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Building a professional infrastructure for early education and care

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Higher Education, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Professional development & preparation on November 16, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Early education and care providers are in the middle of several crises. There’s the pandemic. There’s the shrinking workforce. And there’s the pandemic-related mental health crisis that’s playing out in children’s lives.

To stabilize and strengthen the field, the Department of Early Education (EEC) is building a new professional infrastructure. These initiatives are part of the strategic action plan, EEC’s guiding vision for 2020-2025.

Earlier this month, EEC’s Advisory Council and its Workforce Council held a joint meeting to discuss a range of workforce issues and solutions.

“We wanted to get some insights on some of the very specific initiatives that are both being conceptualized at the moment as well as [those that] are ready to start launching,” EEC Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy said in her introduction. The goal is to build “the systems that we need to fuel our growth and recovery.”

The topics on the meeting’s agenda were:

• Status of EEC Workforce

• Launch of a Professional Registry

• Educator Credentialing, and

• EEC Professional Pathways

Here’s a summary of what was discussed. (more…)

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All licensed child care providers should apply for a child care stabilization grant

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Federal, Funding, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on October 14, 2021| 1 Comment »

Photo: mentatdgt from Pexels

The pandemic has taken a terrible toll on child care providers.

Fortunately, help is available. Providers can – and should – apply for federally funded Child Care Stabilization grants. All programs that are licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) are eligible.

Most important of all: Every program that applies and was open on March, 11, 2020, and is open now will receive funding.

The federal government has invested nearly $122 billion in Covid relief funds for K-12 schools.

Early education and care has received historic levels of relief funding as well, and providers should use these funds to stabilize and rebuild.

Most EEC-licensed programs have applied for the grant, but a small percentage still have not.

So here at Strategies for Children, we’re encouraging everyone to apply!

Strategies has been working with EEC to provide technical assistance in applying, and we’ve posted some helpful resources here.

To encourage everyone else to apply for the grant, we’ve shared the perspectives of providers who have already applied in two YouTube videos. (more…)

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EEC Board meeting today – tune in and catch up!

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Federal, Funding, Pre-kindergarten on September 14, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Tune in today at 1 p.m. to watch this school year’s first meeting of the Board of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

The meeting will cover a number of topics, including an update on EEC’s distribution of federal ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grants.

Now is a great time to catch up with the Board’s discussion of these important policy issues.

Last week at an emergency meeting, the Board voted to give Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy the authority to modify workforce regulations to help alleviate the ongoing workforce shortage.

Today the Board will hear EEC’s initial plan for these workforce modifications – a hot topic for the early childhood field. (more…)

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Child Care Stabilization Grant resources

Posted in COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Funding, Strategies for Children on August 10, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Photo: mentatdgt from Pexels

Now is the time — as we’ve blogged here and here — to apply for the Child Care Stabilization Grants that will be distributed by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

Here are a number of resources that can help as you apply for this noncompetitive grant.

NEW! Strategies for Children will host two information sessions TOMORROW. Here’s the registration information:

• Wednesday, August 11: 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Ju7XaNRgQMOm1z1xZtEt2g

• Wednesday, August 11: 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. (with Spanish interpretation)
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X6nwmqzVREicD1aJ5nGeeg

Strategies has also created an EEC Child Care Stabilization Grant Information Page on its website where you can find:

• SFC’s Guide to the Grant information sheets for GSA and FCC providers

• Google forms to collect questions and feedback for EEC

• upcoming information sessions and provider panels — as well as recordings of previous events, and

• additional application resources from EEC

EEC Resources

EEC Child Care Stabilization Grant: EEC’s grant information page has a number of useful resources, including:

• GSA Application PDF

• FCC Application PDF

• User Guide

• Video Library, and the

•C3 Formula Calculator

For even more help with the application contact the ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grants Help Desk Support at 833-600-2074.

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Apply for Covid relief funding now!

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Federal, Funding, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Strategies for Children on August 4, 2021| 3 Comments »

Act now! It’s time for early education and care providers in Massachusetts to apply for federal COVID-19 relief funds.

The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) has just released the application. Licensed providers can use their LEAD login information to apply here.

As we’ve blogged, the funds — $314 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Child Care Stabilization money – will be distributed through an accessible process.

Your program can receive up to six monthly payments to support operating costs.

In an email, EEC Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy adds, “This unprecedented influx of federal funds is aimed at providing short-term financing for child care providers to help sustain program operations despite enrollment fluctuations and ensure the continued availability of care in under-resourced communities.”

Who is eligible? (more…)

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Resources for learning all about Covid relief grants for early education

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Family child care, Federal, Funding, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, National, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on July 20, 2021| 3 Comments »

Photo: mentatdgt from Pexels

Massachusetts child care providers – get ready to apply for a federal COVID-19 relief fund grant!

The funds are coming soon, and they will help providers emerge from the pandemic and rebuild.

Based on feedback from the field, the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) is committed to creating an “accessible application process.”

