8.1 Coordination with Partners to Expand Accessibility and Continuity of Care

Lead Agencies must coordinate child care services supported by CCDF with other federal, State/Territory, and local level programs. This includes programs for the benefit of Indian children, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. 8.1.1 Coordination with required and optional partners Describe how the Lead Agency coordinates and the results of this coordination of the provision of child care services with the organizations and agencies to expand accessibility and continuity of care and to assist children enrolled in early childhood programs in receiving full-day services that meet the needs of working families. The Lead Agency must coordinate with the following agencies: a. State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency continues as a full and engaged partner in the system building efforts of the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC). The goals of the ECAC include: the completion of a comprehensive assessment of current issues confronting the early childhood system; the development of recommendations for increasing the overall participation of children in existing federal and state child care; and the creation of recommendations regarding child care educators and providers statewide. Additionally, the initial Wisconsin Birth to Five Statewide Strategic Plan, developed under the Preschool Development Grant in 2020, outlines a series of strategies to increase coordination and through development of additional collaborative bodies, including the Governor's Leadership Council on the Early Years (LCEY), which is comprised of agency heads from across the Wisconsin State Government enterprise. LCEY helps ensure broad awareness of the interests and needs of children and families that are impacted by numerous government agencies, and an enhanced focus on alignment of policies and efforts across state-administered early childhood programs. Finally, an Equity Advisory Council (EAC), the Parent and Caregiver Equity Advisory Cabinet, was established in 2021 through PDG and the Wisconsin Infant and Toddler Policy Project (WITPP) to increase DCF’s awareness of the lived experiences of vulnerable and underserved populations as they navigate early childhood programs and offer recommendations to address barriers and gaps. b. Indian Tribe(s) and/or Tribal organization(s), at the option of the Tribe or Tribal organization. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination, including which Tribe(s) was (were) involved: The Lead Agency meets with tribal staff and managers on a monthly basis to discuss new policy and system development options. During meetings of the CCAC, CCPC, WITCCA, and ES PAC, the Lead Agency discusses coordinated solutions to the tribal specific CCDF requirements. Specific goals identified include increasing culturally responsive trainings and presentations to increase the supply of quality care to tribal children. [ ] Not applicable. Check here if there are no Indian Tribes and/or Tribal organizations in the State/Territory. c. State/Territory agency(ies) responsible for programs for children with disabilities, including early intervention programs authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency meets frequently with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) and DHS to ensure coordination of services for young children with special needs. DPI is the lead agency for Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and DHS is the lead for Part C of IDEA. The Lead Agency developed resource and training materials to support the professional development of the early care and education workforce in providing inclusive child care programming. The Lead Agency increased coordination with DHS Birth to Three (Part C in Wisconsin) and DPI Early Childhood Special Education (Part B in Wisconsin) coordinators and regularly meets with team leads to identify strategies to support shared professional development opportunities. The goal of these opportunities is equipping child care programming staff with the skills needed to provide full-day child care access for children with special needs. Additional cross-agency efforts included developing webpages to provide comprehensive information for families, training opportunities for early care and education professionals across the state, and the development of training modules to support inclusion in child care programs. Information can be found at https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/youngstar/eci. The Lead Agency actively participates on the Birth to Three Inter-Agency Coordination Council with the purpose of communicating recommendations for effective implementation of the early intervention system, including services provided in child care settings. Ensuring increased access to services is a priority for this council. d. State/Territory office/director for Head Start State collaboration. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency houses the Head Start Collaboration Office (HSCO) and extensively collaborates with the Director. These collaborations include planning with the HSCO Director to ensure that programs are able to meet both the Head Start Program Performance Standards (HSPPS) and CCDF requirements. The coordination goals include full Head Start programs participation in YoungStar, Wisconsin's Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) system, and participation in Fingerprint Background checking. This ensures Head Start grantee compliance with the HSPPS and assists in identifying ways that families enrolled in Head Start programs can utilize the child care subsidy program. The HSCO and other Head Start representatives serve as members of the ECAC along with other B-5 Early Childhood State System program representatives. The lead agency collaborates with the HSCO around assessing the needs of the ECSS and strategic planning. This ensures Head Start is intentionally included in the state’s system strategic planning. The Lead Agency and the HSCO co-lead a Transitions Case Study Evaluation to look at what is happening in communities around supporting children and families through the multiple transitions in the first five years, pre-natal to entry into K-12 school. The Lead Agency and the HSCO are working together to facilitate the revisions of the state’s Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS). This will ensure the revised standards and supporting resources meet CCDF/CCDBG requirements to be aligned to the Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (HSELOF), and that the revised standards are usable for all early childhood professionals including such professionals as EHS Home visitors and family support workers. The Lead Agency has ensured that the HSCO is a key stakeholder in the Young Star revisions process so that Head Start will be represented in that work. The HSCO works closely with the Lead Agency on the Head Start Data Expansion initiative to encourage Head Start programs to begin voluntarily submitting their data to the state. Finally, the HSCO convenes a quarterly cross-system group made of up the CSBG manager (CAP Agencies), MIECHV State Coordinator, TANF, and CBCAP (Family Resource Centers) within the Lead Agency to ensure that the state level systems within the Lead Agency are supporting local level ECSS work in communities, and to find ways to collaborate on shared initiatives, leverage funding opportunities, reduce administrative burden for implementing agencies, and share professional development across these intersecting systems. e. State/Territory agency responsible for public health, including the agency responsible for immunizations. