Date: 07/14/2014

Final
CCCAP and Poverty and Risk in Colorado

EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
<none><none>




11:20 AM -- CCCAP and Poverty and Risk in Colorado

Representative Pettersen called the commission back to order and invited the panelists to the table. Ms. Mary Anne Snyder, Director, Office of Early Childhood, CDHS, presented statistical information about the CCCAP). She discussed the state's efforts to improve both the availability and quality of child care. She went over the establishment of Early Childhood Councils and the state's new QRIS system. She mentioned that Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) programs rely on providers choosing to participate and that costs have risen 16 percent since 2007. She stated that Colorado can meet only a fraction of the need for quality child care. She discussed problems with quality and continuity of care and the department's efforts to address those issues. She established that the department does not have a good way to identify unmet need and that it is engaging the University of Colorado, Denver to research this issue. Ms. Snyder identified copays as an additional burden for families and discussed a sliding scale of copays based on the family's income and number of children. She stated that continuous care is necessary for improved outcomes and that Colorado should work towards improved eligibility, provider payments, and reduced copays to improve continuity of care. She discussed the department's efforts to shift away from the perception that child care programs are only workforce support, and encourage stakeholders to think of child care as a two-generation program. She spoke about recent changes to eligibility, such as the inclusion of job training as an eligible activity and the extension of time during a job search for which a family is eligible for the program. She discussed tiered reimbursement for facilities, in which higher-quality facilities receive higher reimbursements. Ms. Snyder responded to questions from the commission.


11:30 AM

Ms. Molly Yost, Policy Specialist, Clayton Early Learning, discussed the nature of Clayton Early Learning. She spoke about what her organization provides, and its research, training, and professional development for early childhood educators. Clayton serves 600 children, approximately 100 of whom receive a CCCAP subsidy. She discussed how policies translate into practice and the importance of the stakeholder engagement process. Ms. Yost told the commission about the CCCAP Collaborative, which consists of 50 to 60 stakeholders and began meeting in August 2013. She discussed the collaborative's two-generation vision for CCCAP and how the collaborative's perspectives and ideas informed the drafting of House Bill 14-1317 and House Bill 14-1022. She distributed copies of her presentation to the commission (Attachment M). Ms. Yost responded to questions from the members.

14EarlyChild0714AttachM.pdf14EarlyChild0714AttachM.pdf


11:38 AM

The preceding two panelists responded to questions from the commission. Mr. David Collins, Director of the Childcare Division, CDHS, responded to questions from the commission.


11:44 AM

Ms. Judy Williams, Director, Early Learning Ventures (ELV), distributed copies of her presentation to the commission (Attachment N). She discussed the genesis of ELV's business plan. ELV is a statewide shared services venture to bring down costs for childcare providers. Currently, ELV has more than 500 participants. The backers of ELV believe a strong business foundation will help providers improve care. Ms. Williams spoke about ELV's web-based technology platform that delivers a way to share resources on a continuum. She told the commission that group purchases, e-training, information management, a centralized back-office system, and financial services are all offered on a tiered basis. She discussed ELV's web-based system for gathering data to assist with licensing and reporting requirements, and how digitized inspection reports for licensing purposes increase efficiency for both providers and licensing staff. She explained that ELV also provides assistance with billing, collections, and financial reporting.

14EarlyChild0714AttachN.pdf14EarlyChild0714AttachN.pdf


11:55 AM

Ms. Lisa Hill, Executive Director, Invest in Kids, discussed her organization. She told the commission that Invest in Kids is a statewide partner with agencies and with local providers and that it aims to introduce, implement, and provide assistance with evidence-based practice. She discussed her group's work to implement research-based programs through partnerships with local providers in a way that culminates in measurable results. She spoke about two programs: the Nurse Home Visitor program, also known as the Nurse-Family Partnership, and the Incredible Years program, which is a social emotional skill building program for preschool and kindergarten students. She discussed her organization's presence in 59 of Colorado's counties, as well as the risk factors associated with low-income children and families. She provided information to the commission (Attachment O). Ms. Hill discussed the state's Early Childhood Framework Principles and research by the University of Denver on the effectiveness of the Nurse-Family Partnership. She spoke about her organization's formula for success, which includes effective interventions, effective implementation methods, and enabling contexts leading to socially significant outcomes. Ms. Hill discussed the outcomes of both the Nurse-Family Partnership and Incredible Years programs.

14EarlyChild0714AttachO.pdf14EarlyChild0714AttachO.pdf


12:05 PM

Ms. Jildi Gentry, Executive Director, Morgan County Early Childhood Council, and Mr. Richard Garcia, Executive Director, Colorado Statewide Parent Coalition, distributed their presentation to the commission (Attachment P). Ms. Gentry discussed Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) care and shared the goals of Colorado's FFN learning community, which include efforts to learn and implement what works, to reach out and engage the community, and to serve as a hub for FFN providers. FFN care is defined as childcare provided in informal settings by unlicensed caregivers. Mr. Garcia urged the commission to support FFN providers in order to ensure children are safe and receive enriching experiences. Ms. Gentry and Mr. Garcia discussed various ethnic communities that make use of FFN care networks. They spoke about a March 2013 report on FFN care in Colorado, which provided an initial snapshot of the FFN landscape. Mr. Garcia discussed FFN care as universal, and explained that these providers are a crucial part of the state's early childhood support system. Ms. Gentry mentioned that FFN care takes many shapes and forms, and that FFN providers are diverse and want training. She said that 57 percent of kids under age 6 with all parents working are not in licensed settings and are most likely in FFN care. She stated that investment in FFN care is often missing from public policy even though the majority of children spend some time in such care. Mr. Garcia said that FFN care providers do not necessarily need licensing, and stressed that informal care is not always inadequate.

14EarlyChild0714AttachP.pdf14EarlyChild0714AttachP.pdf


12:16 PM

Ms. Chaer Robert, Manager of the Family Economic Security Program, Colorado Center on Law and Policy distributed her presentation to the commission (Attachment Q). She stated that interventions that focus on parent and child are more effective than those that focus only on one or the other. She discussed current research on parental achievement levels as they correlate to child outcomes. She spoke about a 2011 published longitudinal study that found that increasing the income of poverty-level families resulted in improved school achievement and increased earnings decades later. Ms. Robert discussed the state's need to address the educational needs of parents if it wants higher-achieving kids. She spoke about recent Congressional action, including the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Investment Act, which re-authorizes funding for workforce development training. She discussed recent actions by the General Assembly, including funding for adult education and literacy, an increase in full-day kindergarten, and legislation relating to the Child Care Tax Credit and CCCAP which provide families with lower copayments, improved quality, and the addition of education and skills training as an eligible activity. She mentioned that a report this month from www.clasp.org outlines how to address both generations by addressing the education and income of parents concurrently with the educational needs of children.

14EarlyChild0714AttachQ.pdf14EarlyChild0714AttachQ.pdf


12:24 PM

The preceding five panelists responded to questions from the commission members.


12:36 PM

Ms. Kathryn Hammerbeck, Director, Early Childhood Education Association of Colorado, returned to the table to respond to questions from the members.


12:51 PM

Representative Pettersen announced the working groups and each group's legislative Chair (Attachment R). The committee recessed for lunch.

14EarlyChild0714AttachR.pdf14EarlyChild0714AttachR.pdf