Posted: January 8, 2016 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Business Ethics, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, Consumer Protection, DECCD-MDHS, General, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Building Blocks, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: 2007 Market Survey Rates, Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, equal access, Hechinger Report, Hechinger Report; Kellogg Foundation; Quality Rating System; SECAC, Kellogg Foundation, Market Survey Rates, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, Quality Rating System, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation |
Click here for more on 2014 CCDBG Reauthorization Act.
Click here for definition of Central Planning.
Posted: July 19, 2014 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), General, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Building Blocks, Mississippi First, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Human Services, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC Mississippi, Suel v MDHS, T.E.A.C.H., Uncategorized, Xerox | Tags: "Race to the Top", 2007 Market Survey Rates, Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, CCPP-approved Provider, child care licensing Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), equal access, Hechinger Report; Kellogg Foundation; Quality Rating System; SECAC, Kellogg Foundation, Market Survey Rates, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi early learning system, Mississippi First, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi licensed child care, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Xerox |
Posted: October 31, 2013 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), General, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Building Blocks, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, MS Department of Human Services, Office of the Attorney General, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, SB2395, School Readiness, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", 2007 Market Survey Rates, Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), equal access, Hechinger Report, Hechinger Report; Kellogg Foundation; Quality Rating System; SECAC, Kellogg Foundation, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi early childhood education, Mississippi early learning system, Mississippi First, Mississippi Quality Stars, Mississippi School Readiness, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation |
Dept. of Ed Requires First Phase QRIS and Scores Absent APL!
The Associated Press reports the competition is fierce among groups applying for preschool money.
“The Department of Education says 72 groups have indicated interest in the money, which is supposed to fund at least 1,325 spots statewide.”
“About 50 of the community consortiums are led by public school districts, while the rest are led by private child care centers or nonprofit groups. Some led by private child care centers could be ineligible, because the law specifies that a community group must be led by a school or nonprofit.”
Providers noted right away the original legislation drafted by Rachel Cantor and sponsored by Senator Brice Wiggins also required participating child care programs to participate in this State’s very poor performing QRIS…which would have left 97% of all licensed child care ineligible right from the start!
A recent national study concludes that after more than 14 years of implementation, QRIS systems still do not improve school readiness or learning outcomes for young children.
Click here to read the Education Week publication, “Child-Care Rating Systems Earn Few Stars in Study.”
Another long-term study now being concluded by the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative has revealed Mississippi’s Quality Stars scoring method is both subjective and inconsistent.
Even Mississippi’s recent Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge application acknowledges the need and lays out a plan to validate costly QRIS through child outcomes.
So, if current and removed QRIS is not valid and does not improve school readiness, who is insisting it be included now as one pre-requisite for Pre-K participation?
Read on.
During the 2013 legislative session, the Mississippi Association of Licensed Child Care Providers successfully lobbied to have QRIS or any specific measure of quality removed from the Early Learning Collaborative Act as a requirement of participation until 2016, in hopes that either a validated measure of quality will be developed in that time or it will be more widely accepted that “smoke and mirrors” QRIS does not raise academic achievement or justify implementation costs.
However, following the close of the legislative session and sometime after meeting with Representative Toby Barker and Senator Brice Wiggins, the Mississippi Department of Ed.’s Tracina Green and others put the QRIS requirement back in as child care “policy“ without benefit of the required exercise in Administrative Procedures.
Further, MDE requested a large budget increase above and beyond the scheduled incremental pre-kindergarten funding expansions and NOT the first day of state funded preschool has taken place yet!
Why didn’t MDE recommend that more than $11,000,000 in quality funding now supporting the legislatively removed QRIS be used, instead, to fund expanded pre-kindergarten programs in child care programs which meet all other qualifications and offer full day, full year Universal pre-k options to working families?
Emails to Representative Toby Barker have gone unanswered.
Two requests to MDE’s Robin Lemonis for identification of the task force members MDE appointed to advise in pre-school implementation have gone unanswered.
Many providers are guessing that MDE task force relationships will likely link to programs funded by or programs partnering with those currently funded through QRIS – a screening tool that may very well claim disparate intent and “narrowing of the competitive field” as its greatest achievements thus far!
Others have turned wide-spread discussion of this MDE conduct into a humorous game show of sorts to just Name the First Wave of Pre-K Awards!
Let us join in the fun!
Identify the Players from the above text!
