Title: January Board Meeting
1January Board Meeting
2EEC Guiding Principles
- Put children and family first
- Be flexible and accountable
- Balance access, affordability, quality, and
coordination/continuity of care - Prioritize the needs of low-income families
- Build on strengths of current system minimize
weaknesses maximize resources - Seek input from staff and stakeholders
- Keep interested parties informed of progress
- Provide timely and comprehensive information to
Board for decision-making
3Agenda
- Allocation of FY07 Accreditation and Professional
Development Funds Discussion and Vote - FY07 Universal Pre-K Pilot Grant Criteria
Discussion and Vote - FY08 Budget Priorities
- Discussion and Vote
- Regulation Reform Update
- Discussion
4Allocation of FY07 Accreditation Funds
- September, 2006
- Board voted to approve distribution of FY07
accreditation funds as follows - .89 M CPC Transitional Funding for July
Dec 2006 - .85 M New Accreditation RFR for Jan
June 2007 - 1.74 M Line item appropriation (3000-6000)
- Further review of grant award process revealed
large gaps in statewide coverage due to - Structure of grant application
- Variance in applications received and
- Limited resources to fund program.
5Allocation of FY07 Accreditation
FundsRecommendation
- Remainder of FY07 (January June 2007)
- Award remaining accreditation funding based on
CPC FY 2007 Continuation Grant applications.
Vote required - CPCs would be awarded about the same amount of
funding they received in their transitional
budget awards during the first half of this
fiscal year. - FY 2008
- Begin work immediately on an FY08 bid process
that more effectively reflects our common
priorities regarding accreditation services.
6Allocation of FY07 Professional Development Funds
- September, 2006
- Board voted to approve distribution of FY07
accreditation funds as follows - .87 M CPC Transitional Funding for July
Dec 2006 - .63 M New PD RFRs for Jan June 2007
- 1.5 M Line item appropriation (3000-6050)
- July Dec 2006 Transitional Funding amount was
based on FY07 Continuation Grant application
requests. - Further review of grant award process revealed
large gaps in statewide coverage due to - Structure of grant application
- Variance in applications received and
- Limited resources to fund program.
- Two month delay caused by 9c cuts disrupted
process further.
7Allocation of FY07 Professional Development
FundsRecommendation
- Remainder of FY07 (January June 2007)
- Award remaining professional development funding
based on CPC FY 2007 Continuation Grant
applications - Vote required - Funds would be awarded to CPCs from the balance
of available FY07 funding. - Grant amounts would be pro-rated, based on
remaining funding and would equals about 71 of
CPCs proposed January-June 2007 professional
development budgets. - FY 2008
- Begin work immediately on an FY08 bid process
that more effectively reflects our common
priorities regarding accreditation services.
8Universal Pre-Kindergarten PilotCurrent EEC
Requirements
- UPK Pilot fulfills EEC enabling statute
- oversee the development and implementation of
a program of voluntary, universally accessible,
high-quality early childhood education to all
preschool-aged children in the Commonwealth,
subject to appropriation - encourage family choice by ensuring a mixed
system of high-quality public and private
programs, with local points of entry, staffed by
well-qualified professionals - advance the quality of early education and care
programs in order to support the healthy
development of children and preparation for their
success in school.
9Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot FY2007
Budget/Legislative Requirements
- Pilot Implementation grants to be delivered
through a mixed system of service delivery - Allows EEC to give preference for funding
pre-school classrooms in towns and cities with
schools and districts at risk or determined to be
under-performing
10Universal Pre-Kindergarten PilotCurrent System
for Pre-school Aged Children
- Background
- About 160,000 pre-school aged children in
Massachusetts - Approximately 141,500 or 89 are served in
- Family Child Care
- Center-based care
- Local Public Schools
- Head Start
- Other (e.g. private schools)
- EEC supports 167.4 M in financial assistance for
approximately 31,731 pre-school aged children
through contracts, vouchers and CPC grants - Head Start and local public schools provide
additional funding for an estimated 33,000
children
11Universal Pre-Kindergarten PilotMassachusetts
Pre-School Age Population Overview
12Universal Pre-Kindergarten PilotCurrent System
for Pre-school Aged Children
- Many strengths
- Existing mixed and diverse delivery system
- Adequate accessibility for pre-school age
children at 89 - Many challenges
- Affordability/Payment to Providers providers
accepting state subsidies face administrative
burden and inequitable/inadequate reimbursement. - Quality standards, policies and requirements not
aligned to support continuous quality
improvement. - Access to high quality differing eligibility
criteria and inconsistent information lead to
uneven access for families.
