Nevada Early Childhood Advisory Council
Public Meeting
Monday, February 6th, 2012
11:00am ? 4:00pm
Location
Nevada Department of Education
KEY REALTY building on Maryland Parkway/ Silverado Ranch
9890 S. Maryland Parkway, Suite 221, Las Vegas, NV, 89183
Teleconference #: 888-363-4735, Access Code 7408496
Members Present:
Las Vegas:
Margot Chappel, Head Start Collaboration and Early Childhood Systems Office
Sherry Halley, Nevada Department of Education
Joanne Everts, Community HELPS
Jack Zenteno, Child Care and Development Program
Larry Charlton, City National Bank
Gary Vause, Lit?l Scholars Preschool
Catherine Lyons, UNLV Early Childhood Center and Degree Program
Carrie Paldi, Creative Kids Learning Center
Ann Polakowski, Department of Child and Family Services
Anna Severens, Nevada State Department of Education
Angela Triche, Sunrise Children?s Foundation Early Head Start
On Phone:
Dr. Rutu Ezhuthachan, Southwest Medical Associates
Karen Taycher, Nevada Parents Empowering Parents
Guests:
Deborah Aquino, Nevada Department of Maternal & Child Health
Kelly Marschall, Social Entrepreneurs, Inc.
Kari Earle, Social Entrepreneurs, Inc.
Patti Oya, Office of Early Care and Education
Nicole Nicolle, Child Care Licensing
Rose Park, Nevada State Health Division
Wendy Simons, Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance
Amanda Haboush, Nevada Institute for Children?s Research and Policy
Tracy Lewis, Public Guest
Shawn Gerstenberger, Healthy Homes
Jer Roberson-Strange, East Valley Family Services
Staff:
Carol Gilman, Head Start Collaboration and Early Childhood Systems Office
I. Introductions and Housekeeping items
Margot Chappel opened the meeting at 11:00am. Members and guests introduced themselves.
II. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
III. For possible action:
Approval of October 5th, 2011 minutes and?December 14th minutes**
There were no changes suggested for either of the minutes.
?Catherine Lyons motioned to approve the minutes without any changes.
?Joanne Everts seconded the motion.
?All members were in favor. There were no oppositions or abstentions.
IV. Child Care Licensing Update ? Nicole Nicolle substituting for Melissa Faul
Nicole Nicolle read a written summary of child care licensing updates. Members were provided with a copy of the summary. Wendy Simons and Rose Park provided additional clarification to questions. The following topics were covered. Please see the handout for a detailed summary.
Child Care Licensing Office Updates: Child care licensing is now under the Health Division as part of the Bureau of Health Care Quality and Compliance. Staff in Carson City moved to a new location. They completed an audit with the Legislative Internal Audit Division and are recreating policies and forms so that they are in compliance.
Carrie Paldi asked what were the uses of the policies and forms. Nicole Nicolle stated the forms are used to monitor inspections, timelessness of inspections and the hiring of staff for monitoring. Joanne Everts asked when all of the licensing regulations can be integrated into one document. Ms. Nicolle stated that it is up to the Legislative Counsel Bureau to codify regulations and that there is no time line yet on when this would be accomplished. Ms. Everts suggested the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) could advocate to stream line the regulations.
Child Care Board: Child Care Advisory Council is now called the Child Care Provider Committee. This is an advisory group for child care providers and provides a forum to participate in regulatory development and issues that effect the child care industry. An introductory meeting on January 20th was cancelled due to fires. Wendy Simons stated the next meeting is scheduled for February 15th from 1:00pm ? 3:00pm. The meeting will take place at the Health Care Quality and Compliance Bureau office and will be video conferenced.
Joanne Everts asked how people are invited to participate on the committee. Nicole Nicolle stated that anyone in the child care industry can participate. A notification was sent out to all child care centers on a listserv and that all child care providers were invited. Wendy Simons stated that there are no appointments and the committee is open to anyone to ensure that all issues and concerns are heard.
Jack Zenteno asked if the Child Care Board would adopt and approve regulations. Ms. Nicolle stated the Board of Health is the regulatory agency. The Child Care Provider Committee will voice opinions and form work groups. Margot Chappel stated she can clarify this with the Director?s Office. Carrie Paldi stated there would be a child care provider on the Board.
