Board of Early Education and Care s1

Board of Early Education and Care June 10, 2008 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM

Department of Early Education and Care 51 Sleeper Street, 4th floor Boston, MA 02210

MINUTES

Members of the Board of Early Education and Care Present: Sharon Scott Chandler, Chairperson Marilyn Chase, Executive Office of Health and Human Services designee J.D. Chesloff Julie Culhane, Ph.D. Chi-Cheng Huang, M.D. Carol Craig O’Brien Orlando Isaza Mary Pat Messmer Lynson Moore Beaulieu Amy Kershaw, Acting Commissioner of the Department and Secretary to the Board

Members of the Board of Early Education and Care Absent: Elizabeth Childs, M.D.

The meeting was called to order at: 1:14 p.m.

Welcome and Introductions

Chairperson Sharon Scott-Chandler welcomed new Board members Orlando Isaza and Lynson Moore Beaulieu and welcomed Board member Mary Pat Messmer to her second meeting.

Chairperson Scott-Chandler also announced that there will be an historic, joint meeting of the state’s education Boards on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 where the Governor and the Secretary of Education, Paul Reville will be releasing the recommendations of the Readiness Project. She looks forward to seeing EEC Board members there.

Chairperson Scott-Chandler also provided an update on the search for a new EEC Commissioner. EEC has contracted with the firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the search process. The consultants will seek feedback from the EEC staff, Advisory Team and the Parent Advisory and will hold two public meetings to solicit broad stakeholder input. Notices of these stakeholder meetings, along with other information regarding the search process, will be posted on EEC’s website. 51 Sleeper Street, 4th Floor, Boston, MA 02210 Phone: 617-988-6600 • Fax: 617-988-2451 • [email protected] www.eec.state.ma.us Routine Business

Board Subcommittee Update: Board Member Chesloff provided an update on the EEC Board’s strategic planning efforts. He noted that the Board had engaged in two full-day retreats, which he described as tremendously valuable opportunities. A new mission statement is under development, as well as a document outlining a five year vision. The subcommittee also met with the EEC staff, the Advisory Team and the Parent Advisory Council to help inform the strategic planning process. Board Member Chesloff reflected on the necessity for the process to be collaborative in order to be successful, and noted that stakeholder groups will also be given an opportunity to provide additional feedback.

Agency Updates

Welcome to New Board Members: Acting Commissioner Kershaw also welcomed new EEC Board Members Mary Pat Messmer, Orlando Isaza and Lynson Moore Beaulieu.

FY08 Budget: Acting Commissioner Kershaw updated the Board on EEC’s FY08 budget deficiency and noted that the on-going deficiency is due to an unanticipated increase in the TANF case load. A supplemental budget was passed by the legislature, which provided $13M in funding for the deficiency. However, there is an additional $1.4M in a remaining deficiency that EEC hopes will be included in an upcoming supplemental budget.

Acting Commissioner Kershaw also reported on the development of a Unified IT system for EEC. EEC received proposals and has heard oral presentations from two bidders and expects to decide on the vendor in the next month. Acting Commissioner Kershaw noted that the Capital Bond Bill has not yet passed, which is where the future funding for this initiative will come from. Board Member Huang inquired as to why EEC is only looking at two bids. Acting Commissioner Kershaw responded that although 16 firms had expressed interest at the bidder’s conference, only two proposals were received. Both, however, offer significant strengths and EEC will report back to the Board on its selection.

Income Eligible Re-Procurement: Kenley Branscome presented the Board with an update on the re-procurement of EEC’s Income Eligible contracts. He reviewed project goals and milestones. EEC recently surveyed family child care systems regarding current practices and findings will be presented at an upcoming Board meeting. He noted that the response rate was 78%. A more detailed presentation on this effort is scheduled for the July Board meeting.

Single State Audit: EEC was selected again for the current year’s Single State Audit. EEC looks forward to again working with the State Auditors starting some time in June and will provide monthly updates to the Board regarding EEC’s progress in implementing its corrective action plan to address the FY2007 audit findings.

