STRONG MINDS NETWORK INFORMATION SESSION DM

AGENDA Welcome Introductions Presentation: Children’s Services Council Strong Minds Network Questions

Children’s Services Council: Who We Are Children’s Services Council, a special district created by Palm Beach County voters in 1986, provides leadership, funding, evaluation, program and system development on behalf of the county’s children so they grow up healthy, safe, and strong.

CSC Guiding Principles Primary prevention and early intervention Targeting the earliest developmental stages Theoretical integrity Minimal sufficiency Data driven and evidence- based Continuous learning and improvement High return on investment

Building an Early Childhood System of Care Quality Child Care: Early Education Afterschool BRIDGES Healthy Beginnings Professional Development Program & System Performance Data Systems Education and Outreach

Palm Beach County’s QRIS Journey 1998, Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) considered best practice 2002, Palm Beach County pilot, 6 sites 2003, the system was named Quality Rating System, 40 sites 2006, Palm Beach County and 11 other counties in Florida, formed the Multi-County Collaborative to align the standards in Florida ◦System renamed Quality Counts (tri-county; Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade County, and Broward County.) 2014, Quality Counts had 210 sites serving approximately 11,000 children

Why a New System? New evidence & research Focus on child outcomes Return on investment (ROI) Feedback from national experts Feedback from stakeholders Most intentional high quality providers

Strong Minds Network

Strong Minds Vision and Mission Vision: Children will have quality early educational experiences that will increase their chances of achieving school success and becoming productive members of society Mission: To use research and data to increase the quality of early care and education programs through integrated supports and resources offered to the early learning community, children and their families. Goals: Children are ready for school To improve children’s learning and development To improve teacher-child interactions To improve parent engagement

Who’s Included Children: Birth-Five in Palm Beach County Practitioners: working with children Birth-Five in Palm Beach County Programs: publicly-funded ◦Includes: School Readiness, Early Head Start, Head Start ◦System Partners: Early Learning Coalition, Early Head Start/Head Start, Palm Beach State College, School District of Palm Beach County, Literacy Coalition, The Children’s Forum, Healthy Beginnings, & Bridges

System Elements Pre-Entry/Eligibility/Annual RequirementsNavigation SupportRegistryValid and Reliable Child & Program AssessmentsTargeted Technical Assistance & Career AdvisingProfessional Development Opportunities (Formal, Informal, ACHIEVE, Scholarships)Tiered Reimbursement Supplement

Pre-Entry Criteria  School Readiness Contract or Head Start/Early Head Start Contract  In good standing* with: SR Contract HS/EHS Contract *In good standing is defined as no quality assurance/compliance plan within the last 12 months; for School Readiness – no quality assurance plan, probation, termination for cause, emergency termination, revocation of eligibility to participate, or suspected fraud within last 12 months  No Class 1 and no more than two of the same Class 2 licensing violations in the last 12 months

Pre-Entry Criteria  Agree to use GOLD Child Assessment System  Gold Seal Accreditation within three years of achieving In-Network status  All professional staff are active members of the Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry  At least two children enrolled (birth-5, not yet school age)

Application  Online applications will be available at:  Use the same username and password used to access the ELC portal  Notification by within 10 days regarding status: Ineligible Assessment Pending

The Early Childhood Registry The Registry is a professional development approval system that has been created to support and promote quality assurance, formal and informal courses, and assure trainer content knowledge. The Registry helps track formal and informal education and provides a basis for planning future professional development.

Active Registry Membership  Before applying to Strong Minds  User Manual available at Documents (Direct Care Program Registration User Manual)  Register your site in the Registry system  Make sure all current staff join the Registry  Make sure the viewable list of staff along with career level, position title, and registry status is accurate and up to date  Contact: Kimesha House or LaCandice James

Program Assessments

Program Assessment Program Assessments for Strong Minds  Preschool CLASS – classrooms with children 3-5  Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale(ITERS-R)– classrooms with children 0-2 ½  Toddler CLASS – optional for classrooms with children 2 ½-3  Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS-R) – for Family Child Care Centers  for more information

Program Assessment Program Assessment Protocol  50 % of preschool classrooms assessed  50% of infant / toddler classrooms assessed  Classrooms randomly drawn by assessment staff prior to arrival at the site

Network Status In-Network Promising Emerging

In-Network Status Minimum Assessment Scores (Tier 1) Minimum Assessment Scores (Tier 2) Available Supports 4.0 on identified items of ITERS-R/FCCERS-R *CLASS Domains: 5.0 Emotional Support 4.0 Classroom Organization 1.5 Instructional Support * not applicable to FCCH 5.5 on identified items on ITERS-R or FCCERS-R *CLASS Domains: 6.5 Emotional Support 5.5 Classroom Organization 3.0 Instructional Support * not applicable to FCCH Targeted Technical Assistance Professional Development Career Advising ACHIEVE Salary Supplement Full access to SEEK Scholarship Tiered Reimbursement Supplements

Promising Status Minimum Assessment ScoresAvailable Supports on identified items of ITERS-R/FCCERS-R *CLASS Domains: Emotional Support Classroom Organization Instructional Support * not applicable to FCCH Limited targeted technical assistance Professional Development Career Advising ACHIEVE Salary Supplement SEEK Scholarship

Emerging Status Assessment ScoresAvailable Supports Less than a 3.5 on identified items of ITERS-R/FCCERS-R *CLASS Domains: Less than 4.5 on Emotional Support Less than 3.5 on Classroom Organization * not applicable to FCCH Limited targeted technical assistance Professional Development Career Advising SEEK Scholarship

