I_I_SchoolReadiness_2019A 07/23/2019 09:19:24 AM Committee Summary PUBLICSTAFF SUMMARY OF MEETINGINTERIM COMMITTEE EARLY CHILDHOOD AND SCHOOL READINESS Date 07/23/2019 Attendance Hill A McCluskie X Pettersen E Wilson X Sirota X Story X X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call Time 09:19:24 AM to 03:54:03 PM Place SCR 357 This Meeting was called to order by Senator Story This Report was prepared by Rachel Kurtz-Phelan Hearing Items Action Taken hEarly Childhood Leadership Commission Committee Discussion Only hPresentation from the Office of Early Childhood Committee Discussion Only hLunch break Committee Discussion Only hPresentation on Addressing Early Care and Education Access, Affordability, and Quality Committee Discussion Only hEarly Care and Education Workforce Committee Discussion Only hOverview of the Bill Request and Approval Process Committee Discussion Only 09:19:25 AM Senator Story, chair, called the meeting to order. Early Childhood Leadership Commission - Committee Discussion Only Attachment Tag File Name Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/2F15C7DBDFD6...$File/190723 AttachC.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachC.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/65B22E16B1F4...$File/190723 AttachB.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachB.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/70A51F840554...$File/190723 AttachA.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachA.pdf 09:19:54 AM Kristina Heyl, Director, Early Childhood Leadership Commission (ECLC), came to the table to begin her presentation. She distributed a copy of her presentation and two additional handouts to the members (Attachments A, B, and C). Ms. Heyl reviewed the mission and purpose of the ECLC, and spoke about the Early Childhood Workforce 2020 Plan, the Early Childhood Communications Collaborative, the Early Childhood Colorado Framework, and several areas of opportunity that the ECLC recommends that the commission focus on, which include improving access to high-quality early care and education for all families, elevating the early childhood workforce, and supporting improved family health and economic security. 09:37:05 AM Ms. Heyl answered questions from the commission regarding the ECLC's relationships and partnerships with local early childhood agencies and groups around the state. She discussed the variety of languages spoken in early child care homes and centers. Representative Sirota asked about the high cost of child care and how to recruit and retain early child care workers and educators. Presentation from the Office of Early Childhood - Committee Discussion Only Attachment Tag File Name Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/ED7457E09169...$File/190723 AttachD.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachD.pdf 09:49:53 AM Senator Story invited the following presenters from the Office of Early Childhood (OEC) in the Colorado Department of Human Services to the table: Mary Anne Snyder, Director of the Office of Early Childhood, Mary Alice Cohen, Director of the Division of Community and Family Support, Erin Mewhinny, Director of Early Care and Learning. A copy of their presentation can be found as Attachment D. Ms. Snyder explained that the OEC focuses on child maltreatment prevention strategies, early childhood mental health, suspensions and expulsions, the Early Intervention program, Head Start Collaborative, and the Home Visiting program. Ms. Cohen discussed OEC's community and family support programs, which can be divided into three types: early intervention, family support, and transitions to school, which includes social-emotional skills and ensuring a healthy start to school. Ms. Cohen discussed early childhood mental health and told the commission about a new report on suspensions and expulsions that includes recommendations about what a mental health expert can do to mitigate suspensions and expulsions. She discussed the Incredible Years (IY) program, which is delivered to pre-kindergarten and kindegarten classrooms and supports classroom management for teachers and a parenting program for families. She answered questions regarding the need for additional funding and capacity for the IY program and went into further detail on the Early Intervention program. 10:09:32 AM Ms. Cohen discussed child maltreatment prevention programs, which include Colorado Community Response, SafeCare, Promoting Safe and Stable Families, and Family Resource Centers. She explained that the programs focus on parenting classes, goal setting, connecting caregivers to resources in their communities, providing families with one-time financial assistance and coaching, and building support networks. She emphasized the importance of supporting families to create nurturing, safe environments that promote a child's overall well-being. 10:13:40 AM Ms. Cohen discussed the evaluation of outcomes for OEC's programs, as well as school readiness indicators that can be measured for each of OEC's 14 programs. Ms. Mewhinney explained OEC's duties for licensing child care centers, including inspections, investigations, and background checks. Ms. Mewhinney spoke about aligning licensing and quality early learning initiatives and told the commission about the Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System, which aims to improve the quality of early child care using indicators of quality. These indicators include child health, family partnerships, leadership management and administration, learning environment, and workforce and professional development for staff. She explained that some of the quality improvement (QI) supports and incentives offered include coaching and professional development to those entities that achieve a level 2 on the QI scale in an effort to raise them to a level 3, 4, or 5. 