Hub Funding Framework

Background

In 2013, Governor Kitzhaber and the Oregon Legislature authorized the creation of sixteen regional and community-based Early Learning Hubs in order to accomplish three outcomes: (1) create an early childhood system that is coordinated and family-centered; (2) ensure the children arrive at school ready to succeed; and (3) ensure that Oregon’s young children live in families that are healthy, stable and attached. These three outcomes are the foundation for Oregon achieving its 40-40-20 goal.

Oregon’s Early Learning Hubs have been in their start up stage. Regions were not only asked to self-identify, but also agree on a backbone organization to support the Hub and serve as a fiscal agent. Community partners were then asked to come together, develop a strategic plan and submit an RFA. The Early Learning Council awarded the first six Hub designations in November 2014 and another eight in June, 2015. The final two will be up and running before the end of the biennium. Hubs have spent much of their time and energy on doing what organizations do when they first come into being: creating governance structures; building shared identities; and forging relationships with partners. Despite this early stage of development and the relatively meager start-up funding with which they have had to operate, the Hubs have already begun substantive work.

Now that much of the start-up work has been completed, the Early Learning Hubs are positioned to take on creating an early childhood system that is coordinated and family-centered; ensuring that children arrive at school ready to succeed and that young children live in families that are healthy, stable and attached. In order to meaningfully impact these three outcomes, Hubs need additional resources.

The following document outlines what these resources could look like and how the Early Learning Hubs would use them to impact these outcomes.

Proposal for Hub Funding Allocation:

Resources for Hubs would support core areas of work.

Hub Coordination:Funding to support family resource management functions, Hub governance and planning, and cross sector partnership development/coordination required of Hubs in statute.
Equity and Family Engagement: Funding to ensuring that Hubs are engaging with families and under-represented communities and that family voice is driving their work. Early Learning Hubs are expected to incorporate the equity lens across all of their strategies – this allocation would serve as an extra boost to allow deeper equity and family engagement work to occur.
Achieving Outcomes: Funding to support community investments that will increase the number of children who are ready to succeed when they reach kindergarten and the number of families who are healthy, self-sufficient and thriving.
Community Challenge & Innovation Hold-Back: To help cohorts of Hubs who are ready to tackle some of the more challenging areas of early childhood systems-building and cross-sector connectivity where innovation is needed.

This allocation strategy is aligned with the three high-level goals of the Hubs:

The early childhood system is coordinated and family-centered
Children are supported to enter school ready to succeed
Families are healthy, stable and attached

While Hubs would have flexibility in how to use resources to achieve these outcomes, there will also be clear specification and guidelines about appropriate use. Preliminary guidelines are outlined later in the document. As part of their contract renewal, Hubs will be required to submit an updated work plan demonstrating how they will use these resources to achieve outcomes, as well as remain within the 15% cap on administrative overhead required by statue.

The chart below shows how the Early Learning Division will divide resources statewide across these focus areas.

Hub Coordination / 24%
Equity & Family Engagement Fund / 10%
Achieving Outcomes / 54%
Community Challenge & Innovation Hold-Back / 12%
100%

Outcome I: The early childhood system is coordinated and family-centered

The Hub Metrics Committee has identified the following five core outcomes for the next two years that demonstrate the development of an early childhood system that is coordinated and family-centered:

Common vision and agenda for focus population of children across five sectors (health, human services, K-3 education, early learning programs, business)
All five sectors can demonstrate alignment of agendas, strategies and resources
Partners share data and information
Parent and family voice guides the work of the Hub
Family Navigation Function has been developed

Hub Coordination

This part of the allocation would support the work required to coordinate across wide geographies and across health, human services, K-3 education, early learning programs, the private sector and families/communities.In addition, this part of the Hub allocation should go towardbuilding the capacity of the local early learning system and itsproviders to do system level, collaborative work and family resource management.

This biennium Hubs received $50,000 plus a $15 per child, per year allocation. Building a base budget on this model whenthere are fewer than 6,000 children presents financially challenging: low population numbers coupled with high needs and lack of available services puts rural hubs in a position.

For 2015-2017 we propose allocating $50,000 per hub at the start of the biennium, plus a per child, per year allocation based on the number of children “at risk[1]” in the coverage area or a base population of 6000, whichever is higher.

