State Tests How to Best Support ECEAP Providers

Last summer, the Legislature passed the Early Start Act (ESA) and Governor J. Inslee signed it into law. The ESA improves access to high-quality early learning opportunities and is key to improving child outcomes and strengthening school readiness. To assist with this, DEL explores ways to help child care providers prepare to offer integrated child care and ECEAP services.

DEL contracted with Child Care Aware of Washington (CCA of WA) to conduct a two-year pilot to:

• Learn what child care providers need to be successful in providing joint ECEAP and child care services. 
• Develop and test the training and coaching approaches needed in addition to the existing support provided through Early Achievers.
• The pilot training, toolkit, and methodology (with individualized coaching between each training sessions) worked. Some refinements to training, sequencing, and other supports were also identified. 

Highlighted recommendations:

Training and coaching. Allow time for providers and coaches to build relationships and improve programs. This is key to success.

In the pilot, training cohorts helped providers explore potential consortium or subcontracting relationships early. All participants made progress in their understanding of Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) implementation and are eager to continue despite lack of ECEAP slots. Most participants wanted to reach Early Achievers level four before adding ECEAP.

“The training really sparked my thinking of next steps regarding staffing, professional development, program oversight and implementation of the standards.”

Pilot participant 

Additional coaching is needed in offering comprehensive services, serving English language learners (ELL), and serving children with developmental delays or challenging behaviors. ELL participants needed more time to clarify the meaning of some materials. 

 
Toolkit. The ECEAP Pathway Toolkit (containing visual modules) helped participants to:

• see what is involved, 
• understand what implementation looks like, 
• compare to current practices, and 
• identify where they need to augment (or confirm what they are already doing); see examples, and reflect on their business to create a realistic plan of action. 

Coach Experience. Have coaches experienced in licensing, Early Achievers and ECEAP, as well as running a child care business. This promotes streamlined conversations, coaching, and participant understanding.

Considerable flexibility was needed to schedule coaching with busy providers. 

DEL also learned from a variety of issues that arose during the pilot, including:

System Issues. Availability of adequate facilities continues to be a challenge in ECEAP expansion. Some providers need increased funding for start-up and/or expansion of their facilities to add ECEAP.

Availability of Early Achievers scholarships and flexibility of the Professional Development plan within the ECEAP Performance Standards provided enough support to meet educational requirements. However, required course offerings are often not available at times or in ways that providers can participate.

Items Requiring Additional Exploration. Because of the lack of available ECEAP slots to implement during the pilot, year two of the pilot will need to explore several topic including, but not limited to:

• Additional supports for completing the ECEAP application process which can be arduous.
• Alignment of marketing, prioritization, and enrollment across existing and new contractors.
• Peer networking so pilot (and future) providers can continue to strengthen relationships.

To read the report and complementary appendices, visit the following links:

• ECEAP Pathway Report
• Appendix 1: Pilot Exploration Questions & Preliminary Answers
• Appendix 2: Coaching Matrix - Relationship-based Professional Coordination & Communication
• Appendix 3: ECEAP Pathway Participant Response to Training
• Appendix 4: Toolkit Table of Contents
• Appendix 5: Community Resource Enhancement Guide
• Appendix 6: Position Description for Organization Lead for ECEAP Pathways

To learn more about ECEAP or any of DEL’s programs, go to www.del.wa.gov.

Let's Celebrate 30 years of Early Childhood provisions of IDEA

This October marks the 30th Anniversary of the passage of Public Law 99-457,

which established early intervention and mandated preschool special education services as part of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  These early childhood programs have played a critical role in improving results and upholding the rights of infants, toddlers, and preschool children with disabilities and their families.

Do you know a family that has benefited from early intervention services made available through the IDEA programs?  Invite them to share their story with DEL or the Office of Special Education (OSEP) using the following social media platforms. 

• Be sure to follow DEL on Facebook @WashingtonDEL and share your stories. 
• Please follow DEL @DEL_wa and OSEP on Twitter, and tweet using  #babyIDEAis30 hashtag.  
• Check out DEL’s YouTube channel and OSEP YouTube channel  for videos from parents, policymakers, researchers, practitioners, advocates and more.  
• Stay tuned to the OSERS Blog and DEL’s Blog at DEL Connect where we will share personal stories from those affected by the passage of PL 99-457. 
• Visit OSEP’s 30th Anniversary webpage for more details on all of the activities. 