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: Under Wis. Statutes, s.252.04 and Wis. Admin. Code DHS 144, within 30 school days after a child is admitted to child care, the center must have on file evidence that the child has completed the first immunization for each vaccine required for the child's age and/or a record that the child is on schedule for the basic and recall (booster) immunizations, or shall present a written waiver. The Lead Agency's administrative rules require child care programs to maintain child records, including child immunization history, enrollment forms and attendance records, so an accurate measurement of compliance with DHS immunization requirements can be made during onsite audits. Immunization requirements for child care programs can be found here: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/immunization/reqs.htm. The Lead Agency annually provides DHS with contact information for all licensed child care programs. DHS then sends licensed programs a required report/assessment which the programs use to submit to DHS the most recent immunization records on file. The Lead Agency works extensively with DHS and has coordinated with them in the development of a computer system that will allow public health data to be used for research purposes related to early childhood issues. The Lead Agency, in conjunction with DHS, created Active Early: A Wisconsin Guide for Improving Childhood Physical Activity and the companion Healthy Bites: A Wisconsin Guide for Improving Childhood Nutrition in 2011 with a revision to the Healthy Bites in 2014. Both the Lead Agency and DHS promote Active Early's corresponding four-hour training course for child care providers and parents and Healthy Bites' eight-hour module to ensure quality health-related information reaches providers and parents. f. State/Territory agency responsible for employment services/workforce development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency ensures coordination between the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program and the Wisconsin Works (W-2) TANF program. W-2 and Wisconsin Shares eligibility workers disseminate information that supports parents' access to high quality, affordable child care arrangements that allow a parent to be engaged in their W-2 approved employability plan activity. The Lead Agency ensures strong coordination of W2 and child care policies that support low-income families' access to needed supports to attain and maintain employment. For example, print materials are disseminated widely to W-2 agencies to ensure families are aware of child care subsidy program. g. State/Territory agency responsible for public education, including pre-Kindergarten. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency actively participates on the DPI State Superintendent's Advisory Committee on four-year-Old Kindergarten (4K). That participation ensures open communication and dissemination of information related to early care and education quality improvement efforts. Collaborative approaches to child care and 4K settings are promoted throughout Wisconsin to provide full-day care arrangements that meet the needs of parents and families. In the collaborative model, school districts partner with child care providers to provide 4K services in regulated child care settings. The Lead Agency is a founding member of the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards (WMELS) Leadership Team. The WMELS provides the framework for families, professionals, and policymakers to understand the connection between the foundations of early childhood, K-12 educational experiences, and lifelong learning. The Leadership Team role ensures fidelity of approved training content and approved trainer competencies and implementation of WMELS Guiding Principles. h. State/Territory agency responsible for child care licensing. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency is responsible for licensing functions as well as the child care subsidy program. Both program areas are part of the same Division and coordinate on all aspects of the programs to ensure the highest level of service to the children and families across the state. i. State/Territory agency responsible for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and other relevant nutrition programs. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency coordinates with DPI, which has primary responsibility for the administration of the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), and with the Wisconsin CACFP Sponsors Forum, a group of organizations that administer CACFP in Wisconsin's family child care programs. The Lead Agency regularly communicates with DPI and child care programs to promote provider use of the CACFP as a best practice and includes this quality practice within the business and professional practices section of YoungStar. Programs receive support around participating in the CACFP through technical consultation services delivered by CCR&R agencies and the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA). In addition, DPI regularly shares information with quality and regulatory areas of the Lead Agency. j. McKinney-Vento State coordinators for homeless education and other agencies providing services for children experiencing homelessness and, to the extent practicable, local McKinney-Vento liaisons. