Creating a Policy Framework and FY14 Proposed Budget

1. Creating a Policy Framework and FY14 Proposed Budget Presentation to the EEC Board November 13, 2012

2. EEC Mission Statement The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) provides the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and supports families in their essential work as parents and caregivers.

3. Strategic Plan Context The presentation of the FY14 budget request is in the context of the EEC Strategic Plan. QUALITY: Create and implement a system to improve and support quality statewide. WORKFORCE: Create a workforce system that maintains worker diversity and provides resources, supports, expectations, and core competencies that lead to the outcomes we want for children. ACCESS: Increase and promote family support, access, and affordability. All preschool children have access to high quality pre-kindergarten programs that meet family needs. ACCESS / TRANSPORTATION: All preschool children have access to high quality pre-kindergarten programs that meet family needs. INFRASTRUCTURE: Build the internal infrastructure to support achieving the vision.

4. EEC Total Available Budget (Amount in Millions)

5. Building the Foundation: Highlights Over the past three years we have made a significant amount of progress improving the infrastructure and delivery of the early education and care system. We are ready for an investment in our future to sustain this partial list of successful initiatives and create new ones. • QRIS • Professional Qualifications Registry • Workforce Development • Kindergarten Formative Assessment • RTTT-ELC: Birth to Grade 3 (a significant investment in community quality) • Early Learning Standards Aligned with Common Core • Updated Licensing Regulations

6. EEC Policies Related to FY14 Budget The requests for FY14 funding are in the context of long held and firmly developed EEC policies. • Quality Investment: EEC Rates will support the cost of providing high quality childcare to ensure access for high needs children. • Access for High Needs Children: EEC will seek to ensure that parents of birth to age eight children have access to high quality early education and care experiences. EEC will support the workforce by ensuring that sibling access is open, thus allowing parents to participate in the workforce. • Quality Programs: QRIS positions a program to support children and have a better chance to meet potential. • Transportation: EEC is committed to increasing and ensuring the health and safety of all children who receive transportation to EEC childcare. • Accountability: EEC will monitor the regulations and ensure programs receive feedback to improve, remove, or prevent practice that does not lead to outcomes for children across all domains of development in early education and care and out of school time.

7. Recommendations This presentation presents the following recommendations made by the combined Fiscal and Policy and Research Committees: An Investment in Quality: $15,594,821 Aligned with our mission and our Strategic Plan, we will invest in quality through and by the following: • Investment in Workforce Quality: A rate increase of 3% or $13,790,577 supports an increase in salaries, benefits, and stipends for child care workers. • Investment in Quality Program Sustainability / Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS): A set-aside of $1M supports our investment in QRIS and helps sustain program improvements supporting children in care. • Quality Infrastructure: $804,244 to support staffing which holds child care providers accountable for health and safety, quality care, and quality programs. An Investment in our Children and Families: $36,209,423 • Access will be opened for preschool age children. An Investment in Transportation: $17,586,713 • This request for funds affirms the Board’s vote in June 2012 to increase the rate paid for transportation to support improvements in the system and the addition of one adult monitor on all vehicles carrying infants, toddlers, and preschool children. Total Funding Request: $69,390,957

8. Investment in Workforce Quality The presentation of the FY14 budget is in the context of the EEC Strategic Plan: WORKFORCE. Strategic Direction: Create a workforce system that maintains worker diversity and provides resources, supports, expectations, and core competencies that lead to the outcomes we want for children. Indicator of Success: The early education and care workforce has a well-defined career ladder that adequately and fairly compensates educators as professionals. Value: Our workforce is the backbone of our services; we value and support their skill development, diversity, and fair compensation. RATE INCREASE:$13,790,577 (27% of $51M) A rate increase of 3% in all caseload accounts will allow providers to invest in the workforce and other program quality enhancements. Programs must be participating in QRIS to receive the rate increase.

9. Investment in Quality Program Sustainability The presentation of the FY14 budget is in the context of the EEC Strategic Plan: QUALITY. Strategic Direction: Create and implement a system to improve and support quality statewide. Indicator of Success: Massachusetts’ Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) has been developed, validated, funded, and implemented with full involvement of EEC’s community partners and EEC staff. MA has standards for quality in early education and care programs that are research-based, broadly understood, successfully implemented, culturally appropriate, and aligned with a quality-building support system. UPK Appropriation Language states, in part, “…provided further, that any newly-funded programs designated as Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program participants shall fall within the quality standards established by the Massachusetts quality rating and improvement system; provided further, that programs receiving grant funds may use the funds to enhance teacher and staff quality and compensation, enhance program quality through participation in the Massachusetts quality rating and improvement system…” Value: We value all children and all families. Families live within communities and must be reached and supported in ways that maximize accessibility. QUALITY PROGRAM SUSTAINABILITY: $1,000,000

10. Investment in Quality Infrastructure The presentation of the FY14 budget is in the context of the EEC Strategic Plan: INFRASTRUCTURE. Strategic Direction: Build the internal infrastructure to support achieving the vision. Indicator of Success: EEC regions have the staff, resources, and stakeholder partnerships required to achieve the breadth of the agency’s readiness vision. Value: Our workforce is the backbone of our services; we value and support their skill development, diversity, and fair compensation. INFRASTRUCTURE: $804,244 This is our mechanism to support and hold programs accountable.

