Child Care Development Fund State Plan for CCDF Funding FY2019-2021

Department for Community Based Services Division of Child Care Child Care and Development Fund Plan FFY 2019 - 2021 Presentation June 20, 2018

Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) State Plan Serves as application for next three years of federal CCDF funding Preliminary draft of state plan filed with LRC on April 2, 2018 Available on the DCC website at https://chfs.ky.gov/agencies/dcbs/dcc/Pages/default.aspx Public hearing was held on April 24, 2018 Public comments were accepted through May 4, 2018 Stakeholders were engaged and stakeholders group will continue to meet at least every 6 months Final preprint received from Administration for Children and Families (ACF) on June 1, 2018

CCDF State Plan Sections The state plan is the primary mechanism used by ACF to evaluate state compliance with requirements, and provides a tool for states to describe their progress in these areas: 1. Define CCDF Leadership and Coordination with Relevant Systems 2. Promote Family Engagement Through Outreach and Consumer Education 3. Provide Stable Child Care Assistance to Families 4. Ensure Equal Access to Child Care for Low-Income Families 5. Establish Standards and Monitoring Processes to Ensure the Health and Safety of Child Care Settings 6. Recruit and Retain a Qualified and Effective Child Care Workforce 7. Support Continuous Quality Improvement 8. Ensure Grantee Program Integrity and Accountability

CCDF Leadership and Coordination with Relevant Systems CCDF leadership and policy decision authority includes contact information and description of how program is administered Consultation in the development of the state plan consulted with both Early Childhood Advisory Council and Child Care Advisory Council, initial convening of the stakeholders group, public hearing, public comment period Coordination with partners to expand accessibility and continuity of care Funding In addition to CCDF, Kentucky uses Master Tobacco Settlement Agreement Funds, State General Funds, and TANF Contact with child care resource and referral systems currently through UK Network of Services contract (Childcare Aware of Kentucky) Disaster preparedness and response plan

Promote Family Engagement Through Outreach and Consumer Education Outreach to families with limited English proficiency and persons with disabilities information available in the top nine most common languages in Kentucky through the website, but also have access to interpreters Parental complaint process accomplished through contract with Division of Regulated Child Care Consumer education website compliant with requirements through the new Benefind provider search portal Developmental screenings supported by the new All STARS quality rating and improvement system

Provide Stable Child Care Assistance to Families Eligibility criteria detailed in 922 KAR 2:160 Increasing access for vulnerable children and families Kentucky prioritizes assistance for children with special needs, families with very low income, children experiencing homelessness, and families receiving TANF program funds Protection for working families achieved through 12 month eligibility period, graduated phase out of assistance, and provisions for job search Family contributions to payments co-pay information detailed in 922 KAR 2:160

Ensure Equal Access for Low Income Families Parental choice Families in Kentucky can choose their licensed, certified, or registered provider Market rates and child care costs most recent market rate survey became available April 1, 2018 Setting payment rates rates range from 29th to 51st percentile. Kentucky pays differentiated payment for non-traditional hours, children with special needs, and accreditation Payment practices and timeliness of payments payment occurs in less than 21 days of receipt of invoice, payment in full if less than 5 absences per month Supply building strategies contract with UK Network of Services and community partnerships

Establish Standards and Monitoring Processes to Ensure the Health and Safety of Child Care Settings Licensing requirements health and safety standards and requirements are established in 922 KAR 2:090, 922 KAR 2:100, and 922 KAR 2:120 Monitoring and enforcement of policies fulfilled through contract with Division of Regulated Child Care Criminal background check Kentucky is on track to be fully compliant with the new fingerprint-based checks by September 2018 and will not need to request additional waiver

Recruit and Retain a Qualified and Effective Child Care Workforce Professional development framework Kentucky has a comprehensive framework, collaborative with higher education and other early care settings. Financial assistance is offered Early learning and developmental guidelines shared across early care and education systems in Kentucky and research based

Support Continuous Quality Improvement Use of quality funds professional development, tiered quality rating and improvement system, infant/toddler initiatives, inspection and monitoring, and supporting accreditation Quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) All STARS is the new QRIS for Kentucky. Participation is over 98%, with 47.6% at high quality Child care resource and referral established through contract with UK Network of Services Facilitating compliance with state standards provision of technical assistance and coaches Evaluating quality and effectiveness use of raters and environmental rating scales

Ensure Grantee Program Integrity and Accountability Internal controls policy manual, staff training, fiscal oversight of grants and contracts, and reviews to ensure accurate eligibility determination Fraud identification and reduction efforts

Next Steps Deadline for submission to ACF has been extended to August 31, 2018 Notice of increase in funding was received in April 2018 Considerations for use of additional funds include increasing provider payment rates, removal of work requirement for recipients enrolled full time in post-secondary education or vocational program, increasing the threshold for graduated phase out from assistance, and continuing to pay for background checks Fiscal impact analyses are underway for these potential changes