1. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Proposal: Use ARRA Funds to Develop Infant and Toddler Early Childhood Program Standards and Guidelines for Learning Experiences Board of Early Education and Care October 13, 2009

2. ARRA Requirements Overlay
Existing Federal Law
ARRA Requirements
Federal Agency Guidance on ARRA
Governor’s Office, ANF, State Comptroller, and Legislature
EEC

3. Principles for ARRA Expenditures EEC Board’s Fiscal and Budget Committee
Sustainability
Invest one-time ARRA funds thoughtfully to minimize the “funding cliff”
Accountability
Ensure transparency, reporting and accountability
Economic Impact
Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs
Collaboration
Develop cross-agency initiatives to maximize benefits to children
Reform
Use ARRA to promote reforms and cost saving initiatives that will provide a foundation for future growth
Prioritization
Prioritize limited resources toward children with the greatest education and care needs and multiple risk factors.  EEC’s Strategic Plan emphasizes that the Department values all children and all families.  In a fiscally constrained environment, the Strategic Plan also recognizes that children with the greatest educational needs and multiple risk factors come first.

4. Administration for Children and Families ARRA Guidance
Assist those most impacted by the recession through the provision of funds to expand services to additional children and families;
Through targeted funds, improve the quality of child care to support the health and well-being of children;
Activities allowable must fall within EEC’s existing program requirements, per State Plan.*
*Any changes to program requirements such as provider rates (e.g., provider rate increases), income eligibility guidelines, and sliding fee scale require State Plan amendment and federal approval which may delay implementation of ARRA programming.

5. Development of Infant and Toddler Early Childhood Program Standards and Guidelines for Learning Experiences for Infants and Toddlers
The Program Standards will be used to guide ongoing development, evaluation and improvement of programs that serve children from birth to age three.
The Guidelines will be based on those standards and will reflect best practices for learning experiences for programs serving children birth to age three.
Aligned with existing Program Standard and Guidelines for three and four year olds to form a continuum that supports high quality early education and care from birth to kindergarten age.

6. Framing the Work – Early Head Start
Key principles:
High Quality: Founded on the knowledge, skills, and professional ethics in child development, family development, and community building.
Prevention and Promotion: Prevention and detection of developmental concerns occurs at the earliest possible time.
Positive Relationships and Continuity: Strong positive relationships that continue over time and recognize the parent-child bond as the child's most significant relationship. The relationship between staff and family is based on respect for the child and family's home culture.
Parent Involvement: Recognize parents as the child's primary nurturers and advocates. Parents will be active participants in policy and decision-making.

7. Framing the Work– Early Head Start (cont.)
Inclusion: Fully include children with disabilities. Individual needs of each child will be evaluated and responded to in a way that builds upon individual strengths.
Culture: Home culture and language of each family will be supported as an important aspect of early identity.
Comprehensiveness, Flexibility, Responsiveness, and Intensity: All families can identify their needs and strengths, set their goals, and are capable of growth. Programs have flexibility to respond with varying intensity based on families' needs and resources.
Transitions: Smooth transition ensures each child continues to receive early child development services and each family continues to receive the supports for healthy family development.
Collaboration: Collaboration with community agencies and services maximizes the resources available to families.

8. Framing the Work– Strengthening Families
Key principles:
Parental resilience: The ability to cope and bounce back from all types of challenges
Social connections: Friends, family members, neighbors, and other members of a community who provide emotional support and concrete assistance to parents
Knowledge of parenting and child development: Accurate information about raising young children and appropriate expectations for their behavior
Concrete support in times of need: including access to necessary services such as mental health and education
Children’s social and emotional development: A child’s ability to interact positively with others and communicate his or her emotions effectively

9. Framing the Work– Early Intervention
Core Values:
Respect: Recognizing that each group of people has its own unique culture, and honoring the values and ways of each family’s neighborhood, community, extended family, and individual unit.
Individualization: Tailoring supports and services with each family to its own unique needs and circumstances.
Family-centeredness: Basing decisions with each family on its own values, priorities, and routines.
Community: Realizing that each family exists in the context of a greater community, and fostering those communities as resources for supports and services.
Team collaboration: Working as equal partners with each family and with the people and service systems in a family’s life.
Life-long learning: Viewing early intervention supports and services as a first step on a journey for each child, family, and provider.