EEC and DTA Accept Public Leadership Award from Horizons for Homeless Children: Acting Commissioner Kershaw reported that EEC and DTA received an award from Horizons for Homeless Children for the EEC-DTA streamlining initiative which facilitated access to child care for families experiencing homelessness. Since the new policy went into effect on December 3, 2007, the number of families served has nearly tripled from 700 to more than 2,000. Acting Commissioner Kershaw recognized Janet McKeon and Susan Fletcher from EEC and Al Dufresne from DTA for their hard work on this initiative.

Family, Friend and Neighbor Training Event: On May 28th representatives from the Parent Child Home Program, the Massachusetts Family Networks, the Child Care Resource and Referral agencies and other family support programs attended a training aimed at providing greater outreach and support to family, friends, and neighbor caregivers in Massachusetts.

Early Childhood Educators (ECE) Scholarship Application: At the March EEC Board meeting, the Board approved several changes in the ECE scholarship program which is jointly administered by EEC and the Department of Higher Education (DHE). Some of the changes were not able to be acted on by the Board of Higher Education in time for the release of the new scholarship application. EEC and DHE will work closely together to plan for implementation of the changes next year and have modified the FY09 Scholarship Application to capture additional information to inform more comprehensive eligibility changes in FY2010.

New Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) Commissioner Sworn In: Acting Commissioner Kershaw reported that the new ESE Commissioner, Mitchell Chester was sworn in and she looks forward to working with him.

EEC Bill: On Wednesday, May 28th, the Massachusetts House of Representatives unanimously passed H4076, An Act Relative to Early Education and Care, which seeks to amend EEC’s enabling legislation. In addition to adding more substance to the existing section of the General Laws governing EEC, the Bill also “cleans up” many out-dated references within the General Laws to EEC’s predecessor agencies. The Bill was unanimously passed by the House and referred to Senate Ways and Means Committee. EEC will update the Board on the Bill as it progresses through the legislature.

Statements From the Public The Board of Early Education and Care makes up to 30 minutes available for persons in the audience to address the Board on specific agenda items. In order to hear as many speakers as possible, the Board limits individuals to three minutes, although written material of any length can be submitted to Chairperson Scott-Chandler or Acting Commissioner Kershaw.

 Mav Pardee, Children’s Investment Fund, reflected on a Boston Globe editorial regarding the Reggio Emilia schools, which include a philosophy that the physical facility of a program is a very important component of learning. She stressed the direct impact and the importance of quality space in which preschool and other education opportunities take place and urged that Massachusetts learns from this example as we develop the UPK program. It was also noted that the Children’s Investment Fund was formerly the Child Care Capital Investment Fund.

 Deb Ansourlian, Cooper Community Center, voiced concerns regarding how UPK funds are allocated. Her center is in Roxbury and is an accredited program in one of the poorest Massachusetts’ neighborhoods. Cooper applied for a UPK grant twice and met the eligibility criteria but was not selected as a grantee either time due to funding limitations.  Kelty Kelley, on behalf of MA CPC, offered support for indexing income eligibility annually to reflect the changes in family income, and expanding UPK quality grants to full programs rather than to individual classrooms only. Ms. Kelley also stated that MA CPC supports the notion of capacity building grants in order to support programs needing to achieve higher quality status instead of only supporting programs that are already at a higher level of quality.

End of public comment period.

Approval of May 13, 2008 Minutes - Vote Chairperson Scott-Chandler called for a motion to approve Board meeting minutes from May 13, 2008. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was: VOTED that the Board of Early Education and Care approve the minutes of the May 13, 2008 regular meeting as presented by Acting Commissioner Kershaw. The motion passed unanimously.

Approval of Acting Commissioner Salary- Vote Chairperson Scott-Chandler called for a motion to approve the salary for the Acting Commissioner. On a motion duly made and seconded, it was: VOTED that the Board of Early Education and Care approve the proposed salary for the Acting Commissioner. The motion passed unanimously.