10:39:03 AM Ms. Mewhinney continued to discuss quality incentives and implementation supports, as well as the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), which is state-supervised and county-administered and mainly funded by federal sources with a state and county match. She explained the Child Care Development Fund as well as several recent pieces of legislation passed by the General Assembly. Ms. Mewhinnney answered questions regarding how many children and families are eligible for CCCAP, whether there is currently a waitlist, and why there is a gap in the number of eligible families and those receiving services. Ms. Snyder stated that current funding levels only cover between nine and twelve percent of eligible families. 11:04:02 AM Lindsey Dorneman, Director of the Preschool Development Grant Program in OEC, came to the table to begin her portion of the presentation. She explained that the grant was provided to states to conduct a comprehensive statewide needs assessment for children from birth to five years old, followed by in-depth strategic planning based on the needs-assessment. She stated that the purpose of the grant is to more efficiently use existing federal, state, local, and non-government resources, encourage partnerships, and provide and support parental choice. She explained that there are five required grant activities: to conduct a needs assessment; develop, update, or implement a strategic plan based on the needs assessment; maximize parent choice and knowledge of the state's mixed delivery system; share best practices among early childhood service providers; and improve overall quality of early childhood care and education services. Ms. Dorneman explained that the needs assessment will focus on early care and learning needs for families, other service needs that exist for families, and service needs for child care providers. 11:11:38 AM Ms. Dorneman spoke about the timeline for the needs asssessment and strategic plan, and answered questions from the commission members. Ms. Mewhinney came back to the table to discuss Senate Bill 19-063, which requires OEC, along with the ECLC, to develop a strategic action plan to address infant and family child care home shortages in Colorado which will be distributed to the General Assembly in December 2019. 11:27:17 AM Scott Groginsky, Special Advisor to the Governor on Early Childhood, and Tara Smith, State Two Generation Program Coordinator for the Governor's Office, came to the table to begin their presentation on the Governor's priorities on infant and early child care. Mr. Groginsky stated that the Governor supports disaggregated and transparent data and policies on child-specific and population levels, places a high value on a mixed delivery system of early child care that focuses on parent choice, as well as a comprehensive child care system/coordination of services that includes nutrition, mental health, vision, dental health, diverse language supports, and access for parents to job training information and workforce supports made available at child care centers. Ms. Smith explained the National Governors Association Technical Assistance Grant that Colorado received in order look at prenatal to age three with the hope of focusing on early child care workforce issues and how to tie in early child care with the health and school readiness programs and policies. They answered questions from the commission members. 11:45:33 AM Mr. Groginsky and Ms. Smith continued to answer questions from the members. Lunch break - Committee Discussion Only Presentation on Addressing Early Care and Education Access, Affordability, and Quality - Committee Discussion Only Attachment Tag File Name Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/093FA421B8CA...$File/190723 AttachE.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachE.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/7F1D23FE0A93...$File/190723 AttachF.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachF.pdf 12:43:25 PM Senator Story invited Bill Jaeger, Vice President of Early Childhood and Policy Initiatives for the Colorado Children's Campaign, to come to the table to begin his presentation on access, quality, and affordability of early care and education. A copy of his presentation and an additional handout he distributed can be found as Attachments E and F. Mr. Jaeger discussed brain development in the early years of a child's life, and provided statistics about the need for access to early care for families in Colorado. He discussed the economic return on investment of early childhood education and stated that for every job created in the Colorado early care and education sector, one and a half jobs are created in the state's economy. 12:59:56 PM Mr. Jaeger discussed the consequences of limited access to early care and education, the impact of the decline in licensed child care capacity for infants in Colorado counties, and the consequences of a lack of access to quality care for children, families, and the economy, including a longer pathway to self-sufficiency, lower labor force participation, and preventable child deaths. He discussed how child care problems adversely affect the economy and that access is disproportionate based on income. He answered questions about why access to quality early care and education so limited and expensive, by stating that 70 percent of the budget for early child care providers is salary and benefits due to the fact that these jobs will never be automated or outsourced. He stated that as the cost of living increases, salaires also need to increase or the supply will never meet the demand. 