HECHINGER’S “CRISIS IN CHILD CARE” SMEAR CAMPAIGN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KELLOGG!
Posted: February 3, 2016 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Business Ethics, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Clarion-Ledger, DECCD-MDHS, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi First, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, Mississippi's Child Care Crisis, MS Department of Education, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Human Services, Office of the Attorney General, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, child care licensing Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi First, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, Mississippi's Child Care Crisis, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation Leave a commentA child care press conference will be held on Monday, February 8, 2016, on the second floor of the Capitol at 10:00 AM.
HECHINGER’S “CRISIS IN CHILD CARE” SMEAR CAMPAIGN IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY KELLOGG!
The Hechinger Report knew the Mississippi Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights was investigating potential Disparate Impact in Mississippi’s child care quality rating system before publishing harmful, unsubstantiated child care complaints (that should not have been disclosed because Courts have ruled no public interest exists in unsubstantiated complaints) and expressed its disdain for Constitutional Due Process of Law in Sunday’s Clarion-Ledger – its partner.
Seems to me they may as well partner with the paparazzi and the National Inquirer!
Hechinger is funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation which is actively involved in the promotion and support of Mississippi’s Pre-K Collaborative and QRIS.
Up to now, it has seemed, particularly to self-employed child care providers, that the strategy (in Mississippi) of some Pre-K Collaborative supporters (including some media outlets, public policy groups and member organizations) may be to lift up their member programs (and gainful employment through associated grants) by disparaging self-employed child care providers (the majority of which are Black and/or women owned and operated Programs) through selective reporting, adverse policy, exclusion, and marginalization.
Perhaps the idea is to bully the citizenry and working parents, over time, into agreement that child care and time spent with us is not safe or where a child should be; only six hours of public Pre-K such that they would be funded to advise/provide/report can really meet a family’s work support and early learning needs.
And such strategy would be particularly necessary when Frank Porter Graham’s recent Evaluation of Mississippi’s very costly yet unavailing QRIS and measured child outcomes in the recent legislative review of the Pre-K Collaborative are scathing!
The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review from PEER: The Mississippi Legislature’s Oversight Agency, is the only external Early Learning Collaborative evaluation available to legislators because:
- there is no child care regulatory oversight for Pre-K classrooms such as is required in other states;
- there is no QRIS classroom requirement such as is required for Pre-K classrooms in other states so Mississippi cannot compare Pre-K “quality”;
- the physical standards as governed by the Early Learning Guidelines are less stringent for existing Mississippi Pre-K classrooms than they are for child care classrooms and standards have recently been weakened for new construction through July 2017.
The report does not recommend increased funding or additional staff for Pre-K.
A child care press conference will be held on Monday, February 8, 2016, on the second floor of the Capitol at 10:00 AM.
This is your opportunity to unite as the small business child care industry and present the facts.
Stand up for your small business!
Come stand with us!
A message from Carol Burnet of MLICCI:
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Mississippi Preschool Enrollment Top Ten in Nation!
Posted: March 19, 2015 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Business Ethics, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, MS Department of Human Services, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC Mississippi | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, child care Mississippi, equal access, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi child care, Mississippi First, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation Leave a comment
Child Care helps to place Mississippi in the Top Ten!
Disparate Intent?
Posted: March 17, 2015 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Business Ethics, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, MS Department of Human Services, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC Mississippi | Tags: 2007 Market Survey Rates, Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, child care Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, equal access, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, Market Survey Rates, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi First, Mississippi School Readiness, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, Quality Rating Systems, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation Leave a comment
UPDATE:
The Education Appropriations Bill Passed. It will not go to Conference and the Early Learning Collaborative will not receive an increase in Phase I funding.
We will continue to work now to build an appropriation for the Child Care Development Fund in the next Legislative Session – 2016!
Click here and scroll down to read comments of “education 1st”.
Click here to read about Arizona and Massachusetts Early Learning Funding.
