Want to protect our future? Invest in early education.

Building State Child Care Systems for Families Experiencing Homelessness

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• Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG): primary Federal funding source for subsidized child care

• CCDBG authorizes the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Program

• Goals of CCDF:

• Promote self-sufficiency by making child care more affordable to low-income parents

• Foster healthy child development and school success by improving the quality of child care

• States have a lot of flexibility in implementing CCDF

Child Care: The basics

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• CCDF serves children under the age of 13; up to age 19 for children with disabilities

• Children must be citizens or qualified aliens

• Family income must be below 85% SMI

• Parents must be working or participating in education or training activities

• Protective services category

• Priority required for children with special needs or very low income families

Family eligibility

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• Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R)

– CCDF requires coordination of ALL child care through CCR&R

– Resource to help families find child care

– Consumer education, provider training, data collection, administer subsidies

• Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS)

– System to assess, improve, and communicate the quality of early care and education programs

– Operating in most states

– www.qrisnetwork.org

Finding child care

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• Reauthorized in November 2014 for the first time in 18 years

• Significant changes

– Strengthens health and safety requirements

– Improves the quality of child care

– More robust provider and consumer education

– Family-friendly eligibility policies, such as minimum 12 month eligibility re-determination periods

• Changes to state law, licensing standards, administrative rules may be required

• Implementation timelines vary

CCDBG Act of 2014

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• establish a grace period that allows children experiencing homelessness to receive child care while their families take action to comply with immunization and other health and safety requirement.

• use funds for activities that improve access to child care services, including

– procedures to permit enrollment of homeless children (after an initial eligibility determination) while required documentation is obtained,

– training and technical assistance on identifying and serving homeless children and their families, and

– specific outreach to homeless families.

• coordinate services with early childhood programs serving children experiencing homelessness.

• establish a sliding fee scale that is not a barrier to families receiving federal childcare assistance.

• collect & submit data on homeless children receiving child care assistance

CCDBG Reauthorization: Provisions for Homeless Children

Requires states to:

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• The Plan serves as the application for federal child care funds.

• Provides a description of, and assurance about, the state’s child care program and all services available to eligible families.

• The Office of Child Care reviews the Plans for approval. If they are approved, funds are awarded for the next federal fiscal year.

• Must be submitted every 3 years.

• The Plan submission deadline has been extended from July 1, 2015 to March 1, 2016, with an effective date of June 1, 2016 through September 30, 2018.

• Great vehicle for advocating for improved access to child care.

– States must consult with various stakeholders

– Public hearing is required

CCDF Plans

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• Categorical eligibility through the “protective services” category

• Priority access

• Differential payment rates for providers

• Use grants and contracts to build supply

• Allow for a period of initial job search

• Include pursuit of GED as an allowable activity

• Waive co-payments

• Exempt housing assistance from income determination

• Establish McKinney-Vento liaisons in child care programs/CCR&Rs

• Mobile friendly formats for consumer information, application materials, etc.

Policy opportunities in the CCDF plan

States can:

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• Model enrollment policies and procedures after those already in place for LEAs and Head Start programs

• Grow capacity of existing training on identifying and serving homeless children

– Add inter-professional training opportunities

• Support collaboration with M-V liaisons and homeless service providers outreach, identification, referral, shared resources

• Leverage QRIS to build supply of child care providers who are well-equipped to provide high quality care to this particular population

– States can create designated competencies, such as being trauma-informed, that indicate that programs are structured and staff are trained to serve children experiencing homelessness.

Leveraging existing infrastructure

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Advocating in Illinois

• Lead agency: IL Department of Human Services

• DHS Child Care Advisory Council is the entity charged with developing recommendations for implementing CCDGB

• CCAC members include representatives from governmental agencies, child care providers, advocates, CCR&Rs, and other early care and education stakeholders

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• Model procedures for identifying families who experience

homelessness both at the program level and at the point of

application after best practices by the National Center for Homeless

Education (NCHE), and existing protocols used by the Illinois State

Board of Education (ISBE).

• Grow capacity of existing training and TA provided by ISBE McKinney-

Vento liaisons to reach child care providers.

• Collaborate with homeless service providers and McKinney-Vento

liaisons to distribute outreach materials.

• Invite the State McKinney-Vento State Coordinator to serve on the

Child Care Advisory Council.

• Incorporate new requirements and supports around serving children

experiencing homelessness in the ExceleRate Illinois system, which is

scheduled for official review in 2016.

Illinois recommendations

Leveraging existing infrastructure

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• Establish children experiencing homelessness as categorically

eligible for the Illinois Child Care Assistance Program.

• Exempt families experiencing homelessness from parent co-

payments for the duration of homelessness.

• Provide incentives to providers for serving families who

experience homelessness, such as a rate add-on, contracted

slots dedicated to homeless children, or a more generous

attendance policy.

• Establish dedicated staff in CCR&Rs with expertise in child and

family homelessness to serve as a point of contact for families

and community collaboration partners.

• Establish dedicated, flexible resources within CCR&Rs to assist

with removing common barriers to enrollment in child care

programs and in CCAP for families experiencing homelessness.

• Establish a grace period of 90 days for families experiencing

homelessness to secure all required documentation.

Illinois recommendations

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• Proactive and prepared

• Thinking outside the box

• “Hearts and minds”

• Don’t go it alone

• Compromise and be realistic about what’s possible

• Take the long view

• Be kind to your CCDF administrator! It’s a stressful time!

CCDF advocacy advice

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• Directly contact your CCDF administrator

• Get involved in coalitions and advisory bodies

• Public hearing or public comments on your state plan

– Organize and support other organizations to submit similar testimony

• CCDBG regulations out for comment this winter

• Start thinking about the next plan period

• Advocate for funding increases at both state and federal level

CCDF advocacy in your state

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• Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness: CCDF State Guide

• Supporting Children and Families Experiencing Homelessness: CCDF Self-Assessment

• CCDF contacts: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/resource/ccdf-grantee-state-and-territory-contacts

• CCDF data and statistics: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ/data

• CCDF Plan Preprint (draft): https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/occ/fy2016_2018_ccdf_plan_preprin_draft_for_public_comment_91415.pdf

CCDF advocacy resources

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• Find a small group of 3-4 people, preferably others from your home state

• Reflections and discussions

– Name a few things that you learned from the presentation. Did anything surprise you? What information was brand new? What information did you already know?

– What policies do you think are most critical for improving access to child care for homeless families in your state?

– What child care policies seem most realistic to implement in your state?

– Do you feel prepared to advocate for better access to child care? What additional information or support do you need?

• Make a plan for action

– What are some steps you can take when you go home?

Small group discussion

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• National Center for Homeless Education

– www.serve.org/nche

• National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth (NAEHCY)

– www.naehcy.org

• Administration for Children and Families Office of Early Childhood Development Homelessness Resources

– http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ecd/interagency-projects/ece-services-for-homeless-children

• Institute for Children, Poverty, and Homelessness

– www.icphusa.org

– 2015 Almanac and child care publications

• Model states: MA, WA, VA

Helpful Resources

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Carie Bires, MSWcbires@ounceofprevention.org312-291-2160