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency collaborates with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), Head Start Collaboration Office (HSCO), and other stakeholders to support a multi-generational approach to support families who are experiencing homelessness. In addition, the Parent Caregiver Equity Advisory Cabinet (PCEAC) continuously works to raise awareness of the unique needs and hopes of all vulnerable and underserved populations, including children and families experiencing homelessness. k. State/Territory agency responsible for the TANF program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency has direct responsibility for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and CCDF Programs. Administrators, Deputy Administrators, and other assigned staff from both program areas meet monthly to coordinate services such as the availability at the Jobs Centers of onsite child care services that enable vulnerable populations to receive comprehensive services at the same location. Comprehensive services include job training and other technical assistance for the parents and quality child care for their children. Additional coordination goals include the exchange of information about the Wisconsin Shares program to contracted agencies administering the Wisconsin Works (TANF) program in order to ensure families participating in TANF programs receive information on the child care subsidy program and the importance of choosing high-quality child care for their children. Additionally, both programs partnered in a Demonstration Pilot Project that covers the parent share portion of child care costs for individuals participating in a TANF program and receiving Wisconsin Shares. The purpose of this project is to examine how the incentive of covering all of the child care costs for a parent impact the use of subsidized child care as well as the engagement and employment outcomes for parents such as job retention. Through the CCDBG/OPRE grant, the Lead Agency is analyzing the use of CCDF and TANF to evaluate the effectiveness of CCDBG reauthorization changes. l. State/Territory agency responsible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency coordinates with DHS to ensure that information about Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is available to families at local human services agencies. These same agencies are contracted by the Lead Agency to administer the child care subsidy program. The Lead Agency coordinates with DHS for the child care eligibility application process with FoodShare, Medicaid programs, and W2 programs through the combined online ACCESS application process. This single combined application supports greater access and provides linkages to other services. The Lead Agency is working to further identify and reduce inefficiencies and barriers that families experience when navigating the early care and education programs administered by multiple agencies. This collaborative infrastructure involves participation by the Lead and partnering agencies on the Governor's Leadership Cooperative on Early Years (LCEY) and Health Equity Council (HEC). The Governor's HEC is charged with creating a comprehensive plan to achieve long- lasting and equitable health outcomes for all Wisconsinites. The plan will address health disparities based on race, economic status, education level, history of incarceration, and geographic location. m. State/Territory agency responsible for mental health services. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: In pursuit of equitable and quality outcomes for all children interacting with Wisconsin early childhood programs, the Lead Agency coordinates with DHS and the Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health (OCMH). OCMH monitors 48 indicators of child wellbeing, including positive factors and interventions as well as negative factors. OCMH reports on the indicators annually to the Wisconsin Legislature in order to gauge how Wisconsin is supporting young children and indicates places for improvement. The Lead Agency participates with OCMH as part of a Collective Impact with other state agencies and community partners. In addition, the Lead Agency contracted with the Wisconsin Alliance for Infant Mental Health (WI-AIMH) and its work promoting the Wisconsin Pyramid Model for Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. A recommendation has been made by the ECAC to address the challenge of early suspension and expulsion and the resulting inequities, by investing in training and coaching for caregivers and creating a statewide infant and early childhood mental health consultation system to support the social and emotional learning for children. n. Child care resource and referral agencies, child care consumer education organizations, and providers of early childhood education training and professional development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency contracts with the Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA), the umbrella organization for the state's nine CCR&R agencies. Each CCR&R agency provides four core services for the entire population, including tribal communities, within their designated service delivery area (SDA). Each agency must ensure that all services are available in a family's and/or provider's preferred language and, when reasonable, in locations convenient to families and/or providers. The four core services include: Referrals to Families: Each CCR&R agency ensures that all families in their SDA have access to comprehensive, high-quality consumer education and referrals so that they can make informed decisions about child care and school-age care services. Specifically, they provide consumer education to families related to the selection of child care and school- age care, information on how to recognize quality early care, the developmental benefits of choosing high-quality, and referrals to other appropriate human service and community resources. In addition, the Lead Agency partnering with the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board (CANPB) to enhance family navigator programs through implementation of consistent standards and training for staff of family resource centers. Technical Assistance to Families: Each CCR&R agency ensures that all families in their SDA have access to education on child development, developmental screening, choosing quality child care and school-age care, and other parenting supports. Training and Technical Assistance to Child Care and School-Age Care Providers: Each CCR&R agency ensures that all providers in their SDA have access to high-quality training and technical assistance opportunities to ensure that families have access to high-quality care. They must offer high-quality, evidence-based training opportunities to both regulated and unregulated providers. They must offer services and resources to help providers offer high-quality care and attain higher skill levels through newsletters, electronic communications, lending libraries and resource rooms. They must