Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care FY 2009
Department of Early Education and Care
Renewal Application
Community Partnerships for Children:
Preschool Direct Services Grant
Fund Code 391
and
Local Planning and Coordination Grant
Fund Code 392
OVERVIEW, ELIGIBILITY, FUNDING, SUBMISSION AND CONTACT INFORMATION
Background: / The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) provides services for children in Massachusetts through a mixed delivery system which includes child care centers, out-of-school time programs, family child care homes, public preschool programs, private school preschool and kindergarten, and Head Start programs. EEC is responsible for licensing early education and care and out-of-school time programs throughout Massachusetts and for providing child care financial assistance to low-income families with children birth to 13 years of age. In addition EEC provides support for information and referral services, inclusive programming for children with special needs, parenting and family support, and professional development opportunities for educators in the early education and out of school time fields. These efforts affect thousands of early education and out of school time providers, who serve more than275,000 children each day. In its broadest role, EEC also serves as a source of information to more than one million families in Massachusetts.In the years preceding Fiscal Year 2007, Community Partnerships for Children (CPC) program components were funded through a single line-item structure. In FY 2007, major CPC program components previously captured under the FY 2006 single budget line item were moved to distinct line items for the purposes of Local Planning and Coordination and Preschool Direct Services. Funding for the direct service delivery of program accreditation, professional development, and early childhood mental health services were no longer included in CPC specific line item funding.
Through this RFR, EEC seeks to provide renewal funding for:
- Preschool Direct Services in the form of financial assistance for income eligible childrenand/or teacher salaries; and
- Planning and Coordination to support community-wide efforts to coordinate EEC programs and services and facilitate access to high quality services.
Purpose: / Preschool Direct Service Grant
The purpose of the Preschool Direct Service grant is to provide financial assistance opportunities for preschool children from low-income, working families, children deemed at-risk, and children with special needs to participate in high quality early education and care programs that promote their healthy development and school success in inclusive learning environments.
Local Planning and Coordination Grant
The purpose of the CPC program Local Planning and Coordination grant is to support children’s school readiness by planning for and coordinating a broad range of services at the community level for children and families. The Local Planning and Coordination grant is also intended to ensure equitable access to EEC financial assistance and information on high quality early education and care options for families; facilitate access to resources for providers to increase program quality(including professional development);facilitate access to comprehensive services for children; and coordinate family support and education activities. Local planning and coordination grants support community collaboration maximizingresources for children and families at the local level.
Goals and Priorities:
Goals and Priorities: (Continued) / The FY 2009 goals and priorities for the CPC Program, which are listed below,reflect the mission of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) to improve the affordability, accessibility, and quality of early education and care in the Commonwealth and are organized by funding source: Preschool Direct Services and Local Planning and Coordination..
Preschool Direct Services
The goals and FY 2009 priorities for the Preschool Direct Services grant are to:
1.Provide access to an array of child care and preschool settings based on parent choice.
2.Implement more consistent provider payments.
3.Support participation of peer models in inclusive preschool settings.
4.EEC is seeking several communities to volunteer for a Subsidy Management Transition Pilot this year in which participants will agree to shift their subsidy management over into one of the existing EEC online child care information management systems (eCCIMS and CCIMS) during FY 2009.
Participation in the Pilot will inform the transition of all subsidy management activities to a more consolidated online method of billing by FY 2010. This Pilot will help EEC determine ways to minimize the affects this transition will have on Local Planning and Coordination funding thus allowing Local Councils the ability to reinvest in expanded local planning efforts.
Local Planning and Coordination
EEC hasthe following goals and priorities for Local Planning and Coordination funding in FY 2009:
- Maximize Community Coordination, Collaboration and Outreach
- Plan coordinated services, supports, and care that promote family engagement, school readiness and high quality early education and care.
- Existing councils are encouraged to expand their planning efforts to include programs, services, and providers serving families birth through kindergarten and including school age children if practical.
A. Act as a local point of entry, to support families in accessing high quality programs, financial assistance,and other resources in the community.
B. Ensure that priority children and families and children of families who may be difficult to reach by traditional methods, are located and offered an opportunity to participate in a program that meets their needs.
3. Provider Quality Improvement
A.Increase the quality of programs by facilitating access to professional development opportunities for providers.
