Breaking News! Child Care Regulations Proposals Delayed!
Posted: October 31, 2012 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, Office of the Attorney General, SECAC Mississippi | Tags: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Licensing, child care Mississippi, DECCD, equal access, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi licensed child care, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation 2 Comments
Should SECAC Members Receive Quality Grants and Administrate Quality Programs Funded by DHS through the CCDF?
Posted: September 26, 2012 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Hechinger Foundation, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi First, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, Office of the Attorney General, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: Allies for Quality Care, child care licensing Mississippi, child care quality rating systems Mississippi, Hechinger Report, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Capitol Joint Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi Ethics Commission, Mississippi licensed child care, Mississippi State Early Childhood Institute, PEER, SECAC Mississippi, The Mississippi Center for Education Innovation 1 Comment
They are culpable, but ALLIES justifies its actions saying time and time again, we had no choice but to PILOT, promote and encourage compliance with finger scan Tracking of Time and Attendance equipment installations and contracts because we are funded by DHS, which, in return, continues to raise the question now most frequently asked by child care providers at organizational and town hall meetings; should SECAC Members receive quality grants and administrate quality Programs funded by DHS through the Mississippi Child Care Development Fund Block Grant?
Iowa State University explains in its Conflict of Interest Management Plan:
“Perceived conflicts of interest and commitment can be as harmful as real conflicts of interest and commitment. Universities manage both by the disclosure of the conflict (or perceived conflict) followed by the creation of a Conflict of Interest Management Plan that specifies how the individual will keep his or her non-university activities from causing harm.”
“Disclosure and management are needed whether the non-university relationship is with a for-profit entity, a not-for-profit entity, or a charitable foundation. For example, it is a conflict of interest for a researcher to accept a grant from a non-profit foundation in which he or she has a management role. It is also a conflict of interest to accept grant funds from an external entity for which one consults.”(Click Here)
Any external activity, significant financial interest or management role that has the potential to negatively impact objectivity in the execution of duties is a “conflict of interest.”
While Mississippi Law may only require SECAC members to recuse themselves from the final decision or vote in the award of some grants to programs SECAC members administrate or formally administrated, child care providers supporting unbiased competitive procurement note competition promotes accountability by ensuring that contracts are entered into on their merits and not upon any other basis such as familial or other relationships between contracting officers and contractors. (CLICK)
Some ALLIES administrators are also SECAC members who individually and collectively approve proposed amendments going forward for adoption in the CCDF State Plan and Child Care Policy Manual/Proposed Child Care Payment Manual.
All participated in the strategic plan outlined in the poorly scored “Race to the Top” application that continues to fuel many of the CCDF Program changes now recommended and implemented through agency directives. (CLICK)
They, along with other SECAC member programs, receive the majority of Mississippi’s quality funding grants awarded by DHS. (CLICK HERE)
Statements such as they had no choice but to influence participation in the new echildcare finger scan method of payments regardless of APL because they are funded by the CCDF Block Grant demonstrate the potential for significant financial interest to compromise individual objectivity in all duties.
Elected and appointed state officials as well as all state employees are entrusted with the safety and welfare of the citizenry. Certainly, in the case of the new echildcare finger scan method of payment to providers serving low-income children, every safeguard protecting the welfare and rights of child care small businesses and parents has been circumvented.
ALLIES and all members of SECAC should have insisted that new rules and amendments adoption follow the strict guidelines outlined in the Administrative Procedures Act and should have provided opportunity for discussions in advance with all affected stakeholders.
When it is all said and done, the Mississippi Department of Health will have provided three opportunities for public comment allowing providers and parents to be heard before final adoption and enforcement of its newly proposed regulations.
That is the reason child care providers have placed more confidence in the Department of Health than the CCDF Lead Agency.
That is why providers worked to defeat HB 1174. (CLICK HERE)
Mississippi child care business owners and organizations feared, among many issues, that funding interests through DHS may conflict with fair, reasonable and equitable strategic planning and public business.
