State and Territory Administrators MeetingSeptember, 2016Alexandria, VA

Creating a Meaningful Monitoring System for License-exempt Providers

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Welcome!Welcome!

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IntroductionsTracy Gruber, JDDirector of the Office of Child CareSenior Advisor of the Intergenerational Poverty InitiativeUtah Department of Workforce Services

Ann Stockham-MejiaChild Care Subsidy Program ManagerUtah Department of Workforce Services

Nicole NorvellChild Care AdministratorIndiana Family and Social Services Administration

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Opportunity for Change

The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 presents an opportunity to create an entry point to the quality improvement system for license-exempt homes and centers.

CHARACTERISTICS

State ContextProvider CharacteristicsSystem CharacteristicsState Data

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State Context: Child Care in Utah

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State Context: Child Care in Indiana

2002Basic standards added as accountability for public funding, and monitoring was contracted out

2009Supervision requirements and safe sleep trainings were added to the law

2013Legislature passed comprehensive standards, which were phased in over 2 years

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State Context: Child Care in Indiana• School-age licensure exemptions

– Preschool and school-age programs operated by the department of education or a public or private school

– Programs whose primary purpose is to provide social, recreational, or religious activities for school-age children

– Programs operated by a public or private secondary school that provide care on school premises for children of students or employees and comply with health and safety standards

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State Context: Child Care in Indiana• School-age licensure exemptions

– School-age child care programs (commonly referred to as latch key programs) operated by the department of education, a public or private school, or a public or private organization under a written contract with the department of education or a public/private school

– Recreation programs operating no more than 90 days in a calendar year

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State Context: Child Care in Indiana

• Other licensure exemptions– Home providers that do not receive regular compensation,

care only for related children, care for less than six unrelated children, or operate to serve migrant children

– Nonresidential programs that provide child care for less than 4 hours a day

– Programs serving migrant children – Child care ministries

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Characteristics of License-Exempt Providers and Families

• Demographics• Conditions of child care• Needs• Desires• Beliefs• Motivation• Knowledge

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System-Level Characteristics

Current and longitudinal subsidy data• Children served by age group• Children served by program type• Programs by type of careCurrent and longitudinal licensing Data• Compliance and enforcement• Number of visits

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Utah Data

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500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Number of Programs by Care Type

Center Family RC FFN

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Utah Data

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Utah Data

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Utah DataAll Programs Accepting Subsidy

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Utah DataFFN Providers

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Indiana DataA total of 22,870 families and 44,250 children were authorized for child care through CCDF as of August 2016.

79%

21%

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Indiana Data

2,497

506

373

295 188

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Indiana Data

.5%

43.7%

22.5%

32.6%

6%

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Indiana Data

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Indiana Data

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• Current demographics– Vanderburgh County has

the greatest proportion of children served in legally license exempt providers (LLEP) care at 15.2%

Indiana Data

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Indiana DataLLEP Participation Over Time

Year Exempt Centers** Exempt Homes** Registered Ministries2007 317 1,061 6672008 306 706 7022009 297 699 7122010 288 568 7432011 278 464 7352012 303 423 7012013 298 326 6492014 295 257 6622015 339 220 6752016 337 185 666

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Characteristics of ProvidersWhat do you know about license-exempt homes and centers in your State, Territory, or community?

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Characteristics of FamiliesWhat do you know about the families who use license-exempt homes and centers in your State, Territory, or community?

STRATEGIESState StrategiesAdditional StrategiesLeveraging Supports

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Utah: Hurdles to Overcome

1. I’m Grandma-I know how to keep my kids safe2. Over-regulation3. Language Barriers4. Background Check fees

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Utah’s Strategies for Implementing Standards & Monitoring

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Utah’s Strategies for Implementing Standards & Monitoring

1. Reasonable Timelines2. Diverse Working Groups3. Specialized Staff4. Address language and cultural barriers5. Develop Relationships and Trust

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Utah’s Communication Strategies

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Indiana’s StrategiesLicensed-exempt provider monitoring• Indiana contracts for the monitoring of exempt

homes and centers (not registered ministries)