01:20:33 PM Mr. Jaeger stated that the demand for early childhood services will continue to increase as Colorado's population grows. He said the demand for professionals in the early childhood field is expted to increase about 40 percent by 2025. He showed a video from the Center for the Study of Childcare Employment titled "Why Do Parents Spend So Much on Child Care, Yet Early Childhood Workers Earn So Little?". Mr. Jaeger discussed the need for public investment, stating that Colorado currently only has two public programs investing in early child care and education (CCCAP and the Colorado Preschool Program) and said that the state is curently only spending one half of one percent of the state budget on early child care and education. He concluded his presentation with considerations for policymakers, which include prioritizing early care and education, investing in research and evidence-based approaches, and measuring outcomes, evaluating impact, and adapting to emerging learning. Mr. Jaeger answered questions from the commission. Early Care and Education Workforce - Committee Discussion Only Attachment Tag File Name Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/032B5300AABF...$File/190723 AttachG.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachG.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/C3A6AAC516E0...$File/190723 AttachI.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachI.pdf Attachment http://www2.leg.state.co.us/CLICS/CLICS2019A/commsumm.nsf/0/F8E38187CFBC...$File/190723 AttachH.pdf?OpenElement 190723 AttachH.pdf 01:37:02 PM Senator Story invited Kristina Heyl, Director, Early Childhood Leadership Comission (ECLC) and Kacee Miller, Project Director for Transforming the Early Childhood Workforce in Colorado, to the table to begin their presentation. A copy of their presentation can be found as Attachment G. Ms. Heyl discussed some of the issues facing Colorado's Early Childhood workforce, such as: staff shortages and difficulty filling vacant positions, low wages, and high demand. She stated that by 2025 there will be a 33 to 43 percent increase in demand for early child care. She discussed issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in the early child care industry. 01:47:47 PM Ms. Heyl spoke about the Early Childhood Workforce 2020 Plan, which is a three-year roadmap for a professional development system that promotes a high-quality, effective, diverse early childhood workforce for Colorado. She said that the six focus areas of the plan are recruitment and retention, workforce development, compensation, leadership, finance, and data and continuous improvement. She discussed the Early Childhood Professional Development Advisory Group under the ECLC, which is charged with guiding the implementation of the Early Childhood Workforce 2020 Plan. 01:58:22 PM Ms. Miller discussed the need for continued public-private partnerships and spoke about four key levers for change: targeted recruitment, career pathways, compensation, and working conditions. She provided more detailed information about the 2018 and 2019 innovation grantees tasked with testing different innovative models in each of the four key areas mentioned above. Ms. Miller answered questions about the funding of the grant program. 02:17:53 PM Diane Price, President and CEO of Early Connections Learning Centers, and Pamela Harris, President and CEO of Mile High Early Learning, came to the table to begin their presentation, a copy of which can be found as Attachment H. Ms. Harris provided background information about Mile High Early Learning and the comprehensive services it provides, including health, dental, mental health, disabilities and family support, child screenings and development assessments, parent engagement, meals and nutrition education, and ongoing supervision. Dr. Harris spoke about the need for early child care to implement trauma-informed care (teacher-to-child focus), reflective supervision (adult-to-adult focus), and improved working conditions. 02:42:02 PM Ms. Price provided background information on Early Connections Learning Centers, which have been providing child care to low-income families since the late 1800s and currently have five centers in addition to working with Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care networks. She discussed shared service partnerships in the community and what her organization has done to attract and retain teachers and how that corresponds to quality care. She explained that she added three behavioral health specialists to her staff which has led to a decrease in staff turnover. She discussed the positive impacts of implementing Pyramid Plus providing classes in positive parenting techniques to parents and providing leadership training to her center directors. 03:00:42 PM Dr. Harris and Ms. Price answered questions from the commission members. 03:19:17 PM Julia Brink, Quality Improvement Program Coordinator, Child Care Innovations, Red Rocks Community College, came to the table to begin her presentation, a copy of which can be found as Attachment I. She explained that the program is the only federally registered apprenticeship program in early child care. She provided a history of the program and explained that the requirements for the child care development specialist apprenticeship are to be at least 16 years old, pass a background check, complete a set amount of education hours, complete a set amount of on the job learning hours, be supported by a mentor teacher, receive a wage increase every six months upon completion of specified goals, participate in an evaluation, do monthly check ins with apprenticeship staff, complete a formal individual professional development plan, and upload all of the required documentation into the Colorado Shines Professional Development Information System. 03:27:10 PM Ms. Brink continued to discuss the apprenticeship program and the funding needs of the program in order to continue and grow. She answered questions from the commission. Overview of the Bill Request and Approval Process - Committee Discussion Only 03:48:24 PM Jane Ritter, Office of Legislative Legal Services, and Anna Gerstle, Legislative Coucil Staff, came to the table to explain the bill request and approval process. 03:54:03 PM The committee adjourned.