11. Investment in our Children and Families The presentation of the FY14 budget is in the context of the EEC Strategic Plan: FAMILY SUPPORT, ACCESS, AND AFFORDABILITY. Strategic Direction: Increase and promote family support, access, and affordability. Indicator of Success: Families are aware of the mixed early education and care system and have access to affordable, high-quality early education and care services. Value: All children can succeed and we have the responsibility to help them do that. ACCESS: $36,209,423 (71% of $51M) EEC proposes to open up access for siblings of children in care. We propose to open access to preschool children on the waitlist.

12. Investment in Quality Transportation The presentation of the FY14 budget is in the context of the EEC Strategic Plan: QUALITY. Strategic Direction: Create and implement a system to improve and support quality statewide. Increase and promote family support, access, and affordability Indicator of Success: Early education and care services are delivered through a seamless system that is responsive to the needs of all families and provides supports and resources. Comprehensive services … are embedded in the delivery of services for families and children. Value: We value all children and all families. Families live within communities and must be reached and supported in ways that maximize accessibility. TRANSPORTATION: $17,586,713

13. Proposed FY14 EEC Budget

14. Proposed FY15 EEC Budget

15. Appendix Investment in Workforce Quality • Offsetting the Funding Gap • Quality Investment: Rate Comparison Center Based Programs • Quality Investment: Rate Comparison Family Child Care • Investment in Workforce Quality Summary • Infrastructure Cost Investment in Our Children and Families • Caseload Waitlist Since 8/2011 • EEC Waitlist vs. IE Children Served • PreSchool Children on Waitlist • Investment in Children and Families Summary Investment in Quality Transportation • Transportation Board Vote • Quality Transportation Summary

16. Offsetting the Funding Gap Since FY09, EEC’s total available funds have decreased as shown by the red bar which signifies the amount of reduction each year compared to FY09. The green bar shows how additional funds have offset the funding gap each year since FY09.

17. Quality Investment: Rate Comparison Center Based Prices by Age The most recent Massachusetts Market Price Child Care Survey shows that even with the implementation of the infant rate for all infants and toddlers, we will not be close to reimbursing at the federally suggested level of the 75th percentile. “EEC Market Rate Access” means that families can access this percentage of child care facilities based on the rates we offer.

18. Quality Investment: Rate Comparison Family Child Care Prices By Age The most recent Massachusetts Market Price Child Care Survey shows that even with the implementation of the infant rate for all infants and toddlers, we will not be close to reimbursing at the federally suggested level of the 75th percentile. “EEC Market Rate Access” means that families can access this percentage of child care facilities based on the rates we offer.

19. Investment in Workforce Quality Summary Rate Increase for Quality: $13,790,577 • The cost of a 3% increase rate increase for programs in QRIS has been added as a separate cost for each of the caseload accounts and is part of the overall $50M request. • IE: $7,645,174 • DTA: $4,397,492 • DCF: $1,747,911 • We are now in our fourth year of no rate increase. The last rate increase was March 2009 when we gave .45%. This did not correct the market. • This is the longest gap since FY02 – FY04. • We will implement the same policy for the rate increase as used in FY09: “This increase shall be directed to expenditures for salaries, benefits, and stipends for professional development of early education and care workers or other programmatic quality improvements.” • Programs must be participating in QRIS to receive the rate increase.

20. INFRASTRUCTURE COST In November, 2010, the Board recommended the staffing pattern recommended below. If we were to increase funding for access, it is even more critical to fill the open positions in Fiscal, Policy, Quality Supports, and Communication.

21. Caseload Waitlist Since 8/2011 *Waitlist Data as of August 2011 is reported from KinderWait ** Excludes Unborn children, Children 13 or older, “0” zip codes and towns out of state.

22. ACCESSEEC Waitlist vs. IE Children Served Spike in July 09 is due to 3A to 3D transitional children from DTA to IE.

23. PreSchool Children on Waitlist

24. Investment in Children and Families Summary • There are 47,659 children on the waitlist. • Of the 47,659 children on the waitlist, 14,217 (29.83%) are preschool children. • With $36.2M available and at an average cost of roughly $7,400 per preschool child in IE, we estimate that we can serve approximately 4,893 children. • 4,893 children is roughly 34.4% of the total number of eligible preschool children. • We are serving 30,283 children in the IE caseload account as of September’s reports. Adding 4,983 children to our caseload takes us back to November 2010 when we last served 35,266 children in the IE account.

25. TRANSPORTATION COST In June 2012 the Board voted as follows: Subject to a supplemental budget appropriation the Board approves an increased transportation provider reimbursement rate of $16.51 for round trip transportation and $11.11 for one-way transportation for all infants, toddlers, and preschool age children with the requirement that, if the recommended reimbursement rate increase is funded, entities that receive transportation payment from EEC for infants, toddlers, and preschool age children must dedicate one adult monitor on all vehicles. The transportation rate of $9.00 per day round trip and $6.00 per day for one way transportation will remain in effect for all transportation providers that transport school age children.

26. Quality Transportation Summary • The last transportation rate increase was in May 2006 when the one way rate increased from $5 to $6 and the round trip rate increased from $7.50 to $9.00. • The rate of $16.51 per round trip makes providers whole for the staff time already directed to satisfying the following recommendations: • Management Responsibility • Parent Notification • Passenger Logs • Secondary Vehicle Inspection • AND places an adult monitor on vehicles based on the number of children, ages, and length of routes. • Vehicle monitoring devices will not be required. • The priority for any transportation funding received will be dedicated to the cost of monitors followed by a sustained emphasis on training.