Electronic attendance system trainings available now

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Attention all child care providers accepting subsidy payments: trainings are happening now for the new electronic attendance system!

Starting July 1, 2018, all providers accepting Working Connections Child Care subsidies will be required to track attendance using an electronic attendance system.

This new requirement applies to child care centers, family home child care providers, and Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) providers.

Providers have the option to use DEL’s electronic attendance system or another DEL-approved electronic system. DEL is implementing this new system to improve how we track children’s participation in child care. It will track, store, and report on child attendance to support provider billing. The system will save providers time, cost taxpayers less, and reduce attendance inaccuracies.

Our goal is to make this transition as quick and easy as possible. Through the early adopter process, Washington providers have provided invaluable feedback to help us design training that supports a system people will use every day.

What do I need to do?

If you are using DEL’s electronic attendance system, you must:

• Complete the required training for the electronic attendance system;
• Set up your electronic attendance system profile; and
• Begin recording attendance.

How do I complete the training?

The training on DEL’s electronic attendance system is open to all subsidy providers. We encourage all providers to complete their training well before the July 1 deadline.

• Decide what training works for you. You can choose from three options for training: in person, online, or with a self-paced workbook. Training is available in English, Spanish, and Somali.
• Find your preferred training here: http://del.wa.gov/Attendance-Support.
• Request interpretation by contacting electronic.attendance@del.wa.gov or 360-725-4430. 

What if I already use an electronic attendance system?

You are not required to attend a training or use DEL’s electronic attendance system if you already use a DEL-approved system or plan to begin using one. For questions about approved systems, please e-mail electronic.attendance@del.wa.gov. 

Do I get an incentive?

For Family Home and FFN Providers, DEL has negotiated with SEIU 925 a one-time $200 benefit for the first 5,000 who apply for the incentive. Providers must register in MERIT and complete training for the new system to be eligible. The benefit is available on a first-come, first-served basis. This money can be applied toward the cost of purchasing new technology equipment and internet access. This benefit is not available to child care centers.

To request your incentive, visit: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/APincentive.

What technology will I need?

To use the DEL electronic attendance system, internet access, a tablet, and a printer will be necessary. For best results, DEL recommends a computer, in addition to the tablet, for administrative tasks.

Who do I contact if I need more help?

• Technology or Electronic Attendance System questions
• Call DEL technical support at 844-704-6777. You may also e-mail eas.servicedesk@del.wa.gov.
• Electronic Attendance General Questions
• Contact DEL’s subsidy team at electronic.attendance@del.wa.gov or 360-725-4430.
• You may also request interpretation by contacting electronic.attendance@del.wa.gov or 360-725-4430.
• MERIT Questions 
• Contact MERIT Support Team at MERIT@del.wa.gov or 866-482-4325 option 5

Want more information? Check out these helpful links:

• Attendance Project Overview
• Training Schedules and Information
• Getting Started Checklist

ELAC discusses Market Rate Survey, DCYF proposals during February meeting

The Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC) held its first meeting of 2018 on February 6. Using the K-20 Education Network, ELAC members participated via video conference from nine sites around the state.

The full-day meeting included updates on DEL’s Quality Practice and Professional Growth (QPPG) division, the 2018 Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) plan, the current legislative session, and the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

DEL Assistant Director Nicole Rose provided ELAC members with an update on the Market Rate Survey, which was made available to Washington providers in January. ELAC helped revise the survey for the current year and learned during the meeting how their feedback was implemented before the survey was released.

The council was also invited to participate in a webinar next month to review the Cost of Quality survey, which will be released this spring. This survey will help DEL better understand the operating costs of child care facilities.

The QPPG presentation included information on the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP) expansion and on efforts to encourage inclusion of children with disabilities in early learning settings. The QPPG division is also working to address issues with provider professional development, including compensation, career pathways, and evaluations of the current workforce.

ELAC members received an update on the CCDF 3-year plan that will be submitted to the federal government by July 1, 2018. The plan will outline the state’s current child care subsidy programs, which are partially funded by federal CCDF grants. Once DEL has drafted a plan, the department will seek input from the community, including from ELAC, on the plan’s contents, repercussions, and changes from the previous plan.

DEL Director Heather Moss also discussed the proposed DCYF regional structure, which was adapted from a six-region map used by the Department of Social and Health Services. Council members expressed a desire to maintain sub-regional identities during the transition. DEL Assistant Director Frank Ordway described the proposed organizational structure for the new department.

The next ELAC meeting will be held April 3 in Tukwila. To keep updated on ELAC’s meetings, DEL's ELAC meeting page. 

Last negotiated rulemaking session next month

After nine months of negotiating, the Department of Early Learning is planning the last session for negotiating the Standards Alignment licensing rules. Negotiators will meet on March 3 and 4 for a final review of all negotiated revisions. The original draft rules with negotiated revisions can be read online at https://del.wa.gov/PolicyProposalComment/Detail.aspx and DEL is accepting comments through February 22. Comments will be delivered to the negotiators in time to be considered for the final review.