By the way, the number of children announced and expected to be served off the waiting list as a result of the savings to be realized by moving the Child Care Certificate Program from PDD distribution to DHS “in-house” distribution did not develop due to “budget cuts” while quality spending for quality Programs greatly exceeded the 4% required by the federal guidelines in the administration of the Child Care Development Fund.
Of course, if and when the move is made to “amend” the currently proposed Child Care Payment Manual from full-time and part-time reimbursement fees to payment for care by the hour and in 6 minute increments only – like Louisiana – it is probably a sure bet there will be more than enough money “saved from the pockets of providers” (fraud or no fraud) to continue a pattern to maintain or even further increase levels of quality grant awards regardless of any budget woes or whether or not Certificates ever come close to the value needed to purchase the quality SECAC touts.
More objective leadership in the development and execution of CCDF Program goals and rules is needed.
3 Child Care Public Hearings Scheduled for October
Posted: September 18, 2012 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Mississippi Board of Health, Mississippi First, Mississippi Health Department, Mississippi Legislature, MS Department of Human Services, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: "Race to the Top", Allies for Quality Care, child care licensing Mississippi, child care Mississippi, DECCD, equal access, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi licensed child care, SECAC Mississippi Leave a comment
Lynn Darling, MSU Early Childhood Institute – Acknowledges Concern “a lot of privately-owned child care centers will go out of business.”
Posted: July 30, 2012 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 1 CommentQ&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:
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.”
Pack-N-Plays Why Restrict Them?
Posted: July 12, 2012 Filed under: Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Consumer Protection, DECCD-MDHS, Mississippi Health Department, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi | Tags: Child Care Licensing, child care licensing Mississippi, equal access, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Resource and Referral, Mississippi licensed child care, Quality Rating System, SECAC Mississippi 12 CommentsI am posting this concern as submitted by a licensed provider.
If you have the rationale for restricting this item from nap time use, please reply.
Thanks!
Hello, I was reading over the proposals and there was something that I saw that really do no understand why they would put it in effect.
I saw where they are going to cut the use of pack-n-plays for rest periods.
In our daycare center we use pack-n-plays for our one year to 2 year old children because they are to big for a crib but really to small to sleep on a mat.
There are no choking or suffocation hazards in the pack-n-play and the caregiver is right there with them at all times.
Can you explain to me a little more in detail why they would change this.
ALABAMA TRANSPARENCY ROCKS!
Posted: June 19, 2012 Filed under: Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Consumer Protection, DECCD-MDHS, Delta Licensed Providers, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), QRS Mississippi, Quality Rating System, School Readiness, School Readiness Mississippi, SECAC, SECAC Mississippi | Tags: Child Care Licensing, 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, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, Mississippi child care, Mississippi Child Care Licensing, Mississippi Child Care Quality Steps, Mississippi early childhood education, Mississippi early learning system, Mississippi licensed child care, Quality Rating System; DECCD-MDHS; CCDF Quality Improvement, Quality Rating Systems, SECAC Mississippi 2 CommentsWay to go Alabama!
For years I have enjoyed the level of subsidy transparency on the Alabama DHS website. (I do not know why the information is only available through February 2012 this fiscal year and hope that there has not been a change in Director.)
Regardless, this is the basis of my November 2011 Capitol level hearing request presented to Dr. Jill Dent asking that she post our subsidy statistics on-line, county-by-county, by type of care and include the county waiting lists.
She agreed to consider it and with the new E-Ledgers, this should be something that she could begin to do today.
In addition, we also should request written policy explaining how each county’s waiting list is being processed in order to guarantee that parents are being served on a first come, first serve basis and that smaller counties are not being swallowed up by large counties so that we may fairly maintain previously funded amounts per Planning & Development District.
Please review the sample to follow. If you agree that Mississippi should have similar subsidy transparency, request this of Dr. Dent in a letter of encouragement addressed to her at jill.dent@mdhs.ms.gov and register your vote on our poll!
Alabama Subsidized Child Care Statistics
Delta Licensed Providers 
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