Items for Discussion:

I. Update to State Median Income – Presentation and Vote

Acting Commissioner Kershaw presented EEC’s proposal regarding updating the State Median Income (SMI) annually. She noted that prior to EEC’s existence the SMI was not updated annually, and stated that other means tested programs are annually indexed (e.g., food stamps, school lunch, SSI, etc.). Acting Commissioner Kershaw stated that the value of EEC financial assistance is essentially eroded if the SMI is not indexed. Acting Commissioner Kershaw recommended the use of the 2009 SMI to conduct income eligibility for EEC financial assistance in the coming fiscal year, and that the SMI year be updated annually hereafter. This annual update will recognize family’s cost of living increases. If the motion passes, EEC will publish new income guidelines on the website effective July 1, 2008.

In response to a Board member question, Acting Commissioner Kershaw noted that EEC does not do extensive outreach to families about the availability of child care financial assistance because resources are so limited and the waiting list is so long. Chairperson Scott-Chandler noted that CPCs and CCR&Rs are connected to families and do significant outreach and communication. Board Member Craig-O’Brien agreed that there are many agencies in the field that are in touch with families in the communities and much of the outreach is done at the grassroots level.

It was discussed that the Sliding Fee Scale would not be affected by the update to the SMI. A family’s contribution is based on a specific income level (not a percentage) and therefore only changes as a result of an income change. Board Member Moore Beaulieu asked if new children would have to wait longer because some children will stay in care longer. Acting Commissioner Kershaw confirmed that a small number of families will retain eligibility longer than they would have if the SMI were not updated. Board Member Chesloff asked what the EEC Advisory Team recommended, and Acting Commissioner Kershaw noted that they were in favor of the indexing.

On a motion duly made and seconded, it was: VOTED that the Board of Early Education and Care authorize the Department to update, effective July 1, 2008, the state median income year used to determine the Commonwealth’s income eligibility guidelines for early education and care financial assistance in accordance with the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2009 state median income estimate; and

the Board further authorizes the Department to annually update, effective July 1st of each year, the state median income year used to determine the Commonwealth’s income eligibility guidelines for early education and care in accordance with the U.S. Census Bureau’s most current state median income estimate, unless otherwise directed by the Board. The motion passed unanimously.

II. FY2009 Budget Update– Presentation and Discussion

Deputy Commissioner Rego presented the Board with a brief overview of the State Budget Process and an update on the FY2009 State Budget. The current stage of the budget process is to reconcile the House and Senate budget proposals into a final budget. The House and Senate leadership named members of a Conference Committee who are working out the differences in each version before providing the Governor with a final proposal, which will then be subject to a potential veto process.

Deputy Commissioner Rego highlighted that both the Senate and House versions of the budget included a provider rate increase of $5M, a $1M increase for the Head Start line- item; and $5M for UPK. Each of these items is therefore considered “non-conferenceable.”

Deputy Commissioner Rego also noted that the Senate budget moves 3,000 post- transitional children, and $21.3M to serve them, from the TANF account to the Income Eligible account, and gives these children “priority status,” which would be a significant change in policy. Currently, families who have transitioned from cash-assistance (TANF) from the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) continue to receive child care as long as they remain income eligible and are not subject to the waiting list.

Deputy Commissioner Rego noted that post-transitional families are only a portion of the TANF families served.

Board Member Moore Beaulieu noted that the TANF account may change on an annual basis and Deputy Commissioner Rego agreed that case loads are very challenging to predict. Board Member Isaza asked for clarification regarding the portion of TANF funding potentially moving to the income eligible line. Acting Commissioner Kershaw clarified that the potential concern is not the funding moving; it is the change in whether these families remain effectively “entitled” to child care financial assistance. The change may have an impact, depending on the number of post-transitional families in any given year, on the availability of funds for low-income, working families.

Board Member Moore Beaulieu noted that the actual state investment in EEC is very small. Deputy Commissioner Rego confirmed that only approximately 5% of EEC’s funding comes from state sources, the remainder of the funding is federal reimbursement from the Child Care Development Block Grant and the Transitional Assistance to Needy Families.