Network Eligibility & Supports Strong Minds Network Eligibility and Supports by Status Ineligible Emerging Promising In-Network Tier 1 In-Network Tier 2 PRE-ENTRY CRITERIA Not met Met Met Met Met ITERS-R or FCCERS-R** Scores NA Less than – Pre-K Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) Scores by Domain NA Less than 4.5 Emotional Support or Less than 3.5 Classroom Organization 4.5 – 4.99 Emotional Support or 3.5 – 3.99 Classroom Organization or 1.0 – 1.49 Instructional Support 5.0 Emotional Support and 4.0 Classroom Organization and 1.5 Instructional Support 6.5 Emotional Support and 5.5 Classroom Organization and 3.0 Instructional Support Supports available for each status: Technical support from contracting agency (Early Learning Coalition, Head Start/Early Head Start, FL Dept. of Health - Child Care Licensing) Training & Professional Development SEEK Scholarships Career Advising Limited and Targeted Technical Assistance from Strong Minds technical assistance Specialist (up to 18 months) in areas of: Fundamentals; Child Assessment and Documentation; Curriculum / Planning and Instruction; Interactions; Behavior Management and Special Needs; Accreditation Support Training & Professional Development SEEK Scholarships a Career Advising Limited and Targeted Technical Assistance from Strong Minds Technical Assistance Specialist (up to six months) in areas of: Fundamentals; Child Assessment and Documentation; Curriculum / Planning and Instruction; Interactions; Behavior Management and Special Needs; Accreditation Support Training & Professional Development SEEK Scholarships Career Advising ACHIEVE Salary Supplements Targeted Technical Assistance from In- Network Technical Assistance Specialist in areas of: Fundamentals; Child Assessment and Documentation; Curriculum / Planning and Instruction; Interactions; Behavior Management and Special Needs; Accreditation Support Training & Professional Development SEEK Scholarships Career Advising ACHIEVE Salary Supplements Tiered Reimbursement Supplement (per child- both subsidized care as well as private pay care - percentage based on geographic area and tier) Targeted Technical Assistance from In-Network Technical Assistance Specialist in areas of: Fundamentals; Child Assessment and Documentation; Curriculum / Planning and Instruction; Interactions; Behavior Management and Special Needs; Accreditation Support Training & Professional Development SEEK Scholarships Career Advising; ACHIEVE Salary Supplements Tiered Reimbursement Supplement (per child, both subsidized care as well as private pay care- higher percentage than Tier 1 and based on geographic area and tier) IneligibleEmergingPromisingIn-Network Tier 1In-Network Tier 2

Technical Assistance

 TA Specialists provide technical assistance to programs, upon request through a Navigator, in the following targeted areas: ◦Accreditation ◦Assessment and Documentation ◦Behavior Management / Special Needs ◦Curriculum, Planning and Instruction ◦Interactions ◦Fundamentals  TA support can be offered on site, via phone, virtually, and in groups

Career Advising  To provide individual professional development guidance and support to the Early Childhood Workforce of Palm Beach County  Strong Minds Network programs are assigned a Career Advisor  Appointment, extended hours, walk-in during business hours, on-site  One on one, face to face, through technology and group settings  Tutoring services

Professional Development  Registry approved community based training  Informal/non-credit courses  College Credit Certificates  AS Degree in Early Childhood Education  Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education  Master Degree in Early Childhood Education  Early Childhood degrees at other institutions of Higher Education

SEEK Scholarships Available to staff* in licensed Early Childcare Sites  GED Test Fee  Translation/Evaluation of Foreign Higher Education degrees  PBSC Test Fees (PERT, TABE, COMPASS)  ECPC/FCCPC coursework ▪ Director Credential coursework  Non-Credit Coursework (HEO) ▪Community Based Training  Associate Degree in ECE  (including Prep, General Education and Language course)  Required books/materials for coursework *Specific Eligibility requirements must be met

SEEK Scholarships In addition the following are also available to Strong Minds programs (any status)  Bachelor Degree in ECE  Master’s Degree – up to 12 ECE Credits Handbook, Deadlines and Application Forms available at *Specific Eligibility requirements must be met

ACHIEVE Salary Supplements Available to staff*in Strong Minds sites- In-Network and Promising Status only *Specific Eligibility requirements must be met

What is Tiered Reimbursement? Strong Minds Tiered Reimbursement Supplement Program issues differential payments to programs that achieve In-Network status. The purpose of the Tiered Reimbursement Supplement is to assist in offsetting the cost of quality for higher performing programs.

Tiered Reimbursement Supplement Tier 1 (Daily reimbursement Rate) Tier 2 (Daily reimbursement Rate) High Needs Area6% ($1.74) 8% ($2.32) Not in High Needs Area (Publicly Funded) 6% ($1.74) 8% ($2.32) Not in High Needs Area (Private Pay) 4% ($1.16) 6% ($1.74) High Needs= High Poverty Zip Code & High Poverty Census Tract Area

GOLD Child Assessment System WHAT IS IT? - Teaching Strategies GOLD is an authentic and formative early childhood assessment tool. -TS GOLD requires early education practitioners to observe, document, and assess the demonstrated abilities of children from birth to Kindergarten across several areas of development. - It is designed to support a cycle of ongoing observation, documentation, assessment, planning, and reporting.

GOLD Child Assessment System What supports are available for the GOLD Program participants? GOLD Program – application available to programs with In-Network status at: GOLD Introductory Training and ongoing TA provided upon request by the Assessment Team at the ELCPBC. Additional supports offered by ELCPBC: Webinars, Newsletters, GOLD Provider Meetings, Video Tutorials, and Online Resources. Technology Support Provided Informal trainings at Palm Beach State College Ongoing TA provided upon request by Strong Minds Technical Assistance Specialists.

For More Information Please visit the website of the Children’s Services Council at: Information Session PowerPoint Presentation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Strong Minds Network Provider Manual Please Contact Strong Minds Navigators at: