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. [ ] 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: Child care providers are to receive a wage increase by the provider employer upon completion of Apprentice for Child Development Specialist. To aid in retention, child care providers receive a bonus payment upon completion of one of the voluntary WV Child Care Credentials: the General Credential and Specialty Credentials in Infant and Toddler, Pre-School, Director and Family Child Care. The credentials include a general and specializations in Infant Toddler, Pre-School, Director and Family Child Care. Pathway to Earnings Scholarship - which provides scholarship assistance to providers seeking higher education opportunities Pathway to Earnings Bonus program - which rewards child care providers who attain higher levels of education and training. 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. West Virginia developed and implemented a formal system of child care credentials. Through a voluntary application process, applicants submit formal documentation via a professional portfolio. Upon approval of the portfolio and approval of the applicant’s credential status, a bonus of $500.00 is available through submission of verification to your local Child Care Resource and Referral agency. In addition, child care providers were able to receive a $1000 one-time bonus through the Preschool Development Grant Birth through 5. That grant ends June 30, 2024. Should states such as West Virginia with Planning Grants be permitted to renew, it is anticipated that financial bonuses would be available again to improve the compensation of the child care workforce. 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. West Virginia has no ongoing efforts and plans to expand access to these benefits. d. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to support the mental health and well-being of the child care workforce. West Virginia provides opportunities for childcare providers to engage in targeted professional development to support provider mental health and well-being through specific module-based trainings in WVIT-R and individual training sessions at the annual Great Beginnings Infant Toddler Conference and Celebrating Connections Early Childhood Conference. e. Describe any other strategies the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to support providers’ recruitment and retention of the child care workforce. NA 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 6 Quality Improvement Specialist at the CCR&R agencies is obtaining certification in the Program Assessment Scale (PAS) which focuses on the quality of administrative, management, and leadership practices of early childhood programs. A PAS summit is offered for child care center program administrators to assist them in utilizing the scale to enhance program management and business practices. 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. [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: According to the 2018-2022 Census, only 2.5 of West Virginia's population for persons ages 5+ years speaks a language other than English at home, encompassing a wide range of languages from Hindi to Chinese. Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) agencies use a language translation phone service to ensure that these populations are adequately served. The CCR&R agency is able to contact the translation service via phone to schedule a specific time, convenient to the child care provider, to fulfill the need for translation. Because of the lack of demand, West Virginia has not conducted any statewide activities aimed at providers with limited English proficiency. b. Providers and staff who have disabilities: The Lead Agency partners with Birth to Three, Behavioral Health agencies, the West Virginia Department of Education, and Family Resource Centers to assist providers with disabilities in accessing services. The Lead Agency supports providers wishing to participate in the child care system in West Virginia, including providers with disabilities, and facilitates their participation if they want to register as a family child care home or want to become licensed to operate a child care facility, center or school age program. The Lead Agency will provide materials produced by the Bureau that meet accessibility standards and provide and help link these potential or current providers to information about local ADA contacts for equal access.