B.Strengthen programs in your community by encouraging and coordinating activities that enhance quality.
4. Facilitate Access to Comprehensive Services, Family Education, and Support
- Promote school readiness, healthy development, and emotional well-being of children age birth to five through access to comprehensive services and programssuch as parent and child activities, family education and support, transition to kindergarten, enhanced referral for children with special needs and family literacy activities.
Applicant Eligibility: / This is an application for renewal of FY 2008 grant funding. Existing CPC programs are eligible to apply for renewal of grant funds, either individually or jointly. Lead agencies that currently administer Community Partnerships for Children programs are to be the lead agency for these renewal funds, unless they choose to consolidate with another lead agency (see below).
In order to be eligible for renewal grant funds, each CPC must continue to convene a Local Council.
Consolidated Renewal Applications
CPC lead agencies may choose to consolidate their grants in the following circumstances:
- They administer more than one CPC program; and/or
- They have grant awards of less than $150,000; and/or
- They serve contiguous communities; and/or
- They employ a part time CPC Coordinator; and/or
- They are no longer interested in maintaining lead agency status.
If you choose to consolidate your CPC programs, please include a letter detailing who is acting as the lead agency, what communities are joining together, and the new total combined amount of funding.
Please note: The lead agency, CPC Council, and all subcontracted providers must comply with all applicable statutes, regulations, policies, and procedures, inclusive of any changes made to the CPC Program as a result of enacted legislation, duly promulgated regulations, or policies implemented by the Board and/or Department of Early Education and Care.
Funding: / This is an application for renewal of FY 2008 grant funding. CPC lead agencies may apply for the same level of funding allocated in FY 2008 for Preschool Direct Services and Local Planning and Coordination(please see Appendix F for funding amounts).
Continuation funding for the CPC program is subject to the FY2009state budget appropriations and budget language.
The approval of your FY 2009CPC renewal application and request for funds is contingent upon completion of all required FY 2008 and/or 2009 data reports.
Fund Use: / Preschool Direct Services
- Direct service funds may be used to serve families who meet EECfinancial assistance income and activity requirements (as delineated in the EEC Financial Assistance Policy Guide available at with preschool-age children in Head Start, public school programs, private preschools, child care centers, independent family child care programs, or family child care systems who meet CPC provider quality criteria set forth in Appendix Cthrough scholarships/subsidies paid via per child rates only.
Direct services may be provided by the lead agency and/or through subcontracts (subject to EEC approval) with other providers (public preschools, private preschool/child care, Head Start, independent family child care providers, and family child care systems). A lead agency or subcontracted provider subject to EEC licensure shall be awarded funds only if it is in substantial compliance with applicable EEC regulations.
2. Inclusive Learning Environment funding must be used to enhance a program’s capacity to serve children with and without disabilities in an integrated model. Inclusive Learning Environments shall meet the following standards:
- Services in such programs may be provided in the public school, Head Start, or a licensed child care setting in the form of teacher salaries, paraprofessional salaries, and fringe benefits.
- Class size shall not exceed 20 with one teacher and one aide and no more than five students with disabilities.* If the number of students with disabilities* is six or seven then the class size may not exceed 15 students with one teacher and one aide. At a minimum, classrooms composition must reflect 15% children with documented disabilities to be considered an inclusive learning environment.
- Classrooms where children with documented special needs and/or disabilities comprise over 50% of classroom enrollment are considered substantially separate learning environments and do not qualify for these funds.
Please note: Rural communities whose population does not reflect the minimum requirements detailed above, must attach a detailed narrative to the CPC Renewal Application describing the population of the community and how these funds will still meet the general objective of providing opportunities for inclusion.
Additional Services that can be provided with Preschool Direct Service funding:
A.Transportation, with the exclusion of transportation required on a child’s IEP; or
B.Supplemental services for inclusion: CPC costs associated with supplemental services provided to children with IEPs to enhance his or her full participation in a program beyond the services required on his or her IEP.
