1. Supporting Families Together Association

3. Emphasis on Prevention
High Quality Family Support
Emphasis on Prevention
Evidence-Based Home Visiting
Evidence-Based Parent Education
Infant Mental Health Consultation
High Quality Early Education
Access for Families
Investment in Early Educators
Continuity of Care
Improving & Sustaining Quality
Goal: Seamless system of family support in Wisconsin – right now very fragmented
Goal: Sustain our system of early education

4. Primary Universal Secondary Selective Tertiary Indicated
Primary: Entire Population to reduce or mitigate risk
Secondary: efforts to prevent among those with risk factors
Tertiary: Prevent reoccurrence

5. Tiered Supports based on need
We know at least 31 organizations in Wisconsin are providing evidence-based parent ed

6. Wisconsin’s Family Foundations Home Visiting Program (FFHV) provides expectant and new parents with voluntary, in-home supports and mentoring through their children’s first years.
Home visitors are highly trained professionals who partner with mothers and fathers to support healthy pregnancy and positive birth outcomes, reduce the risks of child injury, abuse, and neglect, and
promote child growth, development, and school readiness. Wisconsin is using federal Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) funds, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
funds, and General Purpose Revenue (GPR) to increase the number of families receiving evidence-based home visiting services and to improve the quality of those services through training and support.
Evidence shows the impact: example – NFP has demonstrated a 50% reduction in child abuse and neglect

7. IECMHC is a multilevel preventive intervention to improve children’s social, emotional, and behavioral health and development. A mental health professional partners with an early childhood professional or program staff to infuse activities and interactions that promote healthy social and emotional development, prevent the development of problem behaviors, and intervene to reduce the occurrence of challenging behaviors.4 - Zero to Three InBrief

8. Policy Levers in Family Support
Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV)
Community-Based Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention (CBCAP)
Family First Prevention Services Act
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Medicaid & Private Health Insurance
Early Childhood Advisory Committee
Local Human Services or Public Health
Common theme: Most of the funding is federal – but state makes decisions on how to use
Local Communities have also made decisions to invest locally

9. ↑ Programs are taking a formal rating to earn 4 or 5 Stars
There are approximately 4,800 regulated child care programs in Wisconsin.
↑ Programs are taking a formal rating to earn 4 or 5 Stars
 Programs are taking an automated 2 Star rating
78% of regulated child care providers in Wisconsin are participating in YoungStar, Wisconsin’s Quality Rating & Improvement System.
13% increase in formally rated programs
YoungStar has increased the availability of quality and professionalism of the field
Evaluation Criteria serve as a policy lever
- Example of Developmentally Appropriate Practice Environments Point

10. Starting October 1, 2018
The maximum Wisconsin Shares rates for children birth through three years old will be increased by 5% statewide
In addition, any licensed county maximum infant rates that remain below $5 per hour will be raised to $5 per hour
Families who select 2 Star programs will only see a 1% reduction from their Wisconsin Shares subsidy amount, a significant decrease from the current 5% reduction
Child Care Development Fund makes the most significant investment into child care programs/educators (WI Shares Reimbursements, YoungStar Adjustments, YoungStar Micro-Grants, T.E.A.C.H./REWARD)
Recent changes from the Governor’s office (analyze pros and cons)
- Means even with a 5% increase across the board, the floor was still less than $5 per hour
You can rework how the investment is made, but without more investment, the issues with the child care system won’t be fixed.
Tax Policy – Other states have implemented packages of child care tax credits
Deduction vs. Nonrefundable vs. Refundable
Families, Early Educators, Families, Businesses, Nonprofits

11. What is the 4K Community Approach?
Impact of 4K on Child Care
Three Types of Community Approaches
Why this matters?
Appropriate Environment
Lower ratios
Investment in entire early childhood system
Balances cost of infant care
Hearing from communities that the Trend has moved away from this, but why?
Early Expulsion:
A child or family is asked or made to leave for reasons other than inability to pay
20% of providers reported expelling in the trailing 12 months
72% of expulsion cases were cited as being due to challenging behaviors
CCDBG now requiring states to have an expulsion policy

12. The Child Care Trilemma
Drop in Child Care Access: in 2007, 6,800 family child care programs, in 2016 there were 2,800.
Infant cost in a child care center = Approximately $12,000 per year
Quality does come with a cost
Father of story who had WI Shares – baby at 5 Star program.
When this tension becomes unbearable for parents – they go to unregulated care.
Families piece together caregivers to make life work. One family reported up to seven different placement for the child.

13. Child Care Development Block Grant Reauthorizations
Preschool Development Grant
WI Shares
YoungStar & YoungStar Adjustments
Tax Policy
Early Childhood Advisory Committee
School Districts
City and County Governments
Highlight Preschool Development Grant here!
Local Examples
Community Development Funds – Child Care Scholarships
City of Madison Accreditation
Property Tax Investment?