Negotiated rulemaking is when a state agency collaborates with stakeholders who are impacted by a rule to develop and agree to the rule language. Teams representing family home child care providers, center child care providers, parents of enrolled children, Head Start/ECEAP providers and DEL licensing staff began negotiating the aligned standards in June 2017. Each month, a small group with representatives from each team would meet to review draft rules and negotiate revisions. Those revisions were taken to a monthly meeting where all negotiators would discuss, refine and measure consensus.

We have a lot to celebrate as we wrap up negotiations. There are just a handful of sections for which negotiators still have to reach consensus. The high success rate is entirely due to the negotiators’ collaborative spirit and hard work. Each participant was deeply committed and generously gave time and energy – including many weekends – to the project. We are also celebrating transparent negotiations that stakeholders were able to follow by attending a session or watching on DEL’s YouTube channel. During negotiations, more than 1,000 comments were submitted by the public and informed the negotiators’ work.

Statewide, representative stakeholders have contributed during every step of the Standards Alignment project. DEL is committed to continuing to engage with stakeholders once the rules are adopted and implementation begins.

After negotiations are done, DEL expects to file with the Code Reviser proposed rules by May 2 and solicit comments on those rules before adopting final rules at the end of June. After the rules are adopted, there will be a year-long implementation phase before the rules take effect in the summer of 2019.

If you have questions about the negotiated rulemaking process please e-mail rules@del.wa.gov.

Washington’s Unsung Heroes to be honored in February

Parenting: one day it’s dance parties in the kitchen with hugs and kisses, and the next day you’re bribing with fruit snacks to stop the meltdown in aisle 3. Parenting is hard. And some paths are especially challenging for both the parent and the child.

This Unsung Hero was awarded during last year's ceremony.

Gov. Jay Inslee has proclaimed February as Parent Recognition Month, and we are celebrating extraordinary Washington parents with our Unsung Heroes Campaign. The Strengthening Families Team at DEL has had the privilege of hosting a recognition event now for several years and once again we find ourselves inspired by the stories from across the state.

Late last year we opened the nomination process up across the state and received nominations from all over. These nominees are parents, caregivers, teachers and community members who have made a remarkable difference in a child or children’s life. We looked for those who showed strength in the Protective Factors:

• Parental Resilience – overcoming hard times and bouncing back
• Concrete Supports in Times of Need – knowing where to turn to for help
• Social and Emotional Competence of Children – knowing how to help children talk about feelings
• Social Connections – reaching out and knowing who can support you
• Knowledge of Parenting and Child Development – knowing where to go for information on parenting skills and children’s developmental growth

Of the dozens of nominations received, our parent panel selected 28 honorees – one for each day of the month. We will again partner with Seattle’s Child Magazine, who will feature one honoree each day on their website. Be sure to check our Facebook and Twitter feeds to find out each day who the next honoree is. We hope you will find their stories as inspiring and uplifting as we did! And to all our honorees, congratulations!

Help us set subsidy rates by taking the Market Rate Survey

The Department of Early Learning needs your help to better serve the needs of licensed child care providers. We have just launched this year’s leaner, simplified Market Rate Survey. The survey will take about 15 minutes to complete and is open to all licensed providers in Washington state. DEL is required by the federal government to conduct this Market Rate Survey. The results from the survey will be used to inform child care subsidy rates. You can help by taking the survey if you are a licensed provider, and if not, you can help promote it!

DEL has conducted Washington State’s Market Rate Survey since 2007, as the lead agency for the Child Care Development Fund. The survey asks questions about licensed providers' child care and the children they serve. Topics covered include enrollment, private tuition rates, staff education and compensation, and support services offered. The survey includes several important updates this year:

• DEL is partnering with Public Consulting Group, Inc. (PCG) to deploy the survey.
• Shorter and more concise format than previous years.
• Web-based format with email, telephone, and postcard contacts planned.
• Translations available for providers who speak Spanish and Somali.
• Telephone interpreters available for additional languages.

To inform subsidy rates, your participation is very important! To reach our response rate goal of 75 percent for licensed centers and licensed family homes, we need your help. DEL would appreciate if you could take the survey, help promote it to other child care providers, or both! Providers can check their email for a link to the survey, subject line “Market Rate Survey.” Or, providers can access the survey at this link: http://surveys.pcgus.com/s3/WADELMRS.

The survey will close April 20 or after we receive our response rate goal, whichever comes first. You can also contact PCG at wamarketratesurvey@pcgus.com or (844) 880-8714 with any questions. Thank you!

New ELAC subcommittee focuses on licensed centers

A new subcommittee will advise the Department of Early Learning (DEL) on issues specific to licensed child care centers in Washington state. This Licensed Center Advisory Subcommittee (LCAS), a subcommittee of the Early Learning Advisory Council (ELAC), will address matters ranging from regulation improvement to staffing challenges, as well as region-specific concerns.