- Qualified special education, behavioral, and/or medical consultants may be hired in settings to support successful inclusion of all children with special needs by providing technical assistance to staff and parents on topics relative to the child’s disability, including ,but not limited to: helping to identify children who may have special needs; disability awareness, environmental and curricula adaptations and modifications; and creating, monitoring, and implementing behavior plans when the behavior is not manifested by the child’s disability and/or addressed in the child’s IEP. Resources funded through this line should be available community wide. This funding may not be used to fund one-on-one aides, as those services should be delivered through a child’s IEP.
Funding for Inclusive Learning Environments can not exceed the original amount of funding allocated to the Preschool Teacher Salary, Paraprofessional Salary and Preschool Direct Services Staff Fringe Benefits lines in the FY 2008 the CPC renewal application. The Inclusive Learning Environment amounts are reported in Appendix F.
Programs that funded teacher salaries and fringe in FY2008 should continue to use these funds in those settings provided they meet the definition of Inclusive Learning Environments above. In the event that funding is not going to be used in those programs according to the definition, that funding may be redistributed to other programs that meet this definition. Funding can also be redistributed to support additional services in the form of transportation or supplemental services to children with IEPs, or financial assistance via subsidies (meeting EEC eligibility and activity requirements).
Teacher and paraprofessional salaries may be funded with Inclusive Learning Environment funding in a program which is not administered by the Lead Agency, provided that the classroom in which they are working meets the definition of an Inclusive Learning Environment, as detailed above.
Local Planning and Coordination
Local Planning and Coordination funding may be used for the following purposes:
- Staff salaries*;
- Staff Fringe costs*;
- Supplies and materials*;
- Printing and reproduction*;
- Travel*;
- Rent and/or utility costs associated with CPC program coordination or preschool direct service space*.
Subcontracting for Local Planning and Coordination Services:
Subcontracts for local planning and coordination functions of the CPC grant, including subsidy management services such as intake, eligibility determination, waiting list management, and information and referral services may only be awarded to the following entities:
- Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (see Appendix D for rate requirements);
- Public School Districts;
- Entities which hold current contracts directly with the Commonwealth for contracted income eligible care.
CPCs who subcontract with CCR&Rs for subsidy management are encouraged to participate in the Subsidy Management Transition Pilot.
Required Services: / Preschool Direct Service Funding
Grant recipients must deliver the following required services and/or activities with preschool direct service funds:
- Provide financial assistance to families with preschool-aged children who meet statewide EEC eligibility requirements. Fund children outside of your current CPC catchment areaand include communities and programs not served by a CPC (Ashby, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Hopedale, Lincoln, Longmeadow, Lunenburg, Nahant, Pepperell, Richmond, Somerset, Townsend, Tyngsboro, Weston, West Townsend)in order to maximize fund use and children served.
- Use the centralized waiting list for all new placements (with the exception of children served through Inclusive Learning Environment funds) and keep waiting list data accurate and up to date.
- Ensure that scholarships/financial assistancepaid via per child rates adhere to rate cap requirements set forth in Appendix D.
- If your CPC has an Inclusive Learning Environment Allocation (See Appendix F), enhance a program’s capacity to serve children with and without disabilities in an integrated model by funding teacher/paraprofessional salaries and fringe costs with Inclusive Learning Environment funds.
- Recruit a mixed system of providers who meet CPC program quality requirements set forth in Appendix Cin order to maximize parent choice.
Grant recipients must deliver the following required services and/or activities with local planning and coordination funds:
Maximize Community Coordination, Collaboration and Outreach
1.Facilitate collaboration through your Local Council to strengthen existing connections as well as develop new relationships between local programs, initiatives, and Local Councils (for further detail regarding roles and responsibilities of the Local Council please see Appendix B);
2.Reduce duplication of services and efforts by connecting resources and coordinating grant funding with other programs (i.e. Accreditation, Professional Development, Building Careers, UPK, Mental Health grantees, Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Massachusetts Family Network Programs, Parent-Child Home Programs, and Public Schools) and initiatives while promoting equitable access among families.
Family Access and Affordability
- Place all eligible families seeking financial assistance on the centralized waiting list.
- Educate and provide consistent information and referral services connecting families to high quality preschool programs and resources.
- Support children with and without disabilities by providing enhanced referrals where necessary and conduct follow-up regarding placement and services provided.
1.Assess the needsof providers in your community and coordinate access to supports for achievement of National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation, Child Development Associate (CDA), or National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) accreditationfor providers in your community.