10. Framing the Work– Zero to Three
Begin with a review of publications and research.
Identify age groupings that allow for variations in development.
Cover multiple developmental domains.
State learning expectations for each domain clearly with observable indicators.
Reflect our diverse cultural, ethnic, and linguistic populations in expectations and indicators.
Include infants and toddlers with special needs.
Describe the importance of very young children’s relationships with adults as the foundation of their learning.
Align child assessment with the standards/guidelines and clearly define its purpose and use.

11. Framing the Work – Core Competencies
Early Intervention
Infant and toddler development
Evaluation and Assessment
Individualized Family Service Plan
Service Coordination
Intervention Strategies
Team Collaboration
Policies and Procedures
Professionalism
EEC
Understanding the Growth and Development of Children and Youth
Guiding and Interacting with Children and Youth
Partnering with Families and Communities
Health, Safety, and Nutrition
Learning Environments and Implementing Curriculum
Observation, Assessment, and Documentation
Program Planning and Development
Professionalism and Leadership

12. Framing the Work– Summary
Based on research and best practices;
Family-centric, strength-based, and culturally competent;
Welcoming all families and inclusive of all children;
Collaborative and community-based teamwork with families as equal partners;
Intentional curriculum that addresses all developmental domains and is built on positive interactions and stable relationships;
Preventative screening to identify and respond to concerns as early as possible;
Assessment of each child’s progress to individualize the curriculum.
Smooth transitions as children and families move along the education continuum.

13. Development Process
Development of a draft by a consultant (via RFR process) based on a literature review and evidence-based practice
Collaboration by contractor, EEC, and stakeholders on initial design.
Initial draft version posted; EEC and contractor hold statewide meetings for input and feedback.
Feedback incorporated into updated Program Standards and Guidelines.
Final set of Program Standards and Guidelines released.
Cost Estimate: Up to $50,000 for a consultant to create a draft of the Program Standards and Guidelines.
Timeline: Estimated at18 months including:
Getting approval for using ARRA funds
Hiring a contractor
Developing the draft
Broad public input process.

14. EEC Board Discussion
In response to the Board’s discussion at its Sept. 15th meeting, EEC will:
Establish guiding principles that:
align with those of Early Head Start, Zero to Three, and Early Intervention,
specifically recognize the indispensible role of families as their children’s first teachers;
are inclusive of all children and their needs.
Review the underlying science to identify best practices.
Assure that the standards /guidelines are relevant to families and early educators in all child care and community settings.
Align the standards/guidelines with Core Competencies. Work with DHE and colleges using the Preschool Standards and Guidelines in courses to assure that these standards/guidelines also provide a foundation for credit-bearing courses.

15. In Addition:
EEC will:
Develop the standards/guidelines as part of a leaning continuum from birth through school age by connecting them with our Preschool Standards/Guidelines, K Learning Experiences, and Curriculum Frameworks;
Align standards/guidelines with EEC regulations, subsidy requirements, QRIS, workforce development, and other EEC initiatives;
Align the standards/guidelines with Early Intervention, Early Head Start, and related external standards;
Give programs these tools to meet the developmental needs of our youngest learners as well as the responsibility to do so.

16. EEC Advisory Discussion
In response to the Advisory’s discussion on Oct. 2nd, EEC will:
Look at other states and European systems like Reggio Emilia;
Crosswalk the draft with NAEYC and other standards so it is not seen as an additional task by programs;
Articulate the difference between regulations and standards/
guidelines;
Be aware that the field will need resources to meet the standards/guidelines, especially FCC providers who do most of the infant/toddler care;
Emphasize connection to school readiness and frameworks;
Not “push down” curriculum for older age groups that is not developmentally appropriate for infants and toddlers.
Be clear that this is a good opportunity to plan for the future despite the diminishing funding of the present.
The Policy and Programs Committee of the EEC Board supported this proposal at it its Oct. 5th meeting.