Mississippi First Seventh
Posted: January 9, 2015 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Head Start, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, School Readiness, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC Mississippi | Tags: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, child care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, equal access, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi early childhood education, Mississippi School Readiness, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation Leave a commentMississippi First Seventh
Of the nine states with small or no state-funded preschool programs that submitted applications to the U.S. Department of Education and Health and Human Services for a Preschool Development Grant, the application developed by Mississippi First and MDE (Mississippi Department of Education) scored seventh.
Preschool Development Grants were designed to support states to build, develop, and expand voluntary, high-quality preschool programs for children from low- and moderate-income families.
Awards were given to states that demonstrated an achievable plan.
Mississippi was not funded.
December 10, 2014, Jeff Amy of the Associated Press reported, “Mississippi misses out on federal preschool money – again”. (Click here to read.)
“State Board of Education member Danny Spreitler of Amory, who runs a foundation active in expanding and improving child care in Monroe County, said the loss was ‘demoralizing.’”
Child care programs know a thing or two about that!
For many of us, the entire Mississippi First and MDE plan was “demoralizing”. We believe, as has become the alleged pattern and practice of Pre-K Collaborative policy makers, the plan marginalized private child care programs and demonstrated little more than an unspoken desire to remove children from licensed child care by creating “new slots” in a public school system recently rated fiftieth in the Nation. See: “Remove 3134 Children from Licensed Child Care?” (Click here to read.)
Rationalizations (insults to our intelligence) for such an approach supported strongly by the Pre-K Collaborative members included an invitation for child care to participate by attending trainings from MDE.
All due respect, but child care providers already receive expert training in early learning from an agency with highly qualified staff – Mississippi State Extension-Family and Consumer Sciences. The Canter plan should have proposed MDE contract or partner with Extension for training in order to gain the early learning expertise it needs to guide early learning policy.
By it’s own admission, and as demonstrated by the qualifications and experience of newly appointed MDE Pre-K staff members – now under the direction of former DECCD Director Jill Dent, who left MDHS under a cloud of highly controversial, failed Program policy– there are entirely too few qualified early learning professionals upon which to build a competent Pre-K Program as outlined in Mississippi’s Preschool Development Grant submission.
Another rationalization was the position that one of the mere six licensed child care programs currently receiving Pre-K Collaborative funding from the state would not have been able to remain in business if they had not be afforded the opportunity to provide services for the children age four it had managed “to keep” as a result of rare Pre-K inclusion and therefore, the plan was developed with the best interests of the child care industry in mind.
However, such a statement is an admission of fact that existing child care programs – many under the radar, already, quietly providing high quality, full day/full year programs without any Pre-K Collaborative Funding whatever from this state – would be adversely and disparately impacted – even “out of business” – if placed in a position only to compete with (and not be invited to participate as an equitable partner in) tuition free programs for children age four.
We didn’t buy into the Pre-K Collaborative hype. Apparently, neither did the grant reviewers for the U.S. Department of Education and Health and Human Services who stated:
“The proposal describes coordination of state funded preschool programs with Head Start and programs that are funded partially or totally by Title 1. There are no details about partnerships with current providers of Part C and Section 619 services in the communities or how this proposal would coordinate with the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990.”
“While the State provided an ambitious plan for increasing the number of slots available starting in grant year one, it was unclear if the State will have the infrastructure and resources in place to support the influx in slots in the year the State proposed to add 2425 slots, which would translate to approximately 120 new classrooms. Also, it was not explicitly stated in the proposal how the State would ensure the availability of certified teachers and assistants for these classrooms.”
It might even be said that in relation to the early learning submissions presented by other southern states which have been funded, the policies, plans and grant proposals for Preschool development drafted by Mississippi First consultants are, on a national level, “subpar”.
Yet, without any mention of a review, evaluation or amendment of the failed submission, and void resounding input from the child care industry, State Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, who spearheaded the Mississippi Early Learning Collaborative Act and refers to Rachel Canter of Mississippi First as his “policy person” said losing the federal grant shouldn’t affect continuing efforts to expand (this poorly scored state plan reflecting) the current policy and practice of Mississippi’s Pre-K Collaboration.
There is specific work to be done and specific policy to be put into place in order for Mississippi to successfully secure the needed federal funds for preschool development, but it is probably foolish to expect that leadership to rise out of those associated with the development of Mississippi’s 2014 Preschool Development Grant proposal.