Which programs do you think will receive First Wave Pre-K Funding?
Send in your Answers!
(Participating child care providers/educators will remain anonymous.)
It will be great fun to look back and see how correct we are/were when MDE awards are finally announced!
In the meantime, the Mississippi Association of Licensed Child Care Providers’ Executive Committee will meet soon to determine the much more serious nature and course of its response to the Department of Education’s interpretation of the Early Learning Collaborative Act.
Posted: August 13, 2013 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, General, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, SECAC, SECAC Mississippi, Suel v MDHS, Uncategorized, Xerox | Tags: 2007 Market Survey Rates, Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, equal access, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, Market Survey Rates, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Xerox |
Incentives for “Shouting ‘Program Fraud’ in a Crowded Theater”?
Like all private schools and private academies, the child care industry standard throughout the nation is to charge full-time fees for full-time slots- regardless of attendance – in order to cover fixed cost per-child including staffing, meals, instruction, accreditation standards, licensing standards, administration and maintenance of facilities, buildings and grounds.
Xerox. the tech systems giant, has created e-Childcare™ which defines child care assistance paid for actual attendance by the hour and possible six-minute increments as accurate payment. (This implies the current Mississippi policy of full-time reimbursement for full-time slots is “attendance related payment error” by the provider.)
I am convinced such a careful play of words is used by some to build public support of this adverse policy by inflaming racial bias, assigning disparaging stereotypes and insinuating widespread fraud all the while absolving huge “savings” to states and large contracts to Xerox by affectively compensating compliant providers for less. (Click here to see XEROX “Proven Ideas for Tough Times September 2012.)
In its Economic Impact Statement proposing e-Childcare™, the state said it could save up to $18 million annually by reducing false attendance claims by childcare providers.
“It has been tough economic times for the state. This will make more federal dollars available to increase the number of children served through the certificate program,” said Jill Dent, DECCD Director at DHS.
Providers maintain Jill Dent has spent like a “drunken sailor” during said tough economic times for the state by awarding $8,000,000 more than federally required on quality initiatives to a university and non-profits in 2012, more than doubling the spending in 2013 to administer a failed QRIS and spending more on “quality” than any other DHS administration in this state’s history (with little success to show for it) all the while placing children of the working poor on a waiting list to be served – children who could have been served with that funding! Holding quality spending to the federally required amount of 4% should have been listed as a less stringent manner in which to serve more children in the Economic Impact Statement Dent provided. (Click here to review the 2012 quality spending listed in the current CCDF State Plan, page 7.)
It was not.
Professor Michele Estrin Gilman of the University of Baltimore School of Law writes: “These for-profit entities have different incentives, and more political power, than the nonprofit entities typically engaged in social service delivery in the past. In many contracting schemes, where a set fee is paid to the contractor (Xerox), the more money the provider (DHS) saves, the more money the provider (DHS) gets to keep. This raises incentives for profit-seeking organizations to cut staffs and to implement other cost-savings measures that can impact the quality of service provided.” (Click here to view “Legal Accountability in an Era of Privatized Welfare“.)
The American Civil Liberties Union in Mississippi is researching the legality of the finger scans and the ACLU in Louisiana is also beginning to express concern for Louisiana providers.
And around the country, child care rights advocates watching Mississippi say the finger-scanning policy is troubling.
Under the DECCD leadership of Jill Dent, low-income working families qualifying for child care assistance – the very poorest of the working poor – have not been provided an increase in child care assistance fees since before three Minimum Wage increases.
The federal CCDF statute at 658E(c)(4) and the regulations at §98.43(b)(1) require the Lead Agency to establish adequate payment rates for child care services that ensure eligible children equal access to comparable care. (Click here to see current CCDF State Plan at section 2.7. Payment Rates for Child Care Services. pp. 67 -70.)
In Mississippi, less than full-time 2007 market rate “hourly reimbursement fees” for actual attendance electronically submitted to e-Childcare™ for payment will not cover costs per-child or buy access to comparable programs for low-income children. It will likely create disparate impact on a protected group of small child care businesses that do accept and enroll large numbers of low-income children receiving Mississippi child care assistance.
Deloris Suel (child care providers) sued Richard Berry and MDHS for a failure to provide a proper Economic Impact Statement as specifically outlined in the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act outlining the adverse affect of e-Childcare™ to a specific type of provider – licensed centers.
A Final Hearing will be held Wednesday, August 14, 2013, beginning at 9:00 AM, in Hinds County Chancery Court, 407 East Pascagoula Street, Jackson, MS, Judge Denise Owens presiding.
The plaintiff is represented by Attorney Lisa Ross of Jackson, MS.
Posted: August 9, 2013 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Hechinger Foundation, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, Office of the Attorney General, SECAC, SECAC Mississippi, Suel v MDHS, Uncategorized, Xerox | Tags: Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, equal access, Hechinger Report, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi child care, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Xerox |
Call the Governor – Court on Wednesday,
8/14/13
It is alleged that XEROX representatives have been instructed to install as many finger scan machines as possible as quickly as possible prior to the date of the Finger Scan Final Hearing scheduled for:
Finger Scan Final Hearing
Wednesday
August 14th
8:30 AM
Hinds County Chancery Court
Judge Denise Owens
Jackson, MS.
If you feel you have been threatened by the Xerox representatives, some of whom are alleged to be saying you must allow the machines to be installed now if you are going to participate (” or I will tell DHS you are not going to continue in the Program.”) rather than wait for your response on August 15, 2013, you should do one or all of the following:
-
Ask for the name of the Xerox representative;
-
Ask for a contact telephone number;
-
Explain that you will be making your decision on August 15th;
-
If they place additional calls, record them (If you place the call, you must inform them you are recording);
-
CALL THE GOVERNOR’S OFFICE TO FILE A COMPLAINT and…
ASK THE GOVERNOR TO BAN THE SCAN!
Call: (601) 359-3150.
Finally, share your complaint, recordings and all acts of alleged intimidation with the Mississippi Association of Licensed Child Care Providers ASAP for consideration to be given as testimony to the Court and/or further legal action.
Posted: July 17, 2013 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), General, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Building Blocks, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, child care licensing Mississippi, child care Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), equal access, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, MDHS, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi early childhood education, Pre-K Curriculum, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation |
Early Learning Coup d’état?
On July 11, 2013, Annjo Lemons, appointed liaison for the State Early Childhood Advisory Council to the Department of Education, reported to SECAC that the implementation of the PreK legislation was being followed “to the letter of the law”(?).
Another member of the Council added that the Q & A following the Department of Ed’s webinar was now posted. (Click here to review) :
“Q20: Who was present at the May 23rd internal meeting to discuss the role of the State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC) in PreK implementation and administration? Was SECAC present for the purpose of determining what role it could best provide?
A20: SECAC designated Ann Jo [SIC] Lemons to serve as the liaison. MDE staff and Ann Jo [SIC] Lemons met on this date. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the implementation timeline and the role of SECAC.”
Early Learning Collaborative Act History
Lines 173 – 175: Participating child care centers shall meet state child care facility licensure requirements as well as have a rating of at least a “3″on the Quality Rating and Improvement Scale.
(ALL QRIS LANGUAGE WAS STRICKEN BY THE HOUSE)
Lines 158 – 162: Participating childcare centers shall meet state child care facility licensure requirements and each local childhood collaborative council applying for funding shall select a nationally recognized assessment tool designed to document child learning outcomes, which shall be the only additional measure of program quality allowable under the provisions of this act.
(LANGUAGE ALLOWING COLLABORATIVE COUNCILS TO SELECT QUALITY MEASURES WAS STRICKEN BY THE HOUSE.)
Lines 174 – 179: Participating child care centers shall: (a) meet state child care facility licensure requirements unless exempted under Section 43-20-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, and (b) select and utilize a nationally recognized assessment tool, approved by the State Department of Education, designed to document classroom quality, which must be in place not later than July 1, 2016, as certified by the State Department of Education.
(Adopted by Senate/House and Signed by Governor)
June 14, 2013, Email from Robin Lemonis of MDE in Response to this Blog:
“Debbie, I wanted to clarify that we have not sought input from any organization about the Quality Classroom Measure that will be used for the required participation criteria for the purpose of the Early Learning Collaborative RFP. We did meet with Representative Barker and Senator Wiggins to ensure that as the Mississippi Department of Education prepared to implement the Early Learning Collaborative Act, we fully understood the intent of the legislation.
“MDE will release an RFP to establish a list of measures. We will not be requiring the use of one specific measure. We will give the Collaborative the flexibility to select a measure from a list that will be approved by MDE.”
The intent of the legislation provided by MDE is the language stricken in Conference and not the intent of the legislation passed by both Chambers which was signed into law!
