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STRATEGIC GOAL 2:
IMPROVE HEALTHY DEVELOPMENT, SAFETY AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN AND YOUTH
Rationale
The future of the Nation--its democracy, the economy, and the social fabric--depends upon how America protects and nurtures its children. Critical indicators of child well being include health status, educational attainment, economic status, family structure, quality of early childhood development experiences, safety, and stability. Head Start, child care, child welfare, and youth programs together provide a broad range of services that contribute to the economic and emotional security, health, safety, and stability of home environments while providing stimulating learning experiences for children and youth. In addition to working to ensure safety and security for children served by the child welfare system, ACF will continue to provide leadership and support for public and private nonprofit programs across the Nation that shelter runaway and homeless youth, reuniting them with their families whenever possible, and assisting them to make satisfactory transitions to independence when necessary. ACF is committed to helping these "older children" effectively meet the challenges of adolescence and development into adulthood.
Increases in foster care placements or the need for child abuse interventions may be associated with increased stresses on families from economic hard times. Certain measures may be affected by national policy and practice debates such as whether family reunification or termination of parental rights is in the best interest of an at-risk child. The ability of families to provide good parenting may also be affected by the availability of resources outside of ACF's purview, such as housing, mental health, or substance abuse services. ACF and its partners depend on other programs to provide ancillary services for low-income families and youth in crisis, but these services are often limited or unavailable.
The objectives and major program areas under this goal are:
5. Increase the quality of child care to promote childhood development
Child Care: Quality
Head Start
6. Improve the health status of children
Head Start: Health Status
7. Increase safety, permanency, and well being of children and youth
Child Welfare
Developmental Disabilities: Education
Developmental Disabilities: Health
Youth Programs
5. Increase the quality of child care to promote childhood development
Approach for the Strategic Objective: Provide high quality early childhood programs, such as Head Start or accredited child care programs, so that early childhood experiences enhance children's development and school readiness.
5.1 CHILD CARE: QUALITY
Program Description, Context, Legislative Intent and Broad Program Goals
In our efforts to break the cycle of poverty and dependency, it is essential to focus both on parents and the next generation. Parents are more likely to succeed in employment and self-sufficiency if they have confidence in their child care arrangements. Beyond issues of health and safety, child care impacts the cognitive, emotional, and social development of children.
Research has begun to document the most important early influences on children’s development and factors which contribute to the quality of early child care. For example, the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) study of early child care, When Child-Care Classrooms Meet Recommended Guidelines for Quality (1998), shows that children attending centers meeting professional standards for quality score higher on school-readiness and language tests and have fewer behavioral problems than their peers in centers not meeting such standards. The study found that children fared better when child-staff ratios were lower and teachers had more training and education. Similarly, a four-year follow-up of children studied in the 1995 Cost, Quality, and Child Outcomes Study, as well as the Carolina Abecedarian Program Study, show positive long-range effects of quality early childhood services.
ACF works with State administrators, professional groups, service providers, and others to identify elements of quality and appropriate measures; to inform States, professional organizations, and parents about the constituents of child care quality; to influence the training and credentialing of child care workers and accreditation of child care facilities; to improve linkages with health care services and with Head Start; and to take steps to improve the quality of child care nationally.
(See also information under Strategic Goal 1, Child Care Affordability.)
Program Activities, Strategies and Resources
Infants and toddlers have been specifically designated as a priority for special attention in all ACF programs. The CCB will work to expand partnerships with States and among early childhood programs to improve quality in early care and education. Close cooperation with Early Head Start is underway to address these populations and to increase the number of infants and toddlers being served by quality early childhood programs. Other activities will focus on building capacity in the field and among Federal staff. In addition, the results of new research grants awarded by the CCB will be used to improve services for infants and toddlers and to demonstrate the impact of quality early care.
At present, States are required to spend at least four percent of CCDF funds to improve the quality of child care and offer additional services to parents, such as resource and referral counseling on selecting appropriate child care providers to meet their child's needs. In addition to the four percent, earmarks for infant and toddler care, quality improvements, school-age care, and resource and referral, must be used by States in targeted ways to improve quality and access.
