EEC Board Committee on Policy and Programs
Monday, May 4, 2009
2:00-4:00pm
Department of Early Education and Care
51 Sleeper Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02210
MINUTES
Members of the Committee Present:
Elizabeth Childs, M.D, Chair
Mary Pat Messmer
Carol Craig O’Brien
Sharon Scott-Chandler
Sherri Killins, Ed.D, EEC Commissioner (ex officio)
EEC Staff Present:
Amy Kershaw, EEC Deputy Commissioner for Programs
Dena Papanikolaou, General Counsel
Kristina Richardi, Policy Consultant
Nicole Yacovone, EEC Policy Analyst
Janet McKeon, Associate Commissioner for Family Access and Affordability
Public Attendees Present:
Lisa Breagy: (Child Care Resource and Referral agency: Community Care for Kids, Quincy
The meeting was called to order at: 2:15 p.m.
I. Welcome and Introductions
II. Quick Business
§ Disclosures:
Carol Craig O’Brien verbally disclosed that she is the Early Childhood Coordinator for the Westwood Public Schools, which currently receives EEC funding and has a potential interest in receiving additional funding.
Mary Pat Messmer also disclosed that her agency receives EEC funding and may apply for future grants and ARRA related funding.
Sharon Scott-Chandler stated that her employer often receives EEC funding and may apply for future grants and ARRA related funding.
§ Review Minutes from April 6, 2009 (Approved as written)
§ Planning for May 12th Board presentations on EEC Residential and Placement Services and the Children’s Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI)
Discussion: The Committee agreed that the information covered in this presentation should include an organizational chart and staffing of the respective unit, conversation about connections to other state agency partners, the relevant Board role, the benefit to children, and how this fits into the larger picture. A follow-up conversation should be scheduled at a future committee meeting.
III. FY2010 EEC Grant Awards
Discussion:
FY10 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grant
The final Vision for Enhancing and Coordinating Local Family Access, Education and Support which this grant is based on is posted on EEC’s website.
FY10 Program and Practitioner Supports Grant
This grant will be posted shortly and will be sent to the eligible grantees. A purpose, goals and vision document was distributed for review and comment.
Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Grant
The conversation focused on whether the program is considered, and is still called, a “pilot” grant. The Planning and Evaluation Committee is helping to frame the questions asked during the second phase of the UPK program evaluation; once complete (expected in August) the Board can use the results to inform future policy discussions and will revisit the program in terms of the approach and the long term vision.
IV. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funding
Discussion:
The Committee discussed the following possible initiative to be considered for ARRA funding:
Two Year Self Sufficiency Vouchers:
If this initiative provided greater access to three and four year olds greater universality would be facilitated and a funding cliff could be avoided as they would naturally enter school. EEC will look at the unmet need on the waiting list in each city/town. Providers accepting these vouchers would need to meet some quality standard. The Committee discussed whether the vouchers would be for classrooms of children or individual children and how tracking outcomes would be possible for individual children.
Summer Only Vouchers:
In the (ESE) Commissioner’s districts there are approximately 2,100 school-age children on the waiting list. An additional 260 are also on the waiting list. These families could be pre-qualified or accepted on a first come first served basis. Providers accepting these vouchers would also need to meet some quality standard. The issue of rates was discussed as the full day school-age rate and the summer camp rate for license exempt programs is disparate.
Administration of Vouchers:
The Committee discussed the possibility of proposing funds for the vouchers to be administered as a real cost is incurred by this work. It was mentioned that if this were to occur, a clear justification would need to clearly outline the discrete purposes for which the funds were allocated. It was reiterated that EEC does not plan to use ARRA funds for internal administration.
Local Planning Grants:
The Committee discussed possible planning ($5,000-$15,000) grants to help communities plan for the FY2011 Coordinated Family and Community Engagement Grants.
Summer Learning Promotion Quality Grants:
The Committee discussed possible grants that would integrate the k-12 curriculum in the local school district into the classroom of summer programs through professional development, mentoring and other models.
Funds to Support the Implementation of Child Care Regulations, Assessment and Accreditation:
The Committee discussed possible initiatives that would help support providers to come into compliance with healthy and safety requirements and to meet existing regulations and quality standards.
· Regulations: funds could support training on interactions, progress reports, orientation, new regulations (oral health and use zones), etc.
· Assessment: EEC has four approved tools for the UPK grant that could be looked at (the Chiefs grant is also helping EEC determine is these are the correct tools), a train the trainers model could be used to increase quality and knowledge on this initiative across program types in a broader approach instead of just through grants to limited grantees, etc.
· Accreditation: the Committee thought that the FY10 Program and Practitioner Supports Grant may be a learning opportunity that could inform supporting accreditation and could wait until FY2011 when the supports could be looked at again to see where the gaps may exist.
Literacy Training Opportunities:
The Committee discussed co-supporting training opportunities as a cost effective method by which to deliver professional development opportunities as long as they are consistent with ARRA and the EEC Strategic Plan.
The Committee decided that EEC should add details and develop policy around each initiative and bring the full Board a proposal for the job retention initiative, local incentive planning grants and summer learning promotion grant.
V. Other Pressing Policy and Program Agenda Items N/A
The meeting adjourned at 4:20 p.m.
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