Annjo Lemons is the former Executive Director of Excel by 5.
Brice Wiggins is a founding member of Excel by 5 and his Legislative BIO states he is Chairman of Pascagoula Excel by 5. (Click here.)
Excel by 5 certification for designated communities requires the local communities to have from thirty percent (30%) to sixty percent (60%) of licensed child care facilities participate in the voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement Scale. (Click here.).
According to a RAND Corporation long-term study, QRIS is costly, difficult to administer and does not improve learning or social development for children. (Click here to read.)
Mississippi Building Blocks no longer requires participation in Mississippi’s QRIS.
The Gilmore Foundation, also, dismissed required participation in Mississippi’s QRIS.
Dr. Cathy Grace, also of the Gilmore Foundation but acting as Past President of MsECA, in a Q & A to providers on Senate Bill 2395, posted an MsECA announcement that QRIS would continue through Child Care Development Fund quality grants from DHS. (Click here.)
QRIS is administered by the MSU Early Childhood Institute – Dr. Cathy Grace is the founding member.
CCDF funding to ECI more than doubled this year.
After more than six program years, there are only 65 “rated” facilities in the State.
On May 8, 2013, Robin Lemonis of MDE- using MDE equipment while on MDE time-distributed MsECA conference information announcing the authors of ITERS (QRIS) and ECERS (QRIS) as presenters. (Click here to review.)
The four SB 2395 child care providers, one from each Congressional District, to be appointed to SECAC effective July 1, 2013, have not yet been appointed and were not seated for the July 11, 2013, SECAC meeting.
Mark Your Calendars!
- A Mississippi Child Care Coalition Press Conference is scheduled for Friday, July 26, 2013.
- A Mississippi Child Care Coalition Meeting with Congressman Bennie Thompson and State Legislators is scheduled for Sunday, August 4, 2013 at 3:00 PM in Holmes Hall on the campus of Tougaloo College.
Clarion-Ledger Today: “Child care providers raise concerns over state rating system.”
Posted: August 7, 2012 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: Allies for Quality Care, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Delta Licensed Providers, Head Start, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: 2007 Market Survey Rates, Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, equal access, Market Survey Rates, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, SECAC Mississippi |
I think we are witnessing a TOTAL DISCONNECT between state employees and the small child care businesses and families they serve.
On June 11, 2012, Fox News reported that the Federal Reserve had announced the U.S. Economy was flirting and tinkering on the edge of ‘double dip’ recession.
Around that same time, the Mississippi Department of Health Division of Child Care Licensing announced plans for costly amendments to the regulations governing child care.
The timing could not be a stronger example of the failure of state employees to understand basics in business and economic principles and/or of their callous disregard for the dire financial crisis the majority of licensed providers are facing as a result of high unemployment, unfilled vacancies and ever dwindling income for more than a year now – only to be worsened as public schools begin classes this week and there is no money available for Priority III Certificates needed to fill ADDITIONAL NEW EMPTY SLOTS in most licensed centers.
Already, at least one Delta provider has ended provision of services for care in the highest demand – infant care – because she cannot afford the new baby beds adopted in the last child care regulations revision.
Many providers plan now to end after-school programs and transportation services with the ban of 16 passenger vans as they cannot sell or pay off their fleets or afford new buses in this or any other economy.
The meeting of the Child Care Advisory Board held in Jackson last month was well attended by child care providers. A spill over (larger) room had to be secured to house the meeting.
Even still, child care providers do not feel that they were heard.
One Advisory Board member, representing Head Start, did suggest that this was not a good time for costly changes. (Thank you!)
However, in spite of her position and the representation of concerns by providers for prohibiting Pack-N-Plays, there was only one lone dissenting vote cast by another member of the Advisory Council (privately owned and operated) against the proposal to ban them. (Thanks, also, to her for her courage.)
As a result, days ago, the MSDH licensing staff released Draft #3 of the proposed amendments including those opposed by a strong showing of privately owned providers.
FORTUNATELY, the State Board of Health must approve all regulations before they are adopted.
As requested, I have provided a list of the Board of Health membership. If you wish, contact your Board Of Health Representative and share your concerns with them.