It is believed, however, the state will benefit from millions in awards from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to local groups to expand Head Start partnerships with local child care providers to take care of infants and toddlers.
So, we wait for child care to “bring home the bacon”.
How ironic!
“Can we talk?” How About “Quality Implementation” of the Child Care Certificate Program?
Posted: September 10, 2014 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Child Care Development Fund, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, Uncategorized, Xerox | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Xerox 4 Comments“Can we talk?” How About “Quality Implementation” of the Child Care Certificate Program?
When the Certificate Program was taken from the Planning and Development Districts in 2012, support was split among providers because we did not know then what we know now…MDHS had already executed a contract with XEROX for e-childcare.
Regardless, the MDHS in-house administration of child care assistance distribution known as the Certificate Program demonstrated first steps in bringing an automated process online through the development of the ledger reimbursement system. Basically, the transition was a smooth one and MDHS should be commended for that.
However, the new statewide online process only for the child care assistance application and issuance of new Certificates and the process for the recent period of rollover – particularly the relentless Notices of Termination – have been and continue to be chaotic, very work intensive and incomplete.
Policy and system failures along with too little, if any, advance explanation from DECCD have left parents and providers in a lurch as to how to even proceed this academic year and have adversely impacted statewide work force support systems fueling local economic development, early learning and entry-level jobs in every community!
Forget Quality Stars for now – do you even know how many children age four you will be serving this school year? Age three? Can you even remotely finalize an overall school roster?
That is the important message providers have tried to convey when attending the recent MDHS Quality Road Shows.
That is the message MOST OFTEN SUPPRESSED by policy makers and the Quality funded when providers have attended Road Shows.
That is the most heavily weighted finding documented in the Q.R.I.S. research conducted by the Mississippi Low-Income Child Care Initiative which was recently released; LOW-INCOME PROVIDERS JUST CANNOT PROVIDE QUALITY WITHOUT ADEQUATE FUNDING AND CERTIFICATES, so, for them, there is little reason to attend Road Shows or participate in quality initiatives at this time.
Most of the issues frustrating Mississippians, harming employability, denying access or limiting resource capacity are simply managerial. Primarily, I have come to opine MDHS Case Managers are doing their best to process all families but are completely overwhelmed by what is being expected of them. I think it is very reasonable to conclude that one DECCD Case Manager may be trying desperately to complete the work-load formerly done by an entire Planning Development District Office of four to eight staff members. That work environment has only been exasperated further by sudden staff vacancies (DUH!) and new DHS hires unfamiliar with the work or with little experience and little time for DECCD to train them during the period of rollover!
MDHS had planned to outsource all of this to XEROX. We objected to that and still do object to eventual, less child care assistance to parents as a “savings” to the state rather than continued (already insufficient) reimbursement of full-time fees for full-time slots to support rising, full-time operating costs supporting early learning.
Even still, what we are seeing now may be a glimpse of what customer service might have looked like through XEROX e-childcare…limited staff and diminished customer service for increased profits.
MDHS is asking for our input on the administration of the Certificate Program.
Please provide documentation of issues via email to MDHS – telephone calls to your assigned MDHS Case Managers often bring an unacceptable period of being placed on hold for up to forty-five minutes or longer and would further overwhelm Case Mangers already “buried” in messages. Faxes are sent to a separate MDHS location, logged in and scanned before ever delivered to Case Managers and many are lost in the shuffle. (You may also leave comments below.)
Encourage MDHS to fill all staff positions quickly, stay true to the CCDF State Plan and encourage Quality through “QUALITY Implementation” of the Child Care Certificate Program by clearly conveying to MDHS that automation and a paperless system will never eliminate the need for dedicated and sufficient MDHS employees any more than XEROX DID NOT eliminate the need for county eligibility workers determining SNAP benefits or county TANF Case Managers.
Mississippi does not save or fully prosper when there is no effort from MDHS to give up attitudes against welfare recipients and recognize child care assistance as an important local economic development tool in more ways than early learning for future success. The Certificate Program is an economic development tool local employers and communities have come to rely on in the maintenance of a stable, productive, successful work force today! The Certificate Program puts a “fair share” of chased federal dollars into each local economy today! All socio-economic groups benefit from such local economic stimulus each and every day…today!