As described under Strategic Goal 1, Child Care Affordability, the CCB actively provides technical assistance and support to grantees in implementing CCDF. Directly, and through its technical assistance contractors, the CCB provides information to States about successful programs and models, offers on-site consultation, facilitates exchanges among peers, and sponsors meetings, conference calls, and conferences designed to offer training and peer linkages. In partnership with DHHS’ Maternal and Child Health Bureau, the CCB sponsors the Healthy Child Care America campaign to develop and strengthen linkages between child care providers, health professionals, and families, and ultimately to improve the health and safety of children in child care settings. In addition, the Bureau has sponsored national forums on using technology to support improved quality in child care, collaboration among early childhood programs, building public/private partnerships, and other related topics.
Program Coordination, Partnerships, and Crosscutting Issues
One key strategy for improving the quality of care, as well as its affordability and availability, is to create linkages between CCDF, early childhood programs, and other agencies that provide crucial services to children and families. The CCB has worked to promote collaboration through policy and technical assistance. In their biennial CCDF Plans, States are required to discuss the coordination and collaboration that occurred in developing their plans, as well as the results of that collaboration. The CCB will monitor State progress toward the goal of collaboration through the State reports.
In addition, the CCB coordinates with partners in ACF, DHHS, and other departments to address barriers that may impede States’ efforts to provide quality services to children and families. This coordination includes initiatives to encourage grantees to provide high quality full-day, full-year early childhood services by linking CCDF monies with those of Head Start and State pre-kindergarten programs. It also includes working with the Federal Interagency Coordinating Council and others to ensure that children with special needs who are eligible for CCDF services also receive assessments and early intervention services.
Through the Bureau’s "Map to Inclusive Child Care" project, 31 States developed strategic plans for improving child care access and quality for children with special needs by linking CCDF and existing systems. Similarly, the CCB’s Partnerships Project provides technical assistance to States and local communities in fostering partnerships with public and private entities. In this effort, the Partnerships Project disseminated written materials including a tool kit for States and a publication on developing results-based coalitions. It has also developed a short video-tape which, against the back-drop of children in care, features Dr. T. Berry Brazelton and others making the case for partnerships toward improving child care quality.
In addition to the partnerships mentioned previously, ACF is working with DHHS health agencies, including Maternal and Child Health, Community Health Centers, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and the Health Care Financing Administration, and their constituencies, to achieve health targets.
Program-wide Performance
States continue to expand the innovative ways in which they use CCDF quality improvement funds to assure more children are cared for in environments that support their developmental needs. In their FY 2000-2001 CCDF State Plans, States indicated that they are using quality funds to: educate parents about making good child care choices; provide grants and loans to expand the number and quality of child care slots; increase child care provider wages, benefits, and training; and monitor the safety and quality of care.
Close to 20 States now report offering higher subsidy reimbursement rates to providers demonstrating that they provide high quality care. Most States indicated they are working toward a system of professional development for child care providers and workers. Nearly a dozen States have implemented the North Carolina TEACH model combining professional development and training with salary enhancements. State-funded pre-kindergarten programs now exist in 42 States and nearly all States reported efforts to link child care, Head Start, and pre-kindergarten programs more closely together.
With their infant and toddler earmarks, States are recruiting additional caregivers; providing health outreach including training and consultation; offering incentives for provider accreditation and training; and sponsoring specialized training for infant and toddler caregivers. A number of States have implemented initiatives to improve the supply and quality of infant and toddler care--some through partnerships with Early Head Start. Other States have offered grants targeted at increasing the supply of quality care for young children in low-income communities. In at least one instance, State and CCDF monies are being used in partnership with Early Head Start to fund a collaboration involving a variety of existing programs including child care, Parents as Teachers, Healthy Families, the Part C Interagency Coordinating Council, and other agencies assisting young at-risk families. In other States, infant and toddler funds are supporting health insurance for providers who care for very young children; an Infant/Toddler Specialist Healthline that provides expert consultation to providers related to health and developmental issues for children under age three; and incentives for accrediting and certifying providers caring for infants and toddlers.
