor laws. xi. [ ] Other. Describe any other efforts to strengthen providers’ administrative business: 6.1.3 Strategies to support provider participation Lead Agencies must facilitate participation of child care providers and staff with limited English proficiency and disabilities in the child care subsidy system. Describe how the Lead Agency will facilitate this participation, including engagement with providers to identify barriers and specific strategies used to support their participation: a. Providers and staff with limited English proficiency: The Lead Agency follows all federal guidelines for translation of materials, including telephone and written translation services for providers with limited English proficiency. In addition, the Lead Agency has identified that materials for providers created by the Lead Agency should be provided in Spanish as there is a large Spanish-speaking population in Wisconsin. Contracts for vendors for various trainings that support providers in the subsidy system include fees for translation of materials. Wisconsin has published key resources in Spanish for providers accepting subsidy, including infographics about accepting Wisconsin Shares and program integrity training videos and booklets. (https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/wishares/providers) The Child Care Provider Portal, an online system for licensing, background checks, and subsidy information for providers, can also be viewed in Spanish. The Lead Agency works with training agencies to ensure that professional development offerings are appropriate for providers with limited English proficiency. The state QRIS vendor, YoungStar Connect, provides entry-level training, coaching and support for providers wishing to enter the subsidy system, and offers training and coaching in both English and Spanish. In addition, the Lead Agency contracts with the Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network (WEESSN) to provide back-office support to assist providers to navigate the subsidy system. All services provided by WEESSN are provided in English and Spanish. WEESSN has developed an 18 hour Build It Strong: Child Care Business Foundations computer-based training which includes content supporting providers and families to participate in the subsidy system which is translated into Spanish and is available to newly regulated providers or providers participating in the WEESSN coaching system who need subsidy participation support. The Lead Agency provides funding for the T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship Program which pays for 90% of the cost of attending credit-based education ￿ including the credential courses ￿ in a Wisconsin 2-year or 4-year IHE. The Lead Agency partners with contracted agencies and Wisconsin IHEs to ensure that credit and non-credit based professional development opportunities are available in multiple languages, through multiple mediums (online, in person), and in more local community sites. For example, the Infant Toddler, Preschool, Family Child Care, Administrator, and Supporting Dual Language Learners credentials are offered in Spanish by the University of Wisconsin-Platteville online (https://www.uwplatt.edu/department/child-care-education). The Lead Agency works closely with tribal nations to develop trainings that are culturally appropriate. The Lead Agency worked collaboratively with tribal nations and providers to develop trainings on the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards and the Wisconsin Pyramid Model that are culturally appropriate and fit the needs of tribal providers. The Registry, Wisconsin’s child care trainer and training approval system, integrates culturally appropriate practice in all train-the-trainer events and empowers trainers to support the needs of tribal communities when leading trainings. All approved Registry trainings must include a Diversity Inclusion Statement explaining how the training delivery and content is reflective of the unique needs of the communities in which the training is delivered. Wisconsin’s system of professional development is comprehensive and supports learners of all abilities and backgrounds. Onsite consultation and mentoring services are available to providers through our state’s CCR&R network and Wisconsin’s new QRIS administrator, YoungStar Connect. Professional development opportunities are developed and translated or interpreted in multiple languages (e.g., English, Spanish, and Hmong) through a variety of locally contracted agencies (e.g., independent training facilities, technical and private colleges, and the University of Wisconsin system). Trainings are also provided in a variety of formats (e.g., online, in community settings, one-on-one) to meet the needs of the providers. CCR&R agencies provide training and technical assistance to current child care providers, as well as potential child care providers, through community-based delivery. CCR&Rs ensure staff are available to: deliver, when necessary, training and technical assistance in Spanish, support the recruitment and retention of non-English speaking child care providers, and provide individualized referrals to families seeking providers that speak their home language or that serve children with special needs. The Lead Agency has partnered with contracted agencies and Wisconsin IHEs to ensure that credit and non- credit based professional development opportunities are available in multiple languages, through multiple formats (online, in-person), and in more local community sites. Informational workshops and educational opportunities for Spanish and Hmong providers are presented using language translation/interpretation services to ensure a more inclusive experience. b. Providers and staff who have disabilities: Current and future child care providers are encouraged to work with their local CCR&R agency in order to locate trainings and other professional development opportunities that fit their needs, language, life, and abilities. Local colleges and universities have systems in place to ensure that learners can access training in their primary language and that students with disabilities are able to attend and access trainings that meet their individual needs (for example, finding online trainings that include real-time transcription of information for persons with hearing loss). Accessibility to both the material, as well as the location or mode of training is taken into consideration prior to any professional development offering. The Lead Agency funds the Wisconsin Early Education Shared Services Network to provide trainings such as Build It Strong: Child Care Business Foundations, which is available as live in-person sessions as well as self-navigated computer-based training. This flexible training allows providers to view, review, and receive support that meets their needs. All business resources from CIVITAs on the WEESSN resource library are available in print and in video to meet the needs of people with varying needs for communication resources.