eNotes
March 12, 2024Updates from the ECTA Center
Key Strategies for Recruitment and Retention of Personnel Serving Young Children with Disabilities
Personnel shortages negatively impact all young children and their families. However, there is a disproportionate impact on young children from historically marginalized and underserved communities. A new webpage from the Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center, Recruitment and Retention of Personnel Serving Young Children with Disabilities, offers six key strategies to address those personnel shortages. The strategies are:
- Compensation, loan forgiveness, and other financial incentives;
- Grow Your Own programs;
- Public awareness about career opportunities;
- Ongoing professional learning and practice-based opportunities;
- Leadership and advancement opportunities; and
- Supportive workplace environment strategies.
These strategies are drawn from research and innovations from states and local programs. This is the first phase of the initiative. The second phase, scheduled to launch by the end of 2024, will include a tool to help states choose a specific strategy and a searchable database of strategies.
Preparing for DMS 2.0
Preparation is the foundation for states to have a successful Differentiated Monitoring and Support (DMS) 2.0 process with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). This resource offers eight steps to help states organize information, prepare personnel, and assess and improve the overall state system. The information is specific to the DMS four topics or components: monitoring, dispute resolution, data, and fiscal management.
2024 State Learning Opportunities for OSEP Early Childhood IDEA Centers
The Office of Special Education Programs funds national early childhood technical assistance (TA) centers that offer a variety of new and ongoing opportunities to build individual and state capacity around implementation of IDEA 0–5. This resource can guide states in deciding which TA opportunities best fit their needs and priorities for the year. The TA centers are:
- The Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy);
- The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC);
- The Early Childhood Intervention Personnel Center (ECIPC);
- The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center;
- The National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations (NCPMI); and
- The Center for IDEA Fiscal Reporting (CIFR).
Announcements
Improving Child Care Access, Affordability, and Stability in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)
A new rule on Improving Child Care Access, Affordability, and Stability in the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) announced by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), Office of Child Care (OCC) will lower costs for families that receive child care subsidies, improve payment practices to child care providers, and increase families’ child care options. The changes make much needed updates to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which is the nation’s largest funding stream to help families afford child care and improve quality in child care settings. OCC will post additional resources related to the rule and encourages regularly checking the resource page.
Part B and Part C Grant Applications are due May 22
The FFY 2023 IDEA Part B and C grant application packages have been sent to Part C and Part B, Section 619 coordinators. It contains the instructions and forms needed to complete the state’s grant application. Completed applications and supporting documents must be submitted to the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) on or before May 22, 2024.
News from the Field
Biden-Harris Administration Releases Resources to Support Preschool Expansion and Early School Success
The U.S. Department of Education recently released guidance for how states, local educational agencies (LEAs), and schools can use funds from Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to expand access to high-quality preschool for three- and four-year olds in a range of quality settings including schools, Head Start, and community-based organizations. This guidance will help ensure more children can experience early school success. It also encourages more schools across the nation to better set up kindergarten to be a sturdy bridge between the early years and the early grades. The Biden-Harris Administration has secured historic educational investments, including an additional $1.9 billion in annual funding for the Title I program since 2021. The Non-Regulatory Guidance, Serving Preschool Children Through Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as Amended and accompanying Early School Success Dear Colleague Letter provide more details about how states and local leaders can ensure opportunities for all young learners.
2023 Tipping Points Survey Results Available from Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association
The 2023 Tipping Ponts Survey provides a national snapshot of the issues and challenges of Part C implementation in states. The results are from an annual survey of Part C coordinators from across the country conducted by the IDEA Infant and Toddler Coordinators Association. This is the 18th consecutive year of the Tipping Points survey that uses the information to track emerging issues and state responses about eligibility, state financial support, personnel, decisions about continued participation in Part C and involvement in the broader early childhood system. Fifty-one of the fifty-six states completed the survey.
Early Childhood Educators and Families Face Rising Challenges as Relief Funds Expire
More than 10,000 responses from early childhood educators (ECE) from all states and settings (including centers, family child care homes, faith-based programs, Head Start, and public preschool programs) illustrate the ongoing challenges facing this field, the exhaustion of providers, the clear benefits of public funding, and the need for additional support following the loss of federal funding that helped stabilize the sector before it expired in September 2023. The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) field survey reported the following challenges in We are Not OK: Early Childhood Educators and Families Face Rising Challenges as Relief Funds Expire:
- staff shortages driven by low wages;
- rising program operating costs; and
- more child care programs closing than opening in communities.