offer services to help unregulated providers become regulated and connect to YoungStar. Finally, each agency implements strategies to target underserved populations, including license- exempt family child care providers, programs that have opted for automated 2 Star ratings in YoungStar, unregulated providers, and tribal communities. Community Collaborations and Visibility: Each CCR&R agency is a highly visible partner in their SDA with existing early education stakeholders and community leaders, as well as a liaison between families, providers, and other community stakeholders. The Lead Agency regularly monitors service deliverables for each CCR&R agency around these four core services. For example, the Lead Agency measures the number of unique families receiving referral services, the number of unique families receiving referrals to other support services, and the number of trainings and/or technical assistance interactions with both families and providers. Each CCR&R agency must also attempt to serve all clients that contact them seeking support for the types of services offered under this contract. o. Statewide afterschool network or other coordinating entity for out-of-school time care (if applicable). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Wisconsin Afterschool Network (WAN) and the Lead Agency collaborate in a number of different ways with the goal of creating and supporting quality school-age programs to meet the needs of working families with school-age children. WAN is an active participant in the development and refinement of the school-age criteria for YoungStar. In addition, the Lead Agency and WAN have collaborated on a number of professional development resources for school-age providers, including creation of regional institutes and webinars that help increase the quality of school-age programs across the state. The Lead Agency collaborates with WAN on a number of initiatives to create and support quality school-age program to meet the needs of working families with school-age children. WAN is contracted to provide the support for school-age programs within YoungStar. As part of the collaboration WAN contracts with coaches, consultants, and resources for programs participating in the YoungStar quality improvement system. Additionally, to support YoungStar, WAN provides foundational courses to help staff meet licensing requirements, and advanced professional development opportunities to program leads and supervisory staff through credit-based courses, state-wide OST conference, regional institutes and cohort groups, webinars, and podcasts. p. Agency responsible for emergency management and response. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Lead Agency works closely with the Division of Emergency Management to ensure that all child care related policies, systems, and resources are available to Emergency Management staff in the event of a natural or man- made disaster. Lead Agency staff also participate in Federal and State disaster training exercises bi-annually. This process was solidified during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for multiple agencies to provide staff to the Emergency Management Center for distribution and coordination of PPE supplies across the state. q. The following are examples of optional partners a Lead Agency might coordinate with to provide services. Check which optional partners the Lead Agency coordinates with and describe the coordination and results of the coordination. i. [x] State/Territory/local agencies with Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants. Describe: The Lead Agency includes the HSCO and collaborates to coordinate services through the nine Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership (EHS- CCP) located across the state. Specific collaboration efforts are included in the HSCO five-year plan. ii. [x] State/Territory institutions for higher education, including community colleges. Describe: The Lead Agency piloted a specific project in the City of Milwaukee where 30 child care providers can participate in free early care and education related course work at the Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC). https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/files/childcare/pdf/53206/53206-teach-reward.pdf. The Lead Agency also collaborates with technical colleges and universities across the state in the development of online course work for early care and education staff. iii. [ ] Other federal, State, local, and/or private agencies providing early childhood and school-age/youth-serving developmental services. Describe: iv. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for implementing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs grant. Describe: The Wisconsin Family Foundations Home Visiting Program (FFHV) is led by the Lead Agency and is funded through a combination of federal and state dollars. FFHV programs are voluntary for families and use intensive, nationally proven models and strategies to support pregnant women and families with a child under five. v. [ ] Agency responsible for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program. Describe: vi. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for child welfare. Describe: Regular meetings occur between leadership in early care and education and child welfare to assure ongoing communication and information sharing about the range of areas related to out-of-home care and child care subsidy collaboration. Because it is an important goal for children in an out-of-home placement to have continuity of care in their child care if possible, and to be able to access quality child care during and after the out-of-home placement, a guide, Wisconsin Shares for Children in Out-of-Home Care Placements, was created to help those caring for children who have been placed in out-of-home care navigate the child care subsidy program. The guide is made available on the Wisconsin Shares webpage and is provided by child care eligibility workers and through Child Protective Services staff. vii. [x] Child care provider groups or associations. Describe: The Lead Agency conducts Networking meetings twice a year in five different locations across the state and virtually since the pandemic. Participants include representatives from provider associations and partner agencies that work with child care providers. The purpose of these meetings is to exchange information, collaborate on projects and initiatives, and problem solve issues or concerns occurring in the specific regions of the state. viii. [ ] Parent groups or organizations. Describe: ix. [ ] Title IV B 21st Century Community Learning Center Coordinators. Describe: x. [ ] Other. Describe: