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. [ ] 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. [ ] Providing scholarships or tuition support for center-based child care staff and family child care providers. viii. [x] Other. Describe: The Department is working with the State Capacity Building Center through an Impact Project Grant to develop a Provider Toolkit to assist interested persons in becoming a licensed child care provider in Wyoming and to also assist those already licensed with maintaining licensure. The Toolkit once completed will be available in both English and Spanish. Additionally, the Department is working in coordination with the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services for referrals of individuals seeking their employment services who may be interested in working in child care or becoming a licensed child care provider. The Department’s Child Care Resource and Referral Program Manager or Child Care Technical Assistance Coach then works with these individuals to complete the necessary background checks and credentialing requirements so that they are immediately available to work unsupervised upon hiring by a licensed or registered child care provider or facility. 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 Department is currently in the process of gathering proposed initiatives to improve the compensation of the child care workforce in Wyoming. 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. The Department is currently in the process of gathering proposed initiatives to improve the compensation of the child care workforce in Wyoming. d. Describe any Lead Agency ongoing efforts and future plans to support the mental health and well-being of the child care workforce. The Wyoming Early Childhood Behavioral Consultants (WYECBC) are working to provide behavioral resources for early childhood professionals. WYECBC consultants work with educators, children and families to enhance children's early childhood years. The WYECBC provides specific staff training and teacher support in mental health related concerns. Early Childhood Behavioral Consultants use best practices to work alongside early childhood professionals in the learning/care environment, with respect to the early childhood professional’s schedule and experience and knowledge. The WYECBC consultants share strategies, look at and model evidence-based practices, and help implement individual plans for care for your most challenging children. In addition, WYECBC works with early childhood professionals to address and hopefully prevent behaviors from children going forward that are taxing on teaching staff and interfering with classroom guidance and instruction. e. Describe any other strategies the Lead Agency is developing and/or implementing to support providers’ recruitment and retention of the child care workforce. 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 Department is not currently developing or implementing strategies to strengthen child care providers' business management and administrative 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. [ ] Fiscal management. ii. [x] Budgeting. iii. [ ] Recordkeeping. iv. [x] Hiring, developing, and retaining qualified staff. v. [ ] Risk management. vi. [ ] Community relationships. vii. [ ] Marketing and public relations. viii. [ ] Parent-provider communications. ix. [ ] 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 Department is aware that having the required documents, forms, and licensing rules in the provider’s preferred language could be a barrier to becoming and/or staying licensed. Currently the Department’s staff works with translators, translator hotline, and the Latino Resource Center to assist with the recruitment of providers, registration of providers and technical assistance to providers. The Department is also working with the State Capacity Building Center through an Impact Project Grant to develop a Provider Toolkit to assist interested persons in becoming a licensed child care provider in Wyoming and to also assist those already licensed with maintaining licensure. The Toolkit once completed will be available in both English and Spanish. Additionally, the Department is currently reviewing all of its licensing rules and regulations and will have finalized rules available in English as well as Spanish. These rules and regulations are also available online and can be translated into the provider’s preferred language through the selected browser options. b. Providers and staff who have disabilities: The Department’s rules, regulations are available online to the public and can be accessed through assistive technology such as e-readers and enlarged print. The required documents, forms and licensing rules could also be provided in large print format if requested. Additionally, Department staff can work with TDD and other available interpreter services to better assist providers with hearing and/or visual limitations.