This funding would cover:

Basic Hub operations:

Governance & strategic plan development
Contract management (both with the state and local grantees)
Partner engagement & service coordination
Coordination of core early childhood programs: (home visiting; child care; EHS; OPK pre-k; parenting education)
Coordination of intersection with other sectors (K12; health; child welfare; self-sufficiency and business community)
Data collection & analysis
Family resource management

Hub capacity building:

Systems-level leadership development for Hub governing body and Hub partners.
Data integration & sharing
System and family resource management development

Equity and Family Engagement Fund (10%)

The regional early childhood systems developed by the Hubs will only be family-centeredand focused on equity if they are guided by the voice of the families that they serve. Guided by family voice requires a deep understanding of the needs of families, the barriers they face, the values that they hold and the perceptions that they have. Hearing this family voice requires on-going, intentional and focused work. While Hubs have already begun to lift up family voice, these resources will deepen this work, strengthening all that the Hubs do.These funds would be used to achieve the following outcomes:

Family voice – Ensure that Hub engages with the families to understand what are their needs and what a family-centered system entails
Family leadership development – empower and support parents and caregivers to meaningfully participate in the governance of the Hubs
Family empowerment – support parents and caregivers in building their capacity to advocate on behalf of their own children

Outcome II: Children are supported to enter school ready to succeed

We know that children will be supported to succeed in school when:

Children arrive at Kindergarten with the social-emotional, language and cognitive skills that will support their success in school;
Parents and caregivers are supported as their child’s first and most important teacher;
Early care and education programs and providers are equipped to promote positive child development; and
Children and families experience aligned instructional practices and seamless transitions from early learning programs to kindergarten.

The Hub Metrics Committee has identified the following measures for tracking the progress of the Early Learning Hubs over time in achieving this outcome:

1. Increase in Kindergarten Assessment scores in each domain by demographic group.

2. Increase in percentage of children in Kindergarten with consistent school attendance by demographic group.

3. Increase in percentage of children in third grade who are reading at grade-level by demographic group.

The Hub Metrics Committee has identified the following metrics as indicators for tracking the Hubs progress in this area over the next one to two years, which Hubs will be accountable for via their contracts with the state:

Number of Children from OPK, Head Start or other waiting lists served by a Hub partner program.
Increase in number of QRIS providers serving “hot spots” and communities of color.
Increase in percent of children who receive a developmental screen before the age of 3.(note:the only currently available data source for this only captures screenings that are billed for in Medicaid, and doesn’t not capture screenings that occur in other settings that Hubs are actively promoting)
Increase in percentage of children enrolled in Kindergarten before start of school year.

Funding to support achieving these goals:

As part of their funding allocation, Hubs will receive funds to support their ability to make progress toward our long term system goals and on our short-term metrics. Funding to support school readiness may be used to:

Provide community-based, high quality early learning experience and/or therapeutic services, with demonstrated positive school readiness outcomes, including culturally specific, for:
Children who are on OPK and other program waiting-lists
Children in targeted elementary school catchments (based on demographics; Kindergarten & 3rd grade assessments)
Children from underserved populations
Children with diagnosed disabilities or delays in a natural setting

At least 25% of the children served through these funds must be infants and toddlers.
Programs that Hubs invest in must have evidence or research to support their efficacy with the Hub’s focus population of children and families.

Increase the number of QRIS providers:
Serving communities of color;
That are culturally specific;
Serving infants and toddlers; and
Are located in targeted school catchments or low-income communities.
Support community-based early literacy strategies:
That target specific high-risk communities or populations;
Have an evidence demonstrating outcomes; and
Promote cross-sector collaboration.
Up to 10% of funds may be used for the capacity building activities such as:
Targeted professional development and training
Support for developmental screening
Coaching support, such as infant-toddler mental health consultants

Early Learning Hubs mustdemonstratethat this work is formally connected to the K-3 literacy initiatives in their districts.

Outcome III: Families are healthy, stable and attached

We know that families are healthy, stable and attached when:

Families have physical and mental health, supported by access to high-quality health services;
Parents and caregivers have the confidence, knowledge and skills to support healthy attachment and the positive development of the children in their care;
Families have adequate resources to meet their needs and supports to strengthen their resilience to stress;
Working families have access to safe and affordable child care that promotes positive child development.

The Hub Metrics Committee has identified the following metrics as indicators for tracking the Hubs progress in this area over the next one to two years. The Hub Metrics Committee is also seeking recommendations from the Child and Family Well-being Measures Group for outcomes measures to track progress over time in this area.

