Caring for Infant Toddlers and Their Families Maine Roads to Quility
fabric from September 2021 Updates for the Child Care Plan for Maine ~~~
FCCAM PLC has pulled sections that we feel providers need to be enlightened of as they may bear on your small business. You can read the complete seven page plan: Child Care Program for Maine.
"Maine recognizes the importance of quality, accessible, affordable kid care to support working families. The benefit of quality kid care is multifold – it supports working parents to provide for their families while children do good educationally, socially, and emotionally from a caring, nurturing environment. From an economical perspective, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston states, "Inquiry demonstrates child intendance bug lower worker productivity and cost U.S. employers and working parents billions of dollars annually. Furthermore, task stability and family income directly affect a kid'southward social, physical, and emotional wellness." This Child Care Plan for Maine summarizes the system landscape pre-pandemic and the supports implemented to providers and families during the pandemic. Our focus and so turns to recovery and the strategies that will be implemented to support Maine families, children, and child care providers toward a sustainable recovery and brighter hereafter. This plan contains updates based on Federal guidance and the State's disbursement of funds since May."
Initiatives implemented showtime in country financial twelvemonth 2021:
- Providers participating in the Kid Care Subsidy Program (CCSP):
- Receive a weekly stipend of $100 per infant on CCSP.
- Receive a x% quality bump payment for infants and toddlers served through CCSP.
- OCFS, in an attempt to heave the recruitment and retentivity of early child care educators, began:
- Roofing the cost of licensing fees for both family unit child care providers and facilities.
- Offering several quality awards in partnership with Maine Roads to Quality Professional person Development Network (MRTQ PDN) with new Registry member awards, newly licensed mini-grants, moving upward a quality level award, reimbursement for the cost of accreditation, and maintaining accreditation mini-grants.
- Partnering with Maine Clan for the Education of Young Children (AEYC) to create TEACH scholarship program.
- OCFS also began efforts to enhance the Child Care Choices website to improve the availability and accessibility of data near providers for families who may be seeking child care.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an immense touch on the national child care system, however the numbers in Maine'south are more positive. "Equally of September 2021, Maine has 96% of the pre-COVID licensed programs open and operating. In addition, the Child Care Subsidy Program (CCSP) has seen a steady increase in total families and children receiving CCSP over the terminal four months. Currently 3,013 families representing 4,596 children are served by the program."
Stabilization and support of providers has occurred (and continues) through multiple funding sources:
Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Human activity, May of 2020, Maine received $ten.9 million in CCDBG funding
- grants provided directly to providers to cover COVID-19 related costs and build capacity,
- providing kid care subsidy for essential workers (regardless of income eligibility)
- waiving parent fees for low income families receiving traditional CCSP
Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF), August of 2020 the Governor allocated $8.4 million
- grants provided reimbursement to providers for COVID-19 related business expenses (through December of 2020 totaled $2,176,464)
Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Cribbing (CRRSA) Deed, March of 2021, Maine received $30.5 million in CCDBG funding through CRRSA Act.
OCFS allocated 75% of the funding straight to kid care providers through quarterly grants payments. The terminal payment volition be December 2021. Remaining funds were used to aggrandize professional development for providers through the Maine Roads to Quality (MRTQ) Professional Evolution Network (PDN) system, provide mental wellness and social emotional learning support to children and providers through the Early on Babyhood Consultation Program (ECCP), waiving copayments for CCSP families through nine/30/22, and reimbursing CCSP providers based on enrollment.
CRRSA funds will also be utilized to institute a Statewide Apprenticeship Plan for Child Care Providers, provide Mini-grants and awards for achieving or maintaining accreditation, and/or for completing one of the Maine Credentials (Managing director, Infant Toddler, Inclusion, Youth Development).
American Rescue Plan Act (ARP), Maine has received an additional $121.9 million through the federal American Rescue Plan Human action (ARP). The ARP child care funds will exist broken up into 3 sections.
- Discretionary – $45,752,460
- Stabilization Subgrants – $73,176,466
- Lucifer- $two,984,281
Maine has called to use funds to back up the unabridged child care delivery arrangement through short-term stabilization and recovery as well every bit long-term growth and system improvement (subject to change with guidance from ACF). FCCAM PLC has pulled out some parts of the program we know will directly impact providers:
- ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grants (for all programs offering intendance as of Sept. 2021, and on an ongoing rolling basis) monthly payments from Oct 2021 to September 2022.
- Waive child care licensing fees for 2 years to back up new and existing child care providers
- Supply a one-fourth dimension $two,000 stipend (available from seven/1/21-nine/30/23) to newly licensed family child intendance providers focused on increasing access to kid treat families in rural and gap areas.
- Waive Kid Intendance Subsidy Program (CCSP) parent fees for families at or below 60% of State Median Income to support low income families until 9/30/23
- Provide a 35% weekly increase of reimbursement to child care providers who take subsidy and are serving children with special needs
- Reimburse CCSP based on enrollment for two½ years
- Translate CCSP materials into identified languages for both families and providers
- Increase kid intendance quality payments to 3%, 10%, xv% (per QRIS levels) for 2-years to back up an increase in high quality programs
- Build child care information system onto Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System CCWIS
- Invest in Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) online screening tool for child care providers to screen and refer children to early intervention when delays in evolution are detected
- Provide Second Pace curriculum for child care to support social emotional learning
- Expand Classroom Assessment Scoring System (Class) to measure outcomes in child care and incentive program participation with $500 per program
"In addition to the ARPA funds, OCFS volition continue to back up child care through ongoing efforts, including the infant/toddler stipend, workforce evolution through the TEACH scholarship, technical assistance through Maine Roads to Quality, and other efforts."
Source: https://fccamaine.com/2021/09/22/maines-child-care-plan/
0 Response to "Caring for Infant Toddlers and Their Families Maine Roads to Quility"
Post a Comment