It is unclear if there will be a public hearing called with direct notification to all licensed providers or if the Final Draft will simply be presented to the State Board of Health in October. I have been provided no specifics on that and previous memos from MSDH indicated that the Child Care Advisory Council meeting would also serve as the required public hearing. This does, however, seem to indicate that now, there will be at least one more public hearing 20 days prior to submission of a Final Draft to the Board of Health.
Regardless, a statewide meeting of child care providers is being planned to discuss the proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care.
Please stay tuned!
In the meantime, if you would like a copy of draft #3 of the Proposed Amendments to the Regulations, email me and I will provide the same.
(IF YOU HAVE CONTACT INFORMATION AND EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR ANY OF THE MEMBERS OF THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, PLEASE PROVIDE THEM TO ME AND I WILL UPDATE THE LIST BELOW.)
Posted: July 30, 2012 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, HB1174, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi First, MS Department of Education, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, School Readiness, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, child care Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, Hechinger Report; Kellogg Foundation; Quality Rating System; SECAC, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi licensed child care, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System |
Q&A with Lynn Darling- Early Childhood Institute, MSU
The Hechinger Report is taking an extended look at why the children of Mississippi rank near the bottom of the nation in academic achievement. The Hechinger Report spoke with Lynn Darling, director of the Early Childhood Institute.
July 27, 2012
What needs to change before we see a statewide pre-k system in Mississippi?
“When we were working on the Race to the Top Early Learning grant, we started that work and the ball got rolling. But without the funding, it’s incredibly difficult to take the next step. We attempted to move child licensure from the Department of Health to the Department of Human Services, which would have been one step in addressing the system change, and it was defeated in the legislature. So we just have a lot of work to do in creating a unified system with all players at the table in agreement about what direction we’re headed.”
How do you invest in these players and stakeholders?
“There’s a concern that if we fund pre-k, then a lot of privately-owned child care centers will go out of business.”
“It’s expensive to run infant and toddler classrooms—you need a 3- and 4-year-old classroom to pay the bills—so it would be difficult for a private child care center to remain in business just serving infants and toddlers. That’s a concern.” (click)
“But at the same time, we want every child to get a high-quality early learning experience, and we want those years in 3- and 4-year-old classes to be high-quality experiences, not just child care.”
In his “State of the State” speech in January, Governor Phil Bryant said that in the next year, the state will gather information from several programs the Institute is involved with, such as Excel by 5, the Quality Rating System, and Mississippi Building Blocks, to determine best practices for early childhood learning. What are some other next steps?
“We need to follow Maryland’s model, develop four or five goals for early childhood education and then start mapping out ways to make that happen. There are a lot of opportunities for leaders across the state to come together but I feel we’re doing a lot of talking and not making forward progress.”
UPDATE I:
Now Posted on:
(Click)
UPDATE II:
The Rest of the Story! TIME MAGAZINE
Mississippi Learning: Why the State’s Students Start Behind — and Stay Behind
“The issue remains tricky for the public, though. A 2010 survey by The Center for Education Innovation found that while 71 percent of Mississippi’s registered voters wanted to improve early learning opportunities, only 31 percent thought the state government should foot the bill.”
“But the state’s fragmented network of early childhood providers — which includes informal daycare, licensed facilities, church-based programs and Head Start — do not always communicate with the public school system. Many of the programs have no uniform quality standards. In addition, to teach pre-k in Mississippi, teachers need only be 18 and possess a high school diploma or its equivalent.”
“In Mississippi, those who argue against state-funded pre-k say there’s no evidence it would change the state’s dismal education performance. “Appropriating more money in general has not proven to make any change at all in outcomes,” says Forest Thigpen, president of the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, a right-leaning independent think tank based in Jackson. Thigpen says it’s up to churches and families to do more to get children ready for school; he would rather see state money spent on improving the current system.”
Posted: June 1, 2012 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, child care Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, equal access, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi |
Louisiana is tracking the actual time a child is in attendance and may be reimbursing for actual time only.
Centers who depend on full enrollment at 95% and full collection of fees to cover operating costs would not be able to continue in business under such a method. (click)
However, this method would be fine for less costly unregulated in-home care. Mississippi has the highest percentage of subsidized unregulated care in the South already. With tracking and reimbursement of time services, that number would grow and I am guessing that the amount of money available for”quality grants” would increase as well.
Dr. Jill Dent failed to issue an Economic Impact Statement under the guidelines of the Administrative Procedures Act prior to the purchase of more than 1800 pieces of finger scan equipment, so I am assuming that our budgets will not be negatively impacted and we will continue to be paid for full day services regardless of whether or not the enrolled children are in attendance as long as we provide comment to DECCD for any child absent for three consecutive days. (See Child Care Policy Manual.)