The CCB will be working with States as they improve the availability of quality infant and toddler care with the increased infant toddler earmark provided in the FY 2001 appropriation. With CCDF monies, including funds earmarked for school-age care and resource and referral, States reported efforts to improve both the supply and quality of school-age care. These efforts include incentives for providers seeking accreditation, specialized curriculum development, grants to programs seeking to improve the quality of their services, and development of specialized licensing standards for school-age programs. In many States, efforts to improve the quality and supply of school-age care target low-income neighborhoods and non-English speaking populations.
A GAO study completed in January 2000 entitled, Child Care: State Efforts to Enforce Safety and Health Requirements, found that States have increased the resources for regulation and monitoring in recent years and are more likely to report regular monitoring visits to child care centers and homes. In their plans, States indicated that they use CCDF monies to enhance licensing and monitoring activities. One State used CCDF funds to sponsor a one-day pre-licensing workshop for more than 800 prospective child care providers. The workshop gave an introduction to State child care regulations and key aspects of operating a child care program. Several other States have implemented, or are implementing, programs of tiered licensing that differentiate child care programs based on quality. Such programs are intended to assist parents in making good child care choices and provide an incentive for improved quality of care.
As stated earlier, States are developing a wide variety of approaches to program coordination, creative partnering, and ways to address crosscutting issues. For example, one State has implemented new State school readiness legislation to ensure that children are emotionally, physically, socially, and intellectually ready to enter school while recognizing that parents are a child's first teachers. The initiative, a collaborative effort between a State council, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health, is administered through local school readiness coalitions toward the goals of blended funding and school readiness programming.
The data needed for reporting performance on the two measures related to child care quality, i.e., accreditation of facilities (measure 5.1a) and the awarding of credentials to child care providers and staff (measure 5.1b) are provided by independent national bodies. These organizations are a credible source of information about provider accreditation and certification. The baseline for measure 5.1a was established with CY 2000 data from the National Association for Family Child Care, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National School-Age Care Alliance. Based on their combined data, there were 9,535 accredited child care facilities nationwide in CY 2000.
It continues to be difficult to provide an accurate count for the total number of child care facilities. For that reason, the language for measure 5.1a has been revised to measure the number of regulated child care centers and homes, information which is available from the organizations listed above. In February 2000, the Children's Foundation issued a report entitled The 2000 Child Care Center Licensing Study which contains the results of a survey of the regulatory offices of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. Data results in this report, collected during the months of October 1999 through January 2000, indicate there are 106,246 regulated child care centers. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), one of several accrediting organizations, reported 6,830 NAEYC accredited child care facilities in 1999 and 8,332 in 2000. According to the National School-Age Care Alliance (NSACA), 211 of its member child care facilities were accredited in 2000. Therefore, of an estimated 106,246 regulated child care centers, 8,543 were accredited in 2000 through NAEYC and NSACA. In addition, of the 290,667 regulated family and group child care homes reported by the Children’s Foundation, 992 were accredited through the National Association for Family Child Care in 2000.
There is a similar problem in providing an accurate count for the total number of child care workers. No reliable estimate of the number of workers providing child care services exists and the ability to provide the total number of child care workers is hampered by several factors, e.g. is no common definition exists for the term "child care worker." The Bureau of Labor Statistics' National Industry-Occupation Employment Matrix includes at least three employee categories that are applicable to child care workers.
The Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition is the organization that awards Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials to individual child care workers (measure 5.1b). In calendar year (CY) 1999, the Academy reported 112,130 individuals with CDA credentials and 127,893 in CY 2000, an increase of 12,277 or 14.06 percent.
FY 2000 data for the third measure, increasing the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated child care providers (measure 5.1c), should be available April 2001. When the baseline data become available, a target percentage increase will be projected. Although these three performance measures represent outputs or intermediate outcomes, they represent critical strategies to measure our ability to assess quality improvements.
Data Issues
As discussed in Strategic Goal 1, Child Care Affordability, the CCB has worked with States and Territories for several years to develop appropriate and achievable program goals and measures. The goals and measures in this document reflect the consensus-building and participatory process.