The Early Support for Infant and Toddlers (ESIT) Team will be celebrating the 30th Anniversary of IDEA Part B, Section 619 and Part C later this month at the SICC meeting.

  

The next SICC meeting will be held on October 19, 2016, at: 

       Wenatchee School District Board Room 

       235 Sunset Avenue 

       Wenatchee, WA 98801  

The SICC meeting will be held from 9:00 AM –3:00 PM, and plan to join us immediately following the SICC for the anniversary celebration for PL 99-457!  

If you have questions, please contact: alma.quinden@del.wa.gov. 

ECEAP Pilots Best Way to Support Families

The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, or ECEAP, (Washington’s state-funded pre-kindergarten program) is designed to prepare 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income and at-risk families for success in school and in life. Its comprehensive approach includes:

• Preschool education; 
• Family support; 
• Parent involvement; and 
• Health and nutrition services.

The program is doing a two-year pilot to help learn what helps families most and what resources are needed. To get a full look at the year-one report, go here: http://bit.ly/2cYIREH.  

We Want to:

1. Learn about the best ways to help families advance their goals, well-being and self-reliance; 
2. Test a statewide Family Strengths and Needs Assessment. The assessment helps to see family strengths, needs, and goals and note the progress that families are making. 

What Did We Learn from Year One?

ECEAP contractors tested two family support models, EMPath Mobility Mentoring® and the Family Development Matrix model. These models were chosen because they helped families in other states improve their well-being and family goals.

EMPath’s Mobility Mentoring® Model. This approach, grounded in EMPath’s Bridge to Self-Sufficiency™, articulates a family’s transformative journey from poverty to economic self-sufficiency by optimizing the family’s life in five domains: family stability; well-being; financial management; education; and career management. ECEAP family support staff act as Mobility Mentoring® coaches who partner with families to help them acquire resources and skills, and sustain behavior changes. EMPath outcomes include dramatic increases in education and training participation (45%) and household savings (63%).

Family Development Matrix Model. The Family Development Matrix (FDM) model is a family decision-making and goal-setting model that uses an assessment tool and online database with indicators to measure family and program outcomes. A 2014 California evaluation showed increases of between 10.8 and 15.9 points in percentages of families at the safe/self-sufficient levels in areas such as: children’s social and emotional development, and parental resilience.

Who Participated? 

Fourteen ECEAP sites serving families in cities and towns across the State tested each model. 1,552 families of different races, ethnicities, and home languages participated for the complete year.

What Were the Results? 

Families in both models made gains between the beginning and end of the year. ECEAP staff said they liked how the tools from these models helped them have deeper conversations with families, so they could make sure that services and resources fit each family’s needs. They also enjoyed seeing families meet their goals.

What is Happening in Year Two of the Pilot?

1. Based on the information gathered in year one, DEL decided that Mobility Mentoring® was the best model for ECEAP. Staff from 20 contractors attended the EMPath Mobility Mentoring® training in August, 2016. These staff will train the family advocates. Family support services will begin when ECEAP starts in September. DEL ECEAP will provide ongoing training and support to contractors who are using Mobility Mentoring®. 
2. Family support conversations will be guided by ECEAP Bridge to Child and Family Self-Reliance.
3. DEL will ask all ECEAP families to take a survey at the end of the year. This will help us learn what services helped most and what else we can do to improve services. 
4. DEL will review the data and results. We will use this to recommend the next steps for family support in ECEAP.

ECEAP Pilots Best Way to Support Families

­

ECEAP (Washington’s state-funded pre-kindergarten program) is designed to prepare 3- and 4-year-old children from low-income and at-risk families for success in school and in life. Its comprehensive approach includes: preschool education; family support; parent involvement; and, health and nutrition services.

The program is doing a two-year pilot to help learn what helps families most and what resources are needed. To get a full look at the year-one report, go here: http://bit.ly/2cYIREH.  

We Want to:

1. Learn about the best ways to help families advance their goals, well-being and self-reliance; 
2. Test a statewide Family Strengths and Needs Assessment. The assessment helps to see family strengths, needs, and goals and note the progress that families are making. 

What Did We Learn from Year One?
ECEAP contractors tested two family support models, EMPath Mobility Mentoring® and the Family Development Matrix model. These models were chosen because they helped families in other states improve their well-being and family goals.