Excluding Head Start, all licensed child care facilities receive low-income state subsidies but for approximately 150 centers statewide.
1355 licensed centers throughout Mississippi do receive subsidized payments for child care services according to 2010 data.
The Mississippi Child Care Industry has been greatly impacted by DECCD decisions thus far, so small business providers should be informed and keep their legislators informed. I have provided the following for your review.
Department of Children and Family Services State of Louisiana
Parents of children enrolled in CCAP, which provides assistance to help pay for child care while parents work or attend school or training, and parents and caregivers of children in OCS programs that pay for child care are required to participate in TOTS. (click)
When TOTS begins at your child’s day care center, you must check your child in and out of care each day using the electronic process used by your child care provider in order for CCAP payments to be made to your provider on your behalf.
TOTS uses finger imaging (similar to that used in some school lunch programs) or Interactive Voice Response (similar to the LaHELPU number) as the way to keep track of your child’s attendance.
Finger imaging is a way that measures physical characteristics and converts this into a numeric code to identify a person. This information will not be shared with any other state or federal agency.
TOTS begins statewide on August 1.(2010) The statewide launch is an expansion of a Lafayette-area pilot program that began in July. CCAP participants in the Lafayette area were finger imaged in June and do not need to be imaged again.
“Currently, Oklahoma and Indiana are the only other states operating a similar child care time and attendance program,” said Johnson.
“Oklahoma reported savings of $10 million in the first year; we expect to see similar results in Louisiana.” (click)
Carol Burnett of the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative has sent you a survey to collect your thoughts on finger image scanners to track time and attendance of Mississippi’s low-income children receiving subsidized child care services. (click)
PLEASE COMPLETE THE SURVEY AND RETURN IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Posted: May 20, 2012 | Author: Debbie Ellis | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Attorney General Jim Hood; Quality Rating System; Quality Star Step; DECCD-MDHS;, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi early childhood education, Mississippi early learning system, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement |
Okay! ‘Fess up! Which one of you invited Madea to a SECAC meeting?
I cannot imagine why SECAC feels it is necessary to address the possibility of disruptive conduct at its meetings from child care providers, most of whom are so fearful of possible threats and retaliation from state agencies, they will not open their mouths to speak even at the appropriate time.
Okay. It has been reported that alleged disparaging and unauthorized remarks from the gallery about the child care industry were injected or shouted into the Council’s meeting by one “not recognized” representative of a CCDF funded member organization, but no action was taken and no point of order was called.
Overall, I just think the SECAC lecture on the rules addressing disruptive behavior at its meetings goes to its control issues and the negative attitude and tone it has set towards child care providers in general, but it gives way to great humor! (click) (Click)
Guidelines for Public Comments to the State Early Childhood Advisory Council: (click)
Disruptive Conduct
Meeting attendees shall refrain from private conversations and interrupting Council members and/or speakers while the Council meeting is in session. Unauthorized remarks from the audience, hand clapping, cheering, whistling, yelling, stamping of feet, and/or similar demonstrations shall not be permitted in the meeting room. No placards, commercial flags, banners or other signs will be permitted in the room in which the Council is meeting. [Note: Exhibits, displays, and visual aids which pertain to presented agenda items to the Board are permissible.]
Removal for Disruptive Conduct
Any person engaging in disruptive conduct as defined above or who makes profane or slanderous remarks or who engages in personal attacks during the Council meeting will be asked to leave or, if she or he refuses, will be removed from the meeting as directed by the Chair. Any person engaging in disruptive behavior on more than one occasion may be barred from attending future Council meetings.
A History Lesson:
In the oldest wing of Westminster Abbey, a small section of broken floor tile (slabs) is cordoned off with velvet rope. Placards announce that visitors are not allowed to touch any part of the sacred area. It is highly regarded as the secret meeting place where knights of long ago gathered to protest the abuses of King John and demand rights for both noblemen and ordinary Englishmen. During these meetings, they shouted and stamped their feet so loudly and were so disruptive that eventually, the Benedictine Monks threw them out.
The knights carried on with their work elsewhere, including in a field at Runnymede.
I give you the Houses of Parliament and the Magna Carta. (click) (click)
Order! Order!
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