MSDH and Interested Parties Invoke Child Care Emergency Rules Citing Rising Covid-19 Spread
Posted: July 23, 2020 Filed under: Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, COVID-19, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Licensing, child care Mississippi, Mississippi Child Care Licensing 2 Comments
Zoom Meeting On MSDH Emergency Regulations
Posted: July 19, 2020 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, COVID-19, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MLICCI, MS Department of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Health Department Leave a comment
Get rid of the “bad” ones? (Dr. Chad Allgood is Stigmatizing Child Care!)
Posted: September 18, 2019 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Human Services, NAEYC, NSparc, Office of Govenor Phil Bryant, SECAC Mississippi, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, child care licensing Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Health Department, proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentGet rid of the “bad” ones? (Dr. Chad Allgood is Stigmatizing Child Care!)
Prepare for fines and/or closure or contact your legislators today!
My Facebook friend and I have been having lively debate regarding the role of child care licensure and her Facebook friend, Dr. Chad Allgood, formally of MSU Quality Stars Q.R.I.S. (That program was abolished in 2015 by popular demand! According to paid consultants, after millions and millions of CCDF dollars spent in Q.R.I.S. administration over eight years, only 63 child care facilities out of 1,700 actually held a quality rating or measured up to national bench marks because his organization did not update the scoring scale. Coincidentally, DECCD did not have sufficient funding to provide quality incentive bonuses to all providers who participated. Could that have influenced scores and choice of obsolete scales?)
Likewise, I do not support reducing the number of child care facilities down to a number that will allow Child Care Licensing to begin unannounced, long and disruptive “Observation Based Inspections” or four inspections per year where fines may be imposed as they are often in the hundreds and thousands of dollars.
I do not support the act of Child Care Licensing interfering in voluntary quality improvement exercises by asking the technical assistance coaches with other agencies to lodge complaints with Child Care Licensing on child care centers rather than correct any errors on site for the those seeking quality improvement. I find that counterproductive to quality improvement and to be a little too desperate and eager to rack up fines and demonstrate power.
I do not support inspecting a child care provider 12 times over an 8 week period and/or alleged stalking (allegedly picked up on surveillance cameras) as that meets the legal definition of harassment – that’s not conduct any state actor should be engaged in! (It is precisely why the number of inspections is preset by lawmakers. It also demonstrates that legislators should add specific verbiage to the words “one and more as needed” as well as look into the agency’s process of screening “complaints” and/or abuse of power.)
I do not support reducing the number of licensed child care programs down to a number to promote any state actor’s need for recognition, relevance or to duplicate services, push a personal agenda or embed his own program of unfunded national bench marks/recommendations into licensing, particularly when there is only statutory authority to promulgate minimum standards. (See the Economic Impact Statement – fines/business closures are not addressed.)
I do believe my Facebook friend is right about one thing, however, and that is that work of Dr. Chad Allgood is to get rid of child care centers. He has already revoked many child care licenses based on fines imposed in a single licensing period and at least one excited licensing official has already announced that she can close down a child care facility anytime she wants!
State actor contempt has become so intense, in fact, at a recent meeting on obesity, an employee of the Mississippi State Department of Health revealed that because so much animosity and hostility has been demonstrated towards licensed child care providers, she actually removes her MSDH name badge before trying to collaborate with child care providers because otherwise, they will have nothing to do with her.
I think it is clear that new leadership is needed in Mississippi.
My Facebook friend feels I just have no respect for the leadership and asked me to name just one I respected.
It took a minute!
I listed Dr. Micca Knox of the Child Care Academy for having the professionalism and strong character to refuse to allow her technical assistance coaches to file complaints with the Office of Child Care Licensing following technical assistance sessions with unsuspecting child care providers she truly wishes to empower. (She is a former elementary school assistant principal with experience in effectively guiding and training teachers.)
My Facebook friend did not attend the Road Show so I have agreed to post clips of what I did film.
I was having camera issues – I switched it off!
I just didn’t feel I could watch a replay of smooth-talking doublespeak and I was so hoping Dr. Chad Allgood would see the error of his ways and make the decision not to bully and stigmatize child care or technical assistance opportunities with fines.
That has not happened…and Judas betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
So now, I yield and hope you and she can feel the mood and determine for yourself if measurable improved quality or improved health and safety is even a possibility under this leadership in this environment.
I, for one, do not exonerate him when he says he was once a Director, for I do not identify any relatable kinship as he is conducting himself and his office – this is some serious stuff!
I think it is more about who he thinks he is today and who he wants to be.
He has been pushing four inspections per year since he arrived from Q.R.I.S. He once announced four inspections for the Delta only because it was the only district with sufficient licensing officials or few enough centers to carry it out. I suppose by January, when this is scheduled to begin, he feels he will have closed enough child care centers and/or generated enough money to support his quality team and carry out four inspections per year state wide. He will surely be seen and heard then – to hear him tell it as he did in Hattiesburg, he will be known and called upon for his quality program nationwide!
So, prepare for fines and/or closure or contact your legislators today!
The Mississippi Legislature sets the number of times a child care facility may be inspected!
According to Dr. Allgood, one inspection is still a viable option and remains on the table.
Get rid of the “bad” ones? (Chad Allgood is Stigmatizing Child Care!)
I don’t think that program is new!
PRIOR TO THIS POST: I tried speaking to a member of Dr. Chad Allgood’s Quality Team at the Road Show but she walked away from me. I tried speaking to him, but I didn’t have time to wait. I telephoned his office and left a message. He made no effort to contact me in return.
For on site technical assistance sessions in transitional activities, effective discipline of young children, age appropriate lessons, nutrition, emergency preparedness and more that are not an inspection or held under threat of any monetary penalties to be reported online, contact the Child Care Academy in your area or Email Dr. Micca Knox at: mknox@mccb.edu
The Road Show Video
Technical Assistance Inspections Scheme
Posted: September 12, 2019 Filed under: Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, MS Department of Health | Tags: child care licensing Mississippi, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care Leave a comment
The 2019-2021 CCDF (SECAC) Final State Plan – Administrative Procedures Law
Posted: September 7, 2018 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, MS Department of Human Services, NSparc, SECAC Mississippi, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Market Survey Rates, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentTo read the law governing SECAC and MDHS rule-making, click here.
In the meantime, enjoy my interpretation of agency rule-making below!
Aug. 10th Debbie Ellis vs. Mississippi Department of Health Jackson, MS
Posted: June 30, 2018 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, child care Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi licensed child care, proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentAug. 10th Debbie Ellis vs. Mississippi Department of Health
Petition for Restraining Order halting unlawfully assessed fines regarding the Maximum Capacity of a Classroom
Ms. Ellis sues on behalf of herself and ALL similarly situated child care providers.
Friday
August 10, 2018
9:00 A.M.
Before the Honorable Denise Owens
Hinds County Chancery Court
316 S. President St.
Jackson, MS 39201
Your support is greatly appreciated!
Please make plans to attend in a show of solidarity!
Please like and share on your Facebook page!
Follow and Like Delta Licensed Providers!
FOUR INSPECTIONS IN DELTA STOPPED!
Posted: February 17, 2017 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger, DECCD-MDHS, Hechinger Foundation, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Human Services, SECAC Mississippi, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, child care Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, MDHS, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Health Department, proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care, SECAC Mississippi 2 CommentsFOUR INSPECTIONS IN DELTA STOPPED!
Jim Craig, Director of the Office of Health Protection with the Mississippi State Department of Health has announced that four inspections of licensed child care facilities in the Delta has stopped!
The Department of Human Services recently increased funding to the Department of Health for the operation of the child care licensure program from 1 million to 2 million dollars annually.
In the sub-grantee plan submitted by the Health Department to DHS, the first order of business was to use the additional funding to create many new state agency jobs (very similar to those formally held by QRIS monitors and EYN staff) up to one MSDH employee for every 50 licensed child care facilities (until it had reached a total of 30 strong and all, of whom would need “training”)!
Next, MSDH proposed to conduct 4 compliance inspections of licensed child care facilities per year (which also increases the opportunity/odds for an even greater number of fines to be assessed and still greater revenue for the agency. At the October, 2014 meeting of the Mississippi Board of Health attended by child care providers, State Health Officer Dr. Mary Currier reported a “significant” portion of the operating budget of the Mississippi State Department of Health was funded and supported by fines the agency levied against individuals and businesses.)
Mississippi Code requires just one compliance inspection per year, but the rule also already allows for as many inspections as needed and justified by probable cause!