EMPath’s Mobility Mentoring® Model. This approach, grounded in EMPath’s Bridge to Self-Sufficiency™, articulates a family’s transformative journey from poverty to economic self-sufficiency by optimizing the family’s life in five domains: family stability; well-being; financial management; education; and career management. ECEAP family support staff act as Mobility Mentoring® coaches who partner with families to help them acquire resources and skills, and sustain behavior changes. EMPath outcomes include dramatic increases in education and training participation (45%) and household savings (63%).

Family Development Matrix Model. The Family Development Matrix (FDM) model is a family decision-making and goal-setting model that uses an assessment tool and online database with indicators to measure family and program outcomes. A 2014 California evaluation showed increases of between 10.8 and 15.9 points in percentages of families at the safe/self-sufficient levels in areas such as: children’s social and emotional development, and parental resilience.

Who Participated? 

Fourteen ECEAP sites serving families in cities and towns across the State tested each model. 1,552 families of different races, ethnicities, and home languages participated for the complete year.

“The biggest thing . . .that family support helped my family with was teaching me how to be a productive father and family member.”

--Puget Sound ESD Parent Participant

What Were the Results? 

Families in both models made gains between the beginning and end of the year. ECEAP staff said they liked how the tools from these models helped them have deeper conversations with families, so they could make sure that services and resources fit each family’s needs. They also enjoyed seeing families meet their goals.

What is Happening in Year Two of the Pilot?

1. Based on the information gathered in year one, DEL decided that Mobility Mentoring® was the best model for ECEAP. Staff from 20 contractors attended the EMPath Mobility Mentoring® training in August, 2016. These staff will train the family advocates. Family support services will begin when ECEAP starts in September. DEL ECEAP will provide ongoing training and support to contractors who are using Mobility Mentoring®. 
2. Family support conversations will be guided by ECEAP Bridge to Child and Family Self-Reliance.
3. DEL will ask all ECEAP families to take a survey at the end of the year. This will help us learn what services helped most and what else we can do to improve services. 
4. DEL will review the data and results. We will use this to recommend the next steps for family support in ECEAP.

Child Passenger Safety Week, September 18-24

The week of September 18 through 24 has been designated as Child Passenger Safety Week.  Obviously, parents and caretakers want to keep kids safe—the emphasis for this week is to make sure parents and caretakers are not only properly restraining kids in vehicles but using the correct car seat for each child based on their age and size.

 

A recent report released from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) on data from 2015¹ showed an uptick in the number of children killed in vehicle accidents.  Since this is only one year’s worth of data it is hard to draw direct relationships as to the cause(s) for this increase.  What we do know is that in spite of increasingly sophisticated safety technology in our vehicles and car seats—the car seats won't work if they are not used or are installed incorrectly!  Did you know that overall car seat and booster seat misuse was 46 percent in 2015²?

    

Here’s the good news, you don’t need an engineering degree to correctly install a car seat—you just need to know where to go to get help.  There are a lot of resources available to help you research the best car seat option for your child.  One of the most helpful resources is the Ultimate Car Seat Guide, created by Safe Kids Worldwide with help from automaker General Motors.

 

This guide covers how to:

•          Find the correct car seat based on your child’s age, height and weight.
•          Make sure it is correctly installed.
•          Register your car seat—to receive recall notices.
•          Know when your child is ready for the next car seat option.

To get help or to make sure you properly install a car seat, check out the following link to find a car seat checkup event in your area.  And remember, children learn by following your lead—set a positive example and always wear your seat belt.

Helpful Resources:    

• Traffic Safety Flyers: https://www.trafficsafetymarketing.gov/get-materials/child-car-safety/child-passenger-safety-week 
• Parents Central, keeping kids safe in and around cars: http://www.safercar.gov/parents/CarSeats/Car-Seat-Safety.htm?view=full 
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) press release: http://www.nhtsa.gov/About+NHTSA/Press+Releases/ci.nhtsa-cps-2016-09192016.print

¹ https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812309  

² https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/812142

Move it! DEL Promotes Health and Wellness this Month

September is National Childhood Obesity Month and it's time to get back to school for many Washington kids! This is a good time to re-commit to eating healthy, getting more active and spend less time in front of TVs, computers, and other screen time devices.

Parents and their children create and eat snacks
together at a Kaleidoscope Play and Learn group in Olympia.

According to letsmove.gov, nearly 60% of our youngest children spend time in child care, which means providers play an important part in modeling healthy behaviors.

Looking for quick and easy lessons and activities about health and wellness for kids? 

