Transparency is an acquired taste. Sometimes we love it, sometimes we hedge at all costs. There's frequently a fear that lurks behind it, the "what if's" that keep us from putting all of our cards on the table.
Transparency in Enrollment Numbers
The reality is, without transparency in your enrollment number reporting for October, no one will have a clear picture of what is happening statewide in our industry.
The Numbers will tell us...
- How enrollments are in your community as a whole.
- Whether there truly are any child care desserts in our state anywhere and if so in what communities.
- Statewide and local profitability of community based programs.
- Are the programs that are struggling only those that have CCCAP funding, UPK funding, etc.
Our commitment to you? Report those numbers transparently and we will publish comprehensive data summaries on our public facing website in November so that YOU can KNOW what is happening in our child care system statewide. We will also protect the identity of each program. Neighboring programs will not know what YOUR numbers are. You WILL know what the numbers are for all programs in your area so that you can determine how well you are doing in your community. Transparency is essential for us to offer accurate information to state legislators and in our discussions with CDEC about what is taking place in programs statewide.
Go to PDIS and enter your numbers NOW! As a reminder, the requirement to report your enrollment numbers is in rule for every April and October. It's also a regulation to not provide false information. We prefer to point out the reason why it helps rather than to hinge things on the mandate to report.
Sensible and Safe Industry De-Regulation--Help us with this please!
We are constructing a list of ideas for industry de-regulation. We NEED to hear from you!! We have a meeting with one of our State Senators that are willing to discuss a bill to support this. Take a deep breath and start to imagine....what could state regulations look like and how would that help you and your program? This is not a futile exercise.....it is practical work that can make a difference!! Read through our Ideas and email dawn@coloradoecea.org to have yours added to the spreadsheet!
September Outcomes for jobs posted in CareerPlug via ECEA accounts:
All of the jobs posted were navigated automatically, saving you time.
90 day retention rate: 93.9%
Total cost? $60-79 a month. Why would you hire any other way?
Government Shutdown -- Impact on the Industry
Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Funding
CCDBG is the largest source of funding for child care, providing states with flexible funding used to help low income families with the cost of child care.
State funding for child care is received through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which combines two streams of funding: discretionary CCDBG funds – awarded annually – and mandatory funds under the Social Security Act. States have 2 years to “obligate” CCDBG funds or show how they plan to spend it and an additional 1 year to “liquidate” the funding or spend it down. This gives states flexibility and, in a short shutdown, services are unlikely to be disrupted on a wide scale assuming payment systems continue to work as they should.
Head Start
Currently Head Start programs are being awarded funds quarterly. The longer the shutdown goes, the more likely it is that there will be a disruption to Head Start programs in Colorado.
Since the Feds are not able to work right now we won't spend time discussing federal legislation right now. When they get back to work, we will run summaries on federal possibilities for you!
News
Appeals court rules for Colorado and LGBTQ rights and against Catholic parishes in state preschool case
Despite improvements to early education, more children are starting school developmentally behind. What’s going on?
https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/CODLE/bulletins/3f4eba9
New Resources in our Members ONLY Website
Caring for Our Children - 4th edition
Caring for our Children - Basics
The Child Care Opportunity Index (CO) in the library under Child Care State Economies
ECEA Members are making a difference in Colorado! Watch for UPK numbers next week....we had another delay from the state but we should have them tomorrow and ready to share by next week.
Responses