For the first time since 1996, The Federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act has been changed to improve children’s healthy development, safety, and school readiness in child care settings for children birth through age twelve across the nation. This is the primary federal funding for low-income families who are working or participating in education and training to help them pay for child care. In Connecticut, we call this program Care 4 Kids. Because of the new law, Connecticut is making changes to better support children and families and providers who participate in the Care 4 Kids program. In this presentation we will provide an overview of the changes to the C4K program that will effect families and children and their providers.

1

Today’s presentation will focus on three major areas of the new law authorizing CTs Care 4 Kids Program. These areas include: Supporting Families’ Child Care Choice Keeping Children Safe and Healthy Supporting Providers’ Skills and Knowledge

2

Supporting Families Child Care Choice Research shows that consistency of quality care over time contributes to children’s well-being and success. Providing families with longer eligibility and opportunities for job search gives the children more stable care. This idea is one of the core areas of change in the new federal law. It makes a shift in the program from just assisting working families with child care to putting the needs of the child and family first in accessing high quality setting for longer period of time which will provide continuity of care of that child. CT has already put this idea in action with a number of changes to the C4K program. 1. All eligible families are issued a 12 month certificate. Allowing child to stay in the

child care setting longer (from 8 months to 12 months) 2. Families who lose their job during the 12 month Care 4 Kids certificate will be given

a 3 month job search certificate. 3. At the 12 month redetermination, an eligible family whose income exceeds the

program’s income requirements but does not exceed 85% of the State Median Income (SMI) will be given a 3 month Care 4 Kids certificate to allow additional child care support.

3

Another important change to help provide families with continuity of care – limited reporting. Previously, C4K had required families report many changes to C4K which at times would change their eligibility and sometime causing their certificate to be canceled. The new federal law encourages states to limit reporting requirements and based the family’s eligibility on information provided at application or redetermination. CT has taken this guidance and now only requires families to report these 4 items. List each of the 4 reporting requirements

4

Providing safe learning environments through consistent standards and monitoring of standards ensures children’s healthy development. The Federal law requires that all providers receiving C4K must meet all health / safety requirements list above. The new law requires CT to monitor providers compliance in each of these areas. The only exemption is given to unlicensed relative providers. Currently our licensing standards for family child care, group home and center-based programs meet all of the health and safety requirements. These topic areas are considered the baseline standards for providing healthy and safe environments for children. In establishing these standards CT has made additional changes to provider eligibility, which will be discussed later in this presentation. Please note that these requirements are also the topics that are included in a required orientation training which will discussed later in this presentation.

5

Another area of the Federal Law that talks about keeping children safe and healthy is criminal background check for all providers, and having an emergency plan. All providers must complete a criminal background check every 5 years.

• Licensed and license-exempt providers must complete criminal background checks on all staff members who work directly with children.

• Unlicensed relative providers must complete a criminal background check

and criminal background checks on any household member who has unsupervised access to children.

CT is currently changing its criminal background check system to meet the new law. This requirement will be effective in 2017. Having a plan for emergencies and practicing the plan is key to keeping children safe. The law requires that all providers have an emergency plan. For licensed centers and group homes, the OEC’s licensing regulations outline the specifics of emergency plans. For home-based providers: Licensed and unlicensed relatives the OEC has developed an emergency plan template which will help each provider prepare for emergencies. This simple template must be completed and posted in a

6

convenient place near your phone. Click on the link, discuss where posted. This template is posted on the Care 4 Kids website.

6

As discussed earlier, the Federal law requires that all providers receiving C4K must meet all health / safety requirements. The new law requires CT to monitor providers compliance in each of these areas. Based on this new requirement CT has created an inspection program for all license-exempt public/private schools and municipalities. In order to be eligible to receive a C4K subsidy these programs must have an annual health and safety inspection by the OEC’s Division of Licensing. The OEC developed health and safety standard that match our current licensing regulations to be inspected during these annual inspections. Starting this October, the OEC licensing division will be setting up health and safety inspection to interested public /private school and municipal programs. The first visits are to help programs become familiar with the new standards and provide technical assistance on how to meet the standards. Click on link to standards. On the screen is the actual letter and health and safety inspection form that was sent to all eligible programs. Effective April 1, 2017 all licensed exempt public/private school and municipal programs must have completed an inspection in order to remain an eligible C4K provider.

7

The new federal law is specific in its language regarding all providers having to meet and be monitored for compliance related to health and safety standards. The only exemption the law allows for is for relative providers. CT has changed eligibility for unlicensed home based providers. Effective October 1, 2016: all new unlicensed family provider must be relatives (review all bullets) • For families who have selected an unlicensed friend or neighbor providers prior to

9/30/16 they will remain on the Care 4 Kids program until the date of the family’s redetermination.

• For families who have selected an unlicensed provider whose ratio exceed the new

ratio will be allowed to continue with that provider but effective April 1, 2017 all providers must meet new ratio requirements.

8

Providers are central to the learning experiences of all children in their care. The quality of care is closely tied to the skills and knowledge of the provider. The new federal law required states to think about and develop strong professional development system and add additional orientation and training requirements for child care providers. CT will be requiring in 2017 that all providers who receive a Care 4 Kids subsidy to complete an orientation training and ongoing professional development to build their knowledge and skills. The chart lists the requirements based on provider type for orientation and ongoing professional development. It is important for all providers to become familiar with the new requirements. For example : Read requirements for Licensed center-based/ group home CT is developing a variety of supports to help providers meet these new requirements. These will include free and low cost online and face to face trainings. All these will be offered through the Quality Improvement System.

9

Thank you for viewing this presentation on changes to the Care 4 Kids Program. For the most up to date information, please visit the Care 4 Kids website at www.ctcare4kids.com or call Care 4 Kids at 1-888-214-5437.

10