Chapter 809 Child Care Services Rules

1 CHAPTER 809 CHILD CARE SERVICES RULES 2 TEXAS RISING STAR IMPLEMENTATION, 3 EXTENSION, AND 4 GUIDANCE ON ASSESSMENTS AND SCORING 5 DISCUSSION PAPER 6 7 8 Background 9 Texas Government Code §2308.315 mandates that the graduated reimbursement rates go into 10 effect after the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) adopts amendments to the Chapter 809 11 Child Care Services rules regarding the Texas Rising Star (TRS) program. TWC’s three-member 12 Commission adopted these amendments to Chapter 809 on January 27, 2015; the amendments 13 require that the graduated reimbursement rates go into effect on September 1, 2015. 14 15 Following the adoption of the rules, Local Workforce Development Boards (Boards) have been 16 responsible for: 17  training TRS assessors and mentors on the new TRS guidelines; and 18  conducting assessments of current TRS providers to ensure that they meet the requirements 19 necessary to be reimbursed at the levels prescribed by Texas Government Code §2308.315. 20 21 Boards have been conducting assessments of all current TRS providers from April 2015 through 22 August 2015. Based on feedback from several TRS providers, the time frame for implementing 23 the new standards was very aggressive. For example, several TRS providers have noted that the 24 new requirements for ensuring that lesson plans are developed in alignment with the 25 Prekindergarten Guidelines and the Early Learning Guidelines were more challenging and time 26 consuming than they initially estimated. 27 28 Also, under current TRS guidelines, the overall rating is determined by the rating of the lowest 29 category. For example, if four of the five categories received a 4-star rating, but one category 30 scored a 2-star rating, the final provider star level would be 2-star. This was to ensure that a 31 provider’s rating reflects the level of quality across all the TRS categories and to ensure that 32 providers focus on quality improvement in all categories of quality. However, providers have 33 expressed concerns that this methodology discounts the level of effort and resources expended to 34 achieve the highest levels for the majority of the quality categories and does not reflect the overall 35 level of quality at the facility. 36 37 Additionally, providers have expressed concerns regarding the process for conducting 38 reassessments for a provider that was initially assessed low in one category and has requested a 39 reassessment on that category to improve the star rating. Under the current TRS guidelines, if a 40 provider requests an assessment in order to increase the star level, the TRS assessor must conduct 41 a full facility and classroom assessment, including an assessment of categories that were 42 previously rated at the 4-star level. Providers have requested that TWC explore the possibility of 43 allowing an assessment of only the categories that receive the lowest ratings in order to improve 44 those ratings to determine the overall star level. 45 46 47 48 Recommendation 1: Timeline Extension for Implementing Graduated Reimbursement 49 Rates for Texas Rising Star Providers

DP – TRS Implementation Timeline (08 24 15)Notebook 1 1 2 The new TRS Guidelines will go into effect September 1, 2015, and the measures/standards 3 remain unchanged. All providers who have been assessed and certified at a TRS star level will 4 begin receiving enhanced reimbursements based on their certification level as of September 1, 5 2015. In recognition of the critical need to address the health and safety needs of children, the 6 application of licensing deficiencies in accordance with the TRS Guidelines and rules remains in 7 effect as of September 1, 2015. 8 9 In order to address the concerns raised regarding the accelerated timeframe for implementation of 10 the new quality standards, staff recommends allowing existing TRS providers who are actively 11 pursuing TRS certification under the new standards and working with the Board or those who 12 were assessed and did not meet the new standards and are working with the Board to attain TRS 13 certification to have an additional six months (September 2015–February 2016) to come into 14 compliance with the new TRS standards. The extension applies to the TRS standards and does 15 not apply to the application of any licensing deficiencies. 16 17 An existing TRS provider that is actively pursuing TRS certification under the new standards, 18 working with the Board, and has either not been assessed or assessed but did not meet the 19 standardswill be grandfathered in as a 2-star provider beginning September 1, 2015, through 20 February 29, 2016, and will receive the Board’s reimbursement rate for a 2-star TRS-certified 21 provider (of at least 5 percent above the Board’s non-TRS rate). 22 23 Between September 1, 2015, and February 29, 2016, grandfathered 2-star providers will be 24 assessed and will have time to address the areas needing improvement to become TRS certified. 25 Boards are not required to reassess all TRS elements, only those that caused the star rating to be 26 below the provider’s certification level prior to September 1, 2015. This will provide for a 27 grandfathering period to allow existing TRS providers additional time to implement changes in 28 accordance with the new TRS standards. 29 30 Effective March 1, 2016, Boards must ensure that all existing TRS providers have been 31 assessed/reassessed as needed, and that the TRS star rating under the new standards will be in 32 effect for all providers. 33 34 Recommendation 2: Modifications to the Scoring Methodology 35 Staff recommends modifying the TRS scoring methodology described in the TRS Guidelines to 36 allow a provider that achieved 4-star ratings on four of the five categories but a 2-star rating in 37 one category to be certified as a 3-star TRS provider. 38 39 Recommendation 3: Reassessment of Lowest Rated Category within Three Months 40 Staff recommends modifying the TRS assessment policy described in the TRS Guidelines to 41 include the option for providers to request that a reassessment of not more than two of the 42 facility’s lowest rated categories be conducted within three months of the full TRS assessment 43 without requiring a reassessment of the other categories. 44 45 However, staff also recommends that if a provider that requested a reassessment of the lowest- 46 rated category or categories has experienced a change of director or staff within the three months, 47 then Category 1 – Director and Staff Qualifications must be also be reassessed. 48

DP – TRS Implementation Timeline (08 24 15)Notebook 2 1 For existing TRS providers assessed by August 31, 2015 a request for review in accordance with 2 this recommendation must be made no later than November 30, 2015. New providers certified on 3 or after September 1, 2015, must make a request for review under this recommendation within 4 three months from certification. Boards must give priority to reassessments under 5 recommendation #1. Reassessments under this recommendation will be completed as soon as 6 possible based on resource availability with a goal of completing reassessments within sixty days 7 of requests. 8

DP – TRS Implementation Timeline (08 24 15)Notebook 3