Therefore, MDHS Road Shows only touting quality technical services while suppressing needed public discussion of the problematic economic issues arising out of the current Certificate Program administration simply puts the “cart before the quality horse”.
Forgive me for saying so, but it is a classic example of “Nero fiddled while Rome burned.”
“Can we talk?”
Yet bet we can! If not at a MDHS sponsored Road Show, we can talk here… starting with the late Joan Rivers (Phi Beta Kappa) and what she might have said of the current implementation:
Joan Rivers 1933-2014
“How many times can you go, ‘And the cow goes moo and the pig goes oink’? It’s like talking to a supermodel.”
“I succeeded by saying what everyone else is thinking.”
“Don’t follow any advice, no matter how good, until you feel as deeply in your spirit as you think in your mind that the counsel is wise.”
Some MDHS priority must be given to improving the management and implementation of the Child Care Certificate Program.
Talk to members of your local Chamber of Commerce. I am sure they would agree. Perhaps you can get them involved as well!
MLICCI to Present Findings of First Such QRIS Study in the Nation!
Posted: July 19, 2014 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 Leave a comment
cwelchlin@mschildcare.org
R & R: Rest & Relaxation Through Resource & Referral! (Video)
Posted: June 20, 2014 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, child care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentR & R
Rest & Relaxation Through Resource & Referral! (Video)
Have you ever noticed how refreshed and energized your staff members become when you allow them to select and use new learning materials in the classroom?
Good News! You can provide such staff experiences through your regional Extension Service Resource & Referral Center on a budget all can afford – $0! That’s right, beautiful material is available for you and your staff members to check out for two weeks of classroom use – just like a library!
And the resources are not just available for early learning folks, but parents and grandparents you serve who are wishing to have supplemental material for summer review may also check out material!
All you have to do is register with your regional R&R just like you would if applying for a library card. (Call your R&R and ask them to email the simple form to you.) Click here to identify your R&R Center.
If you are returning completed Market Rate Surveys from facilities primarily receiving private pay tuitions in your area, take the time while you are there to look over the age appropriate lessons available in all subject areas and/or pick up a game for full-time summer school age children to enjoy while young children nap.
I am planning field trips to take one person from each of my facilities to experience R&R in Indianola on a rotating basis, but if travel is a problem for you in rural areas, call your R&R Center and see if arrangements can be made to have your Extension Area Agent pick materials up and deliver them to your County Extension Office where you can collect them close to home. (Area Agents travel often and may be close to your regional R&R on any given day.) After two weeks of use, simply return all items to your County Extension Office and ask your Area Agent to return them for you if/when traveling by your regional R&R.
Resource & Referral Mobile Unit
If a group of providers in your community is interested in utilizing additional services, Dr. Louise Davis just may send the Resource & Referral Make & Take Bus to your town so make a request for that service as well: call 1.866.706.8827, Monday through Friday – 8 a.m. to 5 p.m! (I asked for permission to drive that “cool” bus around the block when it visited Greenwood. I explained I was licensed to drive a bus when teaching in Greenwood City Schools. My request was politely denied. 🙂 )
Dr. Davis’ office did recently hook me up for some “boots on ground” R&R. (It is no secret that I am and have always been a strong supporter of Mississippi State Extension – efficiency and service!) I was most impressed by the inventory and even asked who made the materials order! Excellent! (Take a bow, Ladies!)
See the proof in my “Chevy Chase European Vacation” style (remember the tour of the Louvre Museum) video below and meet my Indianola Extension friends, Helen Buckner and Keiva Elverton.
In the meantime, mail in those Market Rate Surveys to your regional R&R Center (from facilities primarily serving private paying families that earn too much income to qualify for Certificates such as Methodist and Baptist Churches – ask them to participate, particularly if they wisely and fairly understand costs of quality for low-income children also carries a high price tag).
DHS Sued A Third Time
Posted: March 16, 2014 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, MS Department of Human Services, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC Mississippi, Suel v MDHS, Uncategorized, Xerox | Tags: 2007 Market Survey Rates, Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, equal access, Market Survey Rates, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Xerox Leave a comment
Dept. of Ed Requires First Phase QRIS and Scores Absent APL!
Posted: October 31, 2013 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 Leave a commentDept. 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.
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.
Delta Licensed Providers 
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