Arizona Governor Jan Brewer proposed to provide $9.6 million in additional funding to address the growing need for child care assistance for children in CPS and to prevent 4,000 low-income children currently receiving child care assistance from losing it.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, in his FY 2014 budget, proposed to spend an additional $51.6 million for child care assistance to serve infants, toddlers, and preschool-age children who are currently on the waiting list. The governor also proposed to provide $30 million for a new initiative related to the state quality rating and improvement system that would support teacher training, professional development, and classroom grants; $13 million to increase reimbursement rates for providers serving children receiving child care assistance.
Child Care Pre-K Data Provided in Just Hours!
Posted: March 4, 2015 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, Business Ethics, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Delta Licensed Providers, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), General, Head Start, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, 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, Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", 2007 Market Survey Rates, Administration for Children and Families, Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, equal access, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi early childhood education, Mississippi First, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation Leave a comment
Child Care Pre-K Data Provided in Just Hours!
AN EMAIL REQUEST Tue, Mar 3, 2015 5:13 pm
From Debbie Ellis licensedprovider@aol.com
To rachel rachel@mississippifirst.org
Dear Ms. Canter:
On Monday, February 23, 2015, you released your Pre-K Report Book, The State of Public PreK in Mississippi.
In that release, you acknowledge your work is incomplete without due consideration of child care saying, “Unfortunately, we did not have the capacity to include childcare data in this iteration of the report. In the future, we hope to expand the scope of this report to include more information about the preK services offered by licensed childcare centers.”
Please be advised that the Mississippi Legislature has approved a Pre-K Collaborative – not the addition of traditional grade K4.
For that reason, March 2, 2015, I requested the child care data you do not have the capacity to collect.
In two short business hours, I was provided with the number of children age four (receiving child care assistance) enrolled in licensed child care programs this March, by county. (See below.)
Soon after, I received the number of children enrolled and participating in Mississippi Building Blocks – also a Pre-K Collaborator and equally funded for providing public preschool opportunities to children. (See below.)
Today, following additional requests for information, I received data showing the number of children, ages three and four, who are participating in QRIS, level 3, 4 and 5 preschool classrooms. (See partial list below.)
Finally, I can report that Mississippi Building Blocks also provides public opportunity to 286 (two-hundred-eighty-six) boys and girls age three.
Child Care data is readily available upon request from (but not limited to) the following sources:
Laura Dickson Director Division of Early Childhood Care and Development Mississippi Department of Human Services Laura.Dickson@mdhs.ms.gov 601) 359-4528
April May Executive Director Mississippi Building Blocks 403B Towne Center, Suite C Ridgeland, MS 39157 amay@msbuildingblocks.com (601) 898-1525
I am providing the child care data for your consideration. (I did try to publish my remarks on the website you provided for readers to report omissions and errors, but that link is either broken or the page was never made ready.)
Please note that the data is given by county in order to enable you to update your State of Public Pre-K Report as quickly as possible and with as little effort as possible.
(I know you will recognize the flexibility Pre-K Collaborations allow for states to offer a mixed delivery of services that offer parents choices and options for preschool enrollment. You consistently speak of parental choice when providing guidance in Mississippi Charter School implementation.) The models presented in the data are cutting edge, high quality full/extended day, full year and Zero to Five Programs that meet the working needs of parents.
I hope this information is helpful to you.
If ever again you lack the capacity or ability to fully represent Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative efforts to the public or legislature, please do not hesitate to call on me.
I am always happy to lift up Mississippi’s dedicated child care industry.
Child care keeps Mississippi working!
Sincerely,
Debbie Ellis Delta Licensed Child Care Providers 211 West President Avenue Greenwood, MS 38930
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
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.
PreK Collaboration Passes the House
Posted: February 15, 2013 Filed under: Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Delta Licensed Providers, e-Childcare™, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), General, Head Start, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Building Blocks, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Education, MS Department of Human Services, QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, School Readiness, SECAC Mississippi, T.E.A.C.H., Xerox | Tags: Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, child care licensing Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, e-Childcare™, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), equal access, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, MDHS, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi early learning system, Mississippi First, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation, Xerox Leave a comment
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