Strategies for Children

There are a number of ways that you can learn more about these grants before the application is released. (more…)

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Meet our summer interns

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, English language learners, Language development, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, National, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on July 6, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Melissa Charles

Melissa Charles

I am a student at Bunker Hill Community College pursuing my associate degree. However, this fall I will transfer to Smith College and study economics.

I was born in Geneva Switzerland and left the country at age three. By the time I started kindergarten in the United States, French and Haitian Creole were my first languages. As a child. I was not celebrated for my multilingual abilities. In fact, compared to my peers, I was seen as having a deficit. Fortunately, I learned English quickly, and within a few months, I had completely adapted.

During my internship at Strategies for Children (SFC), I have been carrying my early childhood experience with me. I am interested in early education and care that includes a focus on emerging multi-language learners and on families who rely heavily on assistance programs and would benefit from supportive, grassroots policies.

In my policy and advocacy work, I hope to grow SFC’s social media presence through outreach and campaigns, drawing on my experience as a marketing intern for my hometown of Stoneham, Mass. Through my work with the SFC team, I hope to advance budget and policy ideas that may have not been prioritized in the past. (more…)

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KIDS COUNT 2021

Posted in COVID-19, Demographics, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Developmentally appropriate practice, equity, Family engagement, Funding, Health, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, National on June 30, 2021| Leave a Comment »

KIDS COUNT Screenshot

The new 2021 KIDS COUNT Data Book is out.

Released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, this 32^nd edition describes “how children across the United States were faring before — and during — the coronavirus pandemic.”

“This year’s publication continues to deliver the Foundation’s annual state rankings and the latest available data on child well-being. It identifies multiyear trends — comparing statistics from 2010 to 2019.” The KIDS COUNT data center provides more details.

This year’s good news: Massachusetts ranks an impressive #1 among all 50 states in overall child well-being.

The caveat: Massachusetts and all the other states still have to do substantial work to create equitable systems that serve all children and families and that provide access to high quality early education and care to everyone.

“The rankings in this edition of the Data Book, which are based on 2019 data, show that despite gains since the Great Recession, the nation was not ensuring every child had the opportunity to thrive.” (more…)

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A pandemic lesson: It’s vital to stabilize providers’ pay

Posted in Child care, Cost and affordability, COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Funding, Pre-kindergarten on June 17, 2021| Leave a Comment »

Screenshot: New America

“Providers need predictable, stable, and adequate funding,” New America says in a new policy brief.

Instead of rebuilding the old system of funding child care slots for low income children based on children’s daily attendance, states should, as the brief’s title says, “Make Child Care More Stable: Pay by Enrollment.”

Now is the time to act because Congress has invested $50 billion in Covid relief funds for child care.

As the brief explains, the attendance-based subsidy system has two glaring flaws. Subsidies often don’t cover the cost of providing child care, and they often don’t provide enough financial help to families.

“In most states, many providers serving children eligible for subsidies are paid several weeks after services are rendered and the amount can vary based on individual child attendance and reimbursement rates, even though provider costs are not determined by how many days a child is present. This monthly variation makes it difficult to make informed decisions around budgeting, staffing, and enrollment.”

This “perpetual underfunding” and “fragmentation in delivery” result in “uneven quality and access to services” that “places financial burdens on families, and perpetuates inadequate wages for the ECE workforce.”

The national nonprofit Child Care Aware of America concurs. In a blog, Child Care Aware notes:

(more…)

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Update on post-COVID conditions from the Department of Early Education and Care

Posted in COVID-19, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Health, Massachusetts Cities and Towns on June 8, 2021| Leave a Comment »

EEC Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy

Dear Program Leaders,

Thank you all for the continued partnership and feedback as we continue to navigate this unprecedented time. As we continue to receive questions and feedback about the transition to post-COVID conditions, we wanted to assure you that EEC will continue to provide information and support throughout the months ahead as communities work to recalibrate our work through the summer.

The Baker-Polito Administration announced that the remaining COVID-19 restrictions would be lifted beginning May 29, and EEC retired the Minimum Requirements for Health and Safety. We recognize that child care programs still face many challenges and our stakeholders need time to ensure the appropriate policies are put in place to meet the needs of the families you serve. EEC continues to be committed to supporting programs through this transition and assist you as you work to identify the path forward that works for your programs. As previously referenced, EEC will be establishing revised guidance around regulations and monitoring throughout the month of June and will not begin on-site monitoring until July. During the month of June we will send weekly communications to update providers and provide answers to the on-going questions received through office.commissioners@mass.gov.

EEC introduced Suggested Strategies for the Prevention and Response to COVID-19 in Early Education and Care Programs. We will continue to update this document with answers to frequently asked questions received through the months ahead.

To continue the ongoing dialogue with you all, I will be hosting a Conversation with the Commissioner on June 29^th at 6pm. I look forward to hearing from you about the progress in your programs and to strategize together as we forge ahead.

Thank you for your commitment to the children and families of the Commonwealth and to the field of early education and care as a whole. We are building a better future together.

Samantha Aigner-Treworgy
Commissioner of Early Education and Care