Increase in percentage of children in Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) in a 3,4 or5 tier program.
Increase in the number of children and families touched by DHS (e.g., through TANF or child welfare) who are receiving early learning, parent education or family support services. (note: there are data challenges in tracking this indicator that need to be addressed.)

Funding to support achieving these goals:

Provide access to programs, including culturally specific community-based programs, that increase the confidence and competence of caregivers and/or strengthen resiliencies of families, for:
Children and families who are experiencing specific stressors, such as poverty, incarcerated family member
Children from underserved populations
Families who have had previous contact with or been referred by the child welfare system
Childrenand families who are currently on waiting-lists for other programs such as Early Head Start or whose families are connected to self-sufficiency and family stabilization programs such as TANF

Programs that Hubs invest in must have evidence or research to support their efficacy with the Hub’s focus population of children and families.

Up to 10% of funds may be used to building stronger connectivity and collaboration between early childhood programs and:
Health and mental health services
Child welfare
Self-sufficiency and other family stabilization programs
Up to 10% of funds may be used for the capacity building activities such as:
Targeted professional development and training
Support for developmental screening
Coaching support, such as infant-toddler mental health consultation

Community Challenge and Innovation Hold-Back

In order to incentivize and support innovative problem solving and system building approaches, the state will hold back a small portion of the Hub allocation and grant it out to individual Hubs and/or small cohorts of Hubs who want to work on overcoming a system-level barrier or develop a new early learning system innovation. Examples of potential challenges this funding would be spent to overcome include:

Developing pathways from screening to services specific to child and family needs
Implementing community-focused strategies to reduce incidence of child maltreatment
Implementing family navigation systems with “wraparound” case-management for families with deeper needs
Consolidating navigation and care management approaches with health care

AdditionalEarly Learning System Resources

In addition to the resources we’ve requested for Early Learning Hubs specifically, the Governor’s Requested Budget includes several other early learning system investments that Early Learning Hubs can either directly access or use their funding allocation to help support and augment in their communities:

Existing Early Learning Programs: The Governor’s Requested Budget provides ongoing, current service level supports for the Oregon Pre-Kindergarten Program, Oregon’s system of Relief Nurseries and Early Head Start. The budget also requests an additional $10 million dollars above current service level for Healthy Families Oregon and an additional $15 million dollars above current service level for Early Intervention/Early Childhood Special Education.

As part of their community coordination work, Hubs are encouraged to talk to local service providers about how the Hub can assist with providing funding and services for children on waiting lists for these programs as well as considering how Hubs and service providers can work together to ensure families are referred to core early learning and support services that best meet their needs.

Kindergarten Partnership and Innovation Fund: The Governor’s Requested Budget includes $5 million for this fund in addition to the current $4 million in funding. Established in 2013, this fund is meant to strengthen alignment between early learning and elementary education along the birth to third grade continuum by creating partnerships betweenproviders of early learning services, childcare providersand elementary schools. Partnerships must focus on activities that will positively impact school readiness and success in school.

Mixed Delivery Pre-School: The Governor’s Requested Budget includes a $30 million request for mixed-delivery pre-school funding that will allow Oregon to expand preschool access for four-year-olds up to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level. These funds will support pre-school slots in school based programs, community based programs and existing high quality early learning and development child care and Oregon Pre-Kindergarten programs. Funding will be coordinated by Early Learning Hubs, which will also bear the responsibility of working with the community to determine where to locate expansion slots based on the greatest community needs.

Employment Related Day Care: The Governor’s Requested Budget includes $55 million to expand access to Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) and strengthen child care providers. ERDC is Oregon’s primary program for helping low-income families afford child care and continue to work. This investment would expand access to this program and provide supports for families who voluntarily choose providers participating in the Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS). The Requested Budget also allocates resources to help providers strengthen the early learning experiences they offer children, as well as offering support for providers in targeted communities to help them participate in the QRIS.

Age-Three-to-Grade-Three:The Governor’s Requested Budget includes an $85 million request to support early literacy activities for young children, from age three, through third grade, with the goal of 95% of Oregon’s third graders reading on grade level. These funds will be available to communities to develop and implement literacy plans that connect early childhood education to the early grades of elementary school, using evidence based literacy activities and shared professional development. Funds will be available to Early Learning Hubs, community based organizations and school districts.

[1] To be calculated using Census data and OHA/DHS utilization data for each coverage area, aligned to the statutory definition of “at-risk”