• Team up with parents! Parents can set a great example for the whole family by making home a healthy environment. Here are a few simple ideas for parents: 
• Keep fresh fruit in a bowl within your child’s reach to grab a quick snack
• Take a walk with your family after dinner.
• Plan a menu for the week. Get children involved in planning and cooking
• Turn off the TV during meals and share some family time
• Talk to your provider about organizing a “family physical activity day” at the child care center or family home
• Download the full tip sheet and share with parents!

• Check out “mini lessons” from Smart from the Start’s Enrichment Zone (EZ), and incorporate them into your center of family home today! These lessons are fun and play-based, and can be used by parents, caregivers, and volunteers to teach children important skills they need to develop healthy habits. More resources and information can be found Smart from the Start’s website.

• Below are one-page summaries of the updated infant, children, and adult meal patterns, as well as a one-page summary of optional best practices.
• Infant Meals One-Page Summary
• Children and Adult Meals One-Page Summary
• Best Practices

Using the Updated CACFP Meal Patterns to Lower Costs
This fact sheet provides guidance for CACFP centers and family child care homes to help keep costs low while implementing the updated meal patterns. It includes examples of nutritious meals that meet new meal patterns by making simple, low-cost switches.

Child and Adult Care Food Program: Using the Updated Meal Patterns to Lower Costs

Are you practicing healthy activities with your little learners? Share with the Department of Early Learning and the Department of Health on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag: #HealthiestNextGen! For more information about Governor J. Inslee's Healthiest Next Generation initiative, go here: HNG.

DEL Celebrates Arts in Education

The arts are an essential part of a complete education, no matter if it happens in the home, school, or community. Students of all ages—from kindergarten to college—benefit from artistic learning, innovative thinking, and creativity. Celebrating National Arts in Education Week is a way to recognize this impact and share the message with friends, family, and communities.

National Arts in Education Week is a national celebration recognizing the transformative power of the arts in education. Designated by Congress in 2010 through House Resolution 275, the celebration is designated to bring attention to this cause for elected officials and educational decision makers across the country and to support equitable access to the arts for all students.

So what makes art so important to a child’s education?

How does learning how to draw, paint, dance or sing help children in their other subjects as well as in life in general? For children across all physical and mental abilities, various art mediums allow children the freedom to express their ideas and emotions that more structured educational subjects don’t. 

 When there isn’t a “right” or “wrong” answer, children have the freedom to think differently.

In standard subjects such as social studies or mathematics—there are generally, right and wrong answers and hence it is much easier to quantify the level of proficiency in these subjects. The problem is that creativity, ingenuity and perseverance are not skills that are easy to quantify. Whereas, test results can “prove” proficiency in traditional subjects like math and reading comprehension.

But how do you teach skills and mental habits that are invaluable life skills such as problem solving, creativity, perseverance, or dedication? 

Photo courtesy of Kaleidescope Play and Learn, Thurston County

Through studying art and seeing a different perspective or practicing paint brush techniques—children gain skills and personal habits that help them in other areas of their education and life.

In addition, many students struggle with the structure and rigorous requirements of subjects like math, science or reading. But a child that loves to dance, draw or play an instrument can get lost in these activities for hours because they enjoy what they are doing. A child that has fun in creating a work of art or performing in a music or dance recital will learn the importance of perseverance, giving and receiving feedback, and the importance of dedication. A child’s self-confidence can’t help but flow into other areas his/her life.

So maybe the importance of art in a child’s education isn’t easily quantifiable or even going to provide the same benefits to each child. Perhaps the benefits of art education won’t sift out into a tidy equation. But, like art, the intangible skills, perspective and personal habits would be evident if children never got to experience, create or participate in it.

Introducing art in early education can contribute positively to*: 

• Fine motor skills. Grasping pencils, crayons, chalk and paintbrushes helps children develop their fine motor muscles. This development will help your child with writing, buttoning a coat and other tasks that require controlled movements.
• Cognitive development. Art can help children learn and practice skills like patterning and cause and effect (i.e., “If I push very hard with a crayon the color is darker.”). They can also practice critical thinking skills by making a mental plan or picture of what they intend to create and following through on their plan.
• Math skills. Children can learn, create and begin to understand concepts like size, shape, making comparisons, counting and spatial reasoning.
• Language skills. As children describe and share their artwork, as well as their process, they develop language skills. You can encourage this development by actively listening and asking open-ended questions in return. It is also a great opportunity to learn new vocabulary words regarding their project (i.e., texture). 

*Courtesy of Michigan State University.