In some instances, these child care quality performance measures require new reporting and/or data gathering methods, including obtaining information from national organizations. The CCB intends to address these data issues in several ways. Some information relevant to measures is already included in State Plans and will be used to help tell the performance story. The Bureau is working with OMB to amend the State Plan Preprint submitted biennially by States to include additional items related to performance measures. The annual aggregate data report (ACF-800) submitted by States has been revised to include questions to assist in providing baseline and ongoing data on performance.
Summary Table
| Performance Measures | Targets | Actual Performance |
Reference (page # in printed document) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PROGRAM GOAL: The quality of child care services will improve over time. | |||
| Objective:Increase the number of accredited child care facilities | |||
| 5.1a. Increase by 1% (95) the number of regulated child care centers and homes nationwide accredited by a nationally recognized early childhood development professional organization from the CY 2000 baseline.* | CY
02: 9,725 CY 01: 9,630 CY 00: New in 2001 CY 99: NA |
CY
02: CY 01: 9/01 CY 00: 9,535 CY 99: NA |
Px M-85 |
| Objective:Increase the professional capacity of child care workers | |||
| 5.1b. Increase by 8% over the previous year the number of Child Development Associate credentials awarded nationwide. | CY
02: 149,175 CY 01: 138,125 CY 00: New in 2001 CY 99: NA |
CY
02: CY 01: 9/01 CY 00: 127,893 CY 99: 112,130 |
Px M-86 |
| 5.1c. Increase the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated providers from the FY 2000 baseline. (Developmental) | FY
02: FY 01: FY 00: New in 2001 FY 99: NA |
FY
02: FY 01: 4/02 FY 00: 4/01 Baseline |
Px M-86 |
| Availability of FY 2000 Data: Data
for measure 5.1c is not currently available as it is not
included in the required State Plan; the baseline will
be established using FY 2000 data from States on the revised
ACF-800. *The language for measure 5.1a has been revised to include regulated child centers and homes rather than all child care facilities. Data for measures 5.1a-b are based on calendar year reporting. |
|||
Performance Measures for FY 2002 and Final Measures for FY 2001
PROGRAM GOAL: Improve the quality of child care services
Objective:Increase the number of accredited child care facilities
5.1a. FY 2001: Increase by an additional 1% the number of regulated child care centers and homes nationwide accredited by nationally recognized early childhood development professional organizations and accrediting entities from the CY 2000 baseline.
FY 2002: Increase by an additional 1% the number of regulated child care centers and homes nationwide accredited by nationally recognized early childhood development professional organizations and accrediting entities from the CY 2000 baseline.
Data source: National Association for Family Child Care, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National School-Age Care Alliance.
The above performance goal is an indicator of quality improvement. Accreditation of Child care facilities has been linked to better outcomes for children and is growing in acceptance as a marker of good quality care. Several States use CCDF quality improvement funds in a variety of ways to support accreditation for child care centers and homes.
Through intense efforts with program stakeholders to explore alternative ways to measure progress toward improving the quality of child care services, the following performance goals have been developed. These goals address the levels of safety necessary to support children’s development in child care settings and the higher levels of quality reflected by facilities in which staff have achieved nationally recognized educational credentials.
Objective:Increase the professional capacity of child care workers
5.1b. FY 2001: Increase by 8% over the previous year to 138,125 the number of Child Development Associate credentials awarded nationwide.
FY 2002: Increase by 8% over the previous year to 149,175 the number of Child Development Associate credentials awarded nationwide from the CY 1999 baseline.
Data source: Child Care State Plans and the Council for Early Childhood Professional Recognition.
5.1c. FY 2001: Increase the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated providers from the FY 2000 baseline.
FY 2002: Increase the number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections of regulated providers from the FY 2000 baseline.
Data source. The number of States conducting routine unannounced inspections has been approved by OMB as an optional data element for the annual aggregate ACF-800 data collection. The first collection of this data was due December 31, 2000. We anticipate that aggregate State data will be available by April 30, 2001.
The Bureau will continue to support CCDF Grantees in using the quality set-aside funds for training of child care workers, developing incentive programs for child care facilities to achieve accreditation, and in encouraging providers to obtain CDA credentials. Such efforts will be accomplished through technical assistance services provided through the Bureau's Child Care Technical Assistance Network, national and regional meetings and leadership forums, and information dissemination including best practices and research findings.
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