Board Member Huang inquired about the Early Childhood Mental Health line-item in the budget. Acting Commissioner Kershaw responded that funds are provided to grantees that provide mental health consultation to early education and care programs. Behavioral and mental health experts work with programs to assist them in working with children demonstrating challenging behaviors. Board Member Huang noted that specifically in Boston he feels there is a great need for more of this type of funding. Board Member Moore Beaulieu asked if data is collected on the mental health grants. Acting Deputy Commissioner Moeller responded that EEC does collect performance data from these grantees.

Board Member Moore Beaulieu asked if annual reports on the Early Childhood Mental Health grants are reviewed by the Board. Chairperson Scott-Chandler responded that the Board has not typically received a report on all line-items, but that the updates are provided in presentation format during Board meetings. Acting Commissioner Kershaw added that EEC submits an annual report to the Legislature on many EEC initiatives and that she would be happy to provide that to the Board as well.

III. Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program Expansion Options – Presentation and Discussion

Board Member Disclosures Chairperson Scott-Chandler disclosed that her agency receives UPK funds. Board Member Mary Pat Messmer also disclosed that her agency receives UPK funds. Board Member Craig-O’ Brien disclosed that Westwood Public Schools does not currently receive UPK funds, but is interested in becoming a UPK recipient.

Presentation and Discussion Amy Checkoway, EEC’s UPK Program Manager presented the Board with a review of the Universal Pre-Kindergarten Program and potential expansion options for new FY2009 funds.

Checkoway noted that EEC funds specific sites for designated classrooms, geographic representation is happening at the regional level and more information will be available shortly on the demographics of the students being served.

Board Member Chase asked if it is true that the pilot grants are going to sites that are already at a certain level of quality and if there were deliverables. Checkoway clarified that the Classroom Quality grants focus on supporting programs to meet and maintain a high level of quality, while the Assessment Planning grants are geared to helping programs working towards UPK standards.

Board Member Chase asked if information is being captured regarding whether UPK funding is supporting positive outcomes for children. Checkoway stated that evaluation and data collection are a critical piece of EEC’s UPK strategy. The first step has been to evaluate the UPK pilot design and plans are to move into measuring child outcomes in the next few years. EEC’s approach is to set high standards for programs, help programs achieve those standards and then measure the results. Board Member Chase noted that she appreciates the value of the research strategy but urges EEC to move quickly to capture the impact of programming on children.

Chairperson Scott-Chandler added that in the short-term there may be informal ways to evaluate if a program sees progress internally by having them self-report on the results of the child assessments they are performing. Board Member Moore Beaulieu noted that programs that may not yet be showing progress should not be punished. She further asked if the programs retain the same teachers year to year. Chairperson Scott-Chandler responded that was not a requirement but that this was a hopeful outcome from UPK participation.

Board Member Craig O’ Brien noted that one of the things the UPK program does is help providers gain confidence and competence. Before any data is analyzed, we need to be sure this data is real. Some evaluations can be made based on the assessments in use but she noted that she does not believe we are ready to look at child specific data.

Board Member Moore Beaulieu asked about the age of the children served in UPK classrooms. Chairperson Scott-Chandler clarified that UPK classrooms serve children 2.9 years through kindergarten eligibility. Board Member Moore Beaulieu further asked when the pilot period would be over. Acting Commissioner Kershaw noted that it depended on resources and when EEC would be able to confirm that the design has been “tweaked” enough to know it is working optimally.

Board Member Huang noted that the Board has questions because of their strong support for UPK. He noted that it is exciting to be in the lead on such an initiative but it also makes the Board cautious because there is pressure to do it right.

In the interest of time the Board was asked if they had additional questions to be addressed at the July 14, 2008 meeting regarding Universal Pre-Kindergarten. The following questions were asked: 1. Could “system building” be defined? 2. The Governor’s budget reflected the desire for “capacity building” – how do we address that? 3. Are there currently communities not served, that we should think about targeting with UPK Funds? 4. How can we think about child outcomes? 5. Could you provide more information about assessment planning grants?

The Board agreed to e-mail any additional questions they may have, before the July Board Meeting.

On a motion duly made and seconded, it was: VOTED that the meeting adjourn at 3:36 p.m. subject to the call of the Chairperson. The vote was unanimous.

Respectfully submitted, Amy Kershaw Acting Commissioner of the Department and Secretary to the Board