13Universal Pre-Kindergarten PilotProposal
- Designed to address challenges of existing
system - Affordability/Payment to Providers
- New, consistent funding for quality grants in
addition to basic EEC rate - Quality
- Defining a quality standard across all program
types, leading to . . . - Access to high quality
- On a more even basis for children from all
incomes
14Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Short Term Goals
- Meet short-term challenges first
- Define measurable characteristics of quality that
lead to positive outcomes - Focus on defining and supporting quality first,
then expand access - Provide adequate and consistent funding for
programs meeting quality criteria - Test funding approaches to ensure participation
from all components of mixed system and - Define scope of data collection and technology
system needs to support good decision making at
Board/policymaker level and accountability/efficie
ncy at program level. - Provide technical assistance and funding to
support programs in reaching UPK criteria for
future years -
15Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot FY08 and Beyond
Goals
- Further refine assessment criteria by
- Working with assessment publishers to further
align assessments - Adding other tools that align with Standards and
Guidelines and can be used electronically - Developing statewide indicators that can be
assessed with or without purchased assessment
tools. - Continue working on cost/quality analysis to
determine award amount - Provide technical assistance and funding to
support programs in reaching UPK criteria - Propose options for increasing statewide access
for all children - Review and adjust UPK program standards/criteria
as needed to improve program quality.
16Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot FY2007 Proposal
Overview
- Program participation is optional
- NO changes to current provider requirements for
other programs - Quality bar is set intentionally high
- Emphasis on defining and incentivizing quality
standard - Eligible programs determined by currently
identifiable quality characteristics - Assessment is critical component
- Funds awarded directly to eligible programs
- Funded as quality grant in addition to current
EEC rate
17Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Proposed
Program Criteria
- For FY07 UPK quality grant funding, eligible
programs would need to - Be serving or willing to serve publicly
subsidized children - Be providing or directly connected to provider of
full-day, full-year care for working families - Be providing a developmentally appropriate
program, as evidenced by use of - Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences
- One of four EEC-approved assessment tools, for at
least a year prior to grant award (Work Sampling,
High Scope Child Observation Record (COR),
Creative Curriculum Developmental Continuum, and
Ages and Stages) - Having access to qualified professional to ensure
appropriate administration of a developmentally
appropriate program - Meet two out of three additional quality
criteria - EEC Licensed or License-Exempt
- a. NAEYC accreditation for group child care
programs - b. CDA or NAFCC for family child care
- Provider has bachelors degree (BA/BS in any
subject, with specialized training in early
education)
18Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Request for
Information (RFI) - Review
- Assessed the feasibility of the proposed pilot
eligibility criteria - Gathered information to assist EEC in estimating
the minimum number and extent of providers
eligible to apply for UPK pilot implementation
grants and the number children served and - Informed the Request for Response (RFR) that will
be the basis for the application and awarding of
UPK pilot grants to programs.Â
19Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot
Implications/Findings from RFI Analysis
- Because of fixed amount of FY07 funding
- Keeping grant criteria as proposed and allowing
all eligible providers access to some funding
would lead to very minimal awards. - Broadening criteria to include more programs
(e.g. allowing more assessment options) would
further decrease awards amounts, but broaden
access. - Narrowing criteria (e.g., requiring BA degree to
qualify) would ensure more meaningful awards, but
would narrow access.
20Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot RFR Criteria
Comments from EEC Board and Transition Team
- Criteria can remain unchanged
- HOWEVER size and distribution of awards should
be - Large enough to be meaningful,
- Focused on most needy communities/children, and
- Designed to ensure a mixed delivery system with
regional representation.
21Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Proposal for
formula funding distribution
- Includes children receiving financial assistance
through CPC funding, vouchers, contracts, and
Head Start. EEC will use a proxy for subsidy
level for schools. - Total UPK Classroom Grant is in addition to
EEC basic rate. Amounts shown are based on a
full-time, full-year program.
22Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Examples of
formula funding distribution
But funding will be prioritized.
23Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Prioritization
of Grant Awards
- Fund programs with highest concentrations of
children receiving financial assistance - Ensure participation across all regions
- Ensure participation across types of programs
24Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Possible Fund
Uses
- If recipients do not have the capacity to submit
assessment data electronically to EEC in required
form, they must use funds for that purpose first. - On-going funds may be used to
- Increase teacher salaries
- Enhance program ability to interpret and use
assessment data effectively - Enhance developmentally appropriate practice
- Support staff professional development
opportunities - Incorporate ancillary services into the program
(e.g. social workers, speech therapists, etc.) - Provide or facilitate access to wrap-around
services for working families - One-time start-up funds may be used to
- Upgrade technology systems to enable electronic
assessment data collection and submission - Provide one-time training needs for
staff/administrators in administering one of the
four assessments - Improve classroom materials or equipment or
purchase program supplies/equipment needed to
support the delivery of UPK quality level
services. - Recipients will need to verify the use of awarded
funds.
25Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot FY07-FY08
Appropriation Allocation
26Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot UPK Assessment
Planning Grants
- For programs meeting all quality criteria but
assessment - To plan for participation in UPK classroom
funding in subsequent years - Grant would range from 2,500-10,000 based on
program size - Fund uses would include
- Purchase of assessment instruments including
electronic reporting system - Professional development for staff to
- perform ongoing child assessments
- use assessment results to adapt program
curriculum and improve child outcomes and - share progress reports with parents, and with
other schools and programs when children
transition.
27Universal Pre-Kindergarten PilotProjected UPK
Implementation Rollout
In future years, EEC would continue to prioritize
programs serving higher proportions of subsidized
children, and move toward universal eligibility
over time with additional funding.
28Universal Pre-Kindergarten Pilot Proposed
Timeline
29FY07-FY08 Spending Plan
- Administration and Finance capped FY08 at 1
- FY08 Spending Plan not yet approved
- Assumes that all 9c cuts are restored
30FY08 BudgetAdditional Proposals
- FY08 spending plan assumes full restoration of
all 9c cuts. - In addition to FY08 spending plan, EEC is
proposing additional budget requests and changes
in the following areas - Affordability- provider rate increase
- Access- financial assistance for families
- Quality initiatives
- Behavioral/Mental Health line item consolidation
and expansion - Administration
31FY08 BudgetAdditional Proposals
- Affordability
- Increasing rates to the 50th market percentile
would cost 56M - Increasing rates to the 75th percentile (federal
state plan goal) would cost 129M - FY08 Proposal
- 56M to raise rates to 50th percentile
- Plan for future increases to 75th percentile in
conjunction with cost and quality analysis
32FY08 BudgetProjections for Raising EEC Rates
Note Increases are based on existing rates and
market data from the 2006 Market Rate Survey.
FY07 rate increases are not included.
33FY08 BudgetAdditional Proposals
- Access
- FY06
- 14,000 children on waiting list for financial
assistance - Increased access for 3,600 children
- 8,289 children served through vouchers
- FY07 to date
- 19,000 children on waiting list
- With restoration of 9c cuts, maintaining same
access as FY06 - FY08 Proposal
- Increase access for 2,000 children
- 14M at 50th percentile
34FY08 BudgetAdditional Proposals
- Quality
- 15 million expansion for
- Practitioners
- Scholarships
- Training and workforce development
- Programs
- Assessment assistance
- Accreditation
- Early Childhood System
- Mass Family Networks
- Statewide Information Technology system
35FY08 BudgetAdditional Proposals
- Consolidation of Behavioral and Mental Health
funding - FY07 (in millions)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
- Mental Health Pilot Project for supportive child
care           0.63 - and behavioral support funds for flex pool
providers - Early Childhood Mental Health grants (before
9c)                1.40 - Behavior Management grants                       Â
                       0.75 -                                                  Â
                                           Â
      2.78 - FY08 (in millions)                 Â
- Early Childhood Behavior and Mental Health
supports   4.49 - Reflects additional demand (1.7M) for Mental
Health - supports funding   Â
36FY08 BudgetAdditional Proposals
- Administration-
- 500K above spending plan submission
- Needed to support reorganization and new EEC
responsibilities, including - Five new grants
- Scholarships
- Workforce Development plan
- Quality Rating System
- UPK program monitoring
- UPK assessment data collection and analysis
- Regulation Reform
- Contract re-procurement
- 700K for 14 additional licensors and 4
additional investigators to - restore staffing to prior FY2001 levels and
- reduce caseloads for Family Child Care and Group
Child Care licensors and investigators.
37FY08 BudgetSummary of Additional Proposals
- Affordability
- 56M to bring rates to 50th percentile
- Access
- 14M to take 2,000 children off waitlist
- Quality
- 15M for program quality improvement supports
- Administration
- 1.2M for new licensing staff and to support EEC
admin and monitoring efforts - Mental Health and Behavioral Issues
- Consolidation of line items and additional 1.7M
to support additional need for mental health
funding. - Additional funding for UPK informed by RFR
38Stages of EEC Family, Group, School Age Licensing
Regulation Development
- Board provides input on alignment approach
December 2005 -
- EEC develops draft regulations
January 2006 March 2007 - Intensive informal external review process
April-June 2007 - Board vote to send out for public comment
Fall 2007 - Implementation preparation Fall 2007
- Board vote on final regulations after revisions
Winter 2007 -
- Technical assistance/training Spring/Summer
2007 - New regulations take effect Fall 2008
- Some regulations may be phased in over time