“We decided to support you in a different way by forming this subcommittee primarily out of the recognition that centers deliver the vast majority of our quality early learning service, in particular in service of families that are on the Working Connections Child Care system,” said DEL Assistant Director Frank Ordway at the subcommittee’s first meeting. The meeting was held online in November.

“It’s very exciting to finally see this coming together,” Ordway said.

ELAC has been discussing the formation of this subcommittee for at least two years as a way to give licensed centers more input into proposed policies that affect them, according to Lois Martin, a member of both ELAC and LCAS. This will be particularly important as DEL transitions to the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF).

“We want to make sure that all of our voices are still solicited, as well as heard, as we make this transition,” said Martin, who is the director of the Community Day Center for Children in Seattle. “We want to ensure that no one in any of these subgroups (at DCYF) is left behind.”

The new subcommittee will partner with DEL to have conversations about ongoing regulation improvement, rates and rate structures, staffing and professional development, and specific regional challenges, among other topics.

“Overall availability of [licensed centers] in your communities is critical to community health and to economic opportunity for families and so we need more of you,” Ordway told the committee. In particular, he stressed the importance of supporting an environment that is friendly to child care businesses so more providers stay in the market and new providers join.

“We need advice from [licensed centers] on how to do that better,” Ordway said.

For licensed centers, the new subcommittee will give them the opportunity for regular, focused conversations with DEL staff and leadership.

“I represent a lot of centers as well as my own in the Eastern Washington region and also statewide,” said Luc Jasmin, LCAS member and owner and director of Parkview Early Learning Center in Spokane. “It’s a way to really be able to bring thoughts, comments, and concerns to DEL and have that voice.”

Jasmin, who is also president and founder of the Washington Childcare Centers Association, pushed for the formation of the subcommittee to improve communication between licensed centers and DEL.

“My specific goals are to really be able to effectively communicate with the department and also with our membership base in a way that bridges that communication gap so that we’re streamlined and we’re on the same page,” he said.

At the first meeting of the Licensed Center Advisory Subcommittee, members also discussed some of the DEL’s requests for the upcoming 2018 legislative session. Among the DEL’s priorities are to ask for investments in infant and toddler resources and in support for licensed care around the state.

The subcommittee currently has 26 members and 10 unfilled seats. The DEL seeks to find members from underrepresented regions of the state, including north central, southwest, southeast, and Olympic-Kitsap Peninsulas.

The first in-person meeting for the Licensed Center Advisory Subcommittee will take place February 20. If you are interested in becoming a member of the subcommittee, contact slc@del.wa.gov. 

DEL begins drafting Child Care Development Fund Plan

Beginning January 2018, DEL began coordinating drafting of the state’s Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) Plan with the goal of submitting a Plan by July 1, 2018. So what does all that mean for Washington families and child care providers?

CCDF is a federal and state partnership program administered by states, territories, and Tribal Nations. They use CCDF grant funds to provide access to child care for low-income families so they can work or attend job training or educational programs. They also invest CCDF funds to build the skills and qualifications of providers, support child care programs to achieve higher standards, and provide consumer education to help families select child care that meets their needs. Working Connections Child Care is one example of a CCDF-funded program administered by DEL, but the grant also funds other DEL activities, including licensing, Early Achievers, and provider professional development.

Under federal law, Washington is required to submit a CCDF Plan every three years in order to continue receiving the CCDF grant. The Plan serves as the application for CCDF funds and describes the state’s child care program and all services available to eligible families. The Plan is developed in collaboration with numerous partners, stakeholders, and tribal governments to ensure that the state’s CCDF program period addresses the needs of families, providers and communities. Once approved by the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF), it allows the state to continue receiving the CCDF grant.

Washington’s current CCDF Plan is set to expire in 2018, so a new plan must be submitted to ACF by July 1, 2018 and to be completely finalized by October 1. On December 8, 2017, ACF released a draft preprinted (Preprint) form to collect all of the required Plan information (see here). With the release of the Preprint, the path is now clear for DEL to begin coordinating plan drafting. Here is how the drafting process will work and how you can participate:

• Starting in January 2018, DEL will convene an Executive Steering Committee (ESC) composed of representatives of early learning focused organizations, community partners, and government agencies.
• The ESC will review initial Plan drafts, feedback from partners, stakeholders, and tribal governments, and from the general public, and approve a plan for submission by July 1.
• In between, DEL will provide the Plan Preprint and Plan drafts to the Early Learning Advisory Committee (ELAC) and Indian Policy Early Learning (IPEL) group for their feedback, starting in February and concluding in April.
• In May and June, DEL will convene one or more public meetings to receive further community Plan input.
• Then in June, DEL will convene a public hearing, as required by federal law, to receive formal community input on the draft Plan. DEL will then submit the plan to ACF on July 1.

If it all sounds a bit confusing, take heart. DEL maintains a page on its site here where you will find important updates on the status of the Plan as it develops, as well as information on opportunities to give your feedback, and general information on CCDF. Stay tuned!