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Indiana’s Strategies• Visits are unannounced, conducted within a given

quarter, and done at least annually• Visits are done jointly with a quality rating and

improvement system rater for school-based providers whenever possible

• Providers who wish to receive CCDF funding, including relative providers, must meet all eligibility standards before they can provide care and receive payment

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Indiana’s StrategiesLicense-exempt providers in Paths to QUALITY• Public schools that administer preschool programs can enroll in

Paths to QUALITY using a pathway designed specifically for public schools. Benefits include:– Free onsite coaching;– Awards and incentives;– Tiered reimbursement;– Support in achieving accreditation at Paths to QUALITY Level 3 or Level

4; and – Eligibility to participate in the State’s prekindergarten pilot program, On

My Way Pre-K.• Private schools are eligible for the state-funded prekindergarten pilot

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Indiana’s StrategiesTraining and qualifications for license-exempt consultants• Working knowledge of child care and the applicable

regulations • Child Development Associate credential or associate degree in

early childhood education or other related field• Consultants participate in all OECOSL staff meetings• Consultants are housed in the OECOSL central office • Each consultant completes job shadowing of state licensing

consultants

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Additional StrategiesStrength based, relationship based, and culturally tailored for the community

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Strategies

• Support groups (culturally tailored)

• Technical assistance on accessing and utilizing resources

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Strategies• Linking FFN and

publically funded centers

• Training and distribution of resources

• Home visiting• Play and learn groups

Source: Weber, 2013

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Strategies• Professional development

opportunities• Preparation for new

monitoring requirements• Aligning monitoring and

standards• Using Caring for Our

Children Basics as a reference point

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Strategies: Leveraging Existing Supports

• Child care resource and referral• School-age networks• Family child care networks• Infant and toddler networks• Training hubs• Other providers• Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP)• Home visiting programs• Licensing

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Strategies

• What initiatives have you tried or considered?

• What did/would you need in order to succeed?

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Strategies

How do you prepare staff (monitors, trainers, and technical assistant staff) to work with license-exempt homes and centers?

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Strategies

• How do we move forward with this information?

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Contact Information

• Tracy Gruber: tgruber@utah.gov• Ann Stockham-Mejia: astockham@utah.gov• Nicole Norvell: nicole.norvell@fssa.in.gov• Siobhan Bredin: sbredin@edc.org• Nina Johnson: nina.johnson@icfi.com

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ResourcesAdministration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). Caring for our children basics: Health and safety foundations for early care and education. Retrieved from http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/ecd/caring_for_our_children_basics.pdf

Early Childhood Training and Technical Assistance System, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). National resources on family child care webpage. Retrieved from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/national-resources-family-child-care

Indigo Cultural Center. (n.d.). Products and reports webpage. Retrieved from http://indigoculturalcenter.org/products-and-reports/

Lawrence, S., & Stephens, S. (2016). Quality improvement in home-based child care settings: Research resources to inform policy. Retrieved from http://www.researchconnections.org/childcare/resources/30913

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ResourcesOffice of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). CCDF health and safety requirements fact sheet: Health and safety training. Retrieved from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/public/286_1508_healthsafety_summary_training_final_0.pdf

Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). Research brief #1: Trends in child care center licensing regulations and policies for 2014. Retrieved from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/resource/research-brief-1-trends-child-care-center-licensing-regulations-and-policies-2014

Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2015). Research brief #2: Trends in family child care home licensing regulations and policies for 2014. Retrieved from https://childcareta.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/public/315_1511_fcch_licensing_trends_brief_2014_final_508_0.pdf

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Reference

Weber, R. B. (2013). A review of the research literature: Improving the quality of family, friend, and neighbor care. Oregon State University Family Policy Program, Oregon Child Care Research Partnership. Retrieved from http://health.oregonstate.edu/sites/default/files/occrp/pdf/Improving-the-Quality-of-Family-Friend-and-Neighbor-Care-2013-Review-of-the-Literature.pdf

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Thank you!

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