Likewise, the CCDFBG requires one compliance inspection per year.
In a letter sent tonight, Mr. Craig explained he had some questions and concerns about the recent four inspections “pilot” in the Delta and that he now wishes for the agency to review other approaches to protect the health and safety of our state’s most precious resource.
Please be advised, on July 11, 2013, a report from the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says Mississippi is violating federal rules by failing to enforce health and safety standards for home-based centers receiving federal subsidies. The report singles out Mississippi, saying it does nothing to comply. (Click here.)
Under new rules, the federal government is requiring unannounced inspections, a fuller background check, increased first aid and health training and a better definition of “physical safety” for In-Home child care sites.
In light of this, we ask Mr. Craig for his consideration of a what would be a much more responsible plan at this time. That is to say, first expend additional funds to implement a plan for monitoring the required health and safety standards for approximately twelve hundred home-based centers in Mississippi currently operating without regulation.
Mississippi State University has estimated that more than half of the state’s children are in unlicensed settings. Using CCDF funds to comply with the federal requirement to monitor home-based child care settings serving the majority of Mississippi’s young children would be a noble cause.
In the meantime, we thank him for his thoughtful leadership.
The Hechinger Report Supports MSDH Unlawful, Discriminatory Rule-Making as Experimental
Posted: January 24, 2017 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger, DECCD-MDHS, Hechinger Foundation, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Human Services, SECAC Mississippi, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care Mississippi, Congressman Bennie Thompson, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi licensed child care, proposed amendments to the regulations governing child care, SECAC Mississippi, The Hechinger Report Leave a commentThe Hechinger Report Supports MSDH Unlawful, Discriminatory Rule-Making as Experimental
The Hechinger Report is sponsored by the Kellogg Foundation and partners with the Clarion Ledger.
The Hechinger Report has explained everything. (Click here.)
The MSDH licensing staff created undue burden and disparate impact racial discrimination on a disproportionate number of providers in a protected class as an “experiment”!
Disparate Impact racial discrimination and undue burden in Mississippi may be normalized as nothing more than an “experiment” by Jackie Mader and Sarah Butrymowicz, but for the vast majority of Mississippi Delta residents who are not white, it is demoralizing, terrorizing and oppressive.
Perhaps that is why, in order to show provider support of Violation of Mississippi Code, Violation of Administrative Procedures Law, Violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution and Violation of the Civil Rights Act, through increased frequency of inspections in the Delta only, the duo took to interviewing a child care provider just east of Jackson and one in Flowood!
We appreciate the attorneys, early learning professionals, Collaboratives and policy makers who have spoken with Delta child care providers, who do not support such arbitrary enforcement, for expressing concern for the development of a licensing police state when it is really uncalled for.
We agree, already, the Mississippi State Department of Health has the authority to inspect a licensed facility more than once a year if there is probable cause to do so.
Licensed providers, in turn, may lawfully require licensing officials to present an administrative inspection warrant for any regulatory inspection.
However, in this case, additional fines have been assessed and substantive and procedural rights have been affected without lawfully required adherence to fair rule-making.
We concur with all who are alarmed that fines collected by MSDH may support agency salaries in times of highly visible budget cuts.
We also question why MSDH did not just first seek the provider support Hechinger now so desperately attempts to do by presenting the new rule to the Child Care Advisory Council and holding a public hearing.
Why does MSDH (Jim Craig) communicate its intent and conduct through the media while making no formal announcement to those affected?
The blatant hostility and disrespect noted for licensed child care providers in this Hechinger series article and this MSDH misconduct is in direct defiance of DHS’s intent for increasing CCDF funding to MSDH for the purpose of meeting the new federal requirement to monitor unlicensed, In-Home providers.
Bottom line – The Mississippi Department of Human Services will determine how MSDH uses CCDF funding, hopefully, beginning today.
CCDF funding simply cannot be exhausted in violation of federal and state law, no matter how you spin it.
On this MLK Day of Service, Stand with Us!
Posted: January 16, 2017 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Health, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, Hechinger Report, Mississippi Child Care Licensing Leave a commentOn this MLK Day of Service, Stand with Us!
“Surely, on MLK day, you can find it in your heart to say that a disproportionate number of Black owned and operated child care programs should not be chosen to be treated “worse” than you “until further notice”!
Delta Licensed Providers 
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