Wendy Simons stated the Board of Health passes the regulations. Ms. Simons listed the order and who reviews proposed regulations.
1. Child Care Licensing
2. Child Care Advisory Committee
3. Public Workshop
4. Board of Health ? the decision making body for all health related entities.
5. Legislative Commission ? final say and states that regulation meets statutory intent.
Mr. Zenteno asked if child care is represented on the Board of Health. Ms. Simons stated there are thirty-three provider types represented on the Board and they do not have every field represented including child care. Board members are provided information on different topics so they can understand the subject. Richard Whitley would need to be approached about having a child care representative on the Board. Margot Chappel stated she would follow-up with Mr. Whitley.
Assembly Bill 362: The bill was passed during the 2011 legislative session that allows temporary exemption from child care licensing for school age (K-12) out of school programs. A task force was created to prescribe standards, make recommendations for standards implementation, development of a pilot program and recommendations regarding licensing of these programs. The task force will submit a report to the Governor and Legislative Council by June 30th, 2012. The group is creating out of school program standards. Privately run facilities that offer before and after school programs fall into this category. Agendas, minutes and more information on the task force are available on the Nevada Afterschool Network website, Nevadaafterschoolnetwork.org.
Gary Vause asked who would enforce the new regulations. Ms. Nicolle stated Child Care Licensing or another entity that is approved by the Governor would enforce regulations. It is unknown if Melissa Faul is on the task force. Ms. Paldi asked who would oversee the standards. Ms. Nicolle stated that this has not been decided. Ms. Simons stated that Marla McDade Williams who is the deputy administrator for the Health Division may have a better idea on the enforcement process.
Assessment Tools and Referrals: Children need to be assessed within the first ninety days of enrollment and biannually thereafter. Providers can use any assessment tool. Child care licensing provides resources on different assessment tools including the Ages and Stages Questionnaire. If children need to be referred for special needs, developmental delays or learning disabilities, child care licensing can provide resources for the providers and parents. The first line of referral is Nevada Early Intervention Services for children 0-3, and Child Find offices at local school districts for children 3-5.
Ms. Chappel provided an overview if the ECAC to Ms. Simons and Ms. Parks and its role around supporting early childhood issues.
Ms. Chappel stated she would follow-up with Ms. McDade Williams on the codification of the regulations and Richard Whitley on child care representation on the Board of Health.
V. Health Update ? Recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics Workgroup ? Dr. Rutu Ezhuthachan
No update was given.
VI. Healthy Homes Overview
Shawn Gerstenberger provided an overview of the Healthy Homes Partnership. Members and guests were provided handouts with a detailed description of the project.
?- This is a home visiting project that is funded through a $1.8 million dollar three year grant through the Centers for Disease Control. Home environments are assessed for hazards and the programs work with families to create healthier homes. Participating agencies include Southern Nevada Health District, University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the State Health Division. Funding after the grant cycle is unknown at this time.
?- A list of criteria is used to assess the environment. No running water, fatal carbon dioxide or a referral through Child Protective Services flags the family as needing immediate assistance. Recommendations on how to keep a home healthy and resources are provided to homeowners to reduce or eliminate housing related health hazards; and they work with community partners to carry out direct remediation where the hazards may contribute to disease. Resources are also provided on food sources, domestic violence or other assistance that a family may need. Follow-up visits are carried out.
?- The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) criteria are used to qualify families with children under the age of six years or the elderly over the age of sixty five for this program. Some referrals are made through hospitals, code enforcement and Women and Infant Care Clinics.
?- Staff that administers the home visits is certified through Healthy Homes after passing an exam. They are targeting frontier and rural areas for professionals to go through the training. There are currently eight formal staff.
?The program has assisted eighty-five homes thus far. There are around fifteen families that are currently on the waiting list.
Margot Chappel asked how the ECAC can assist with getting the word out about the program. Shawn Gerstenberger stated there is referral system on their website. Carrie Paldi asked if a family does not meet the income qualifications can they still provide services and do they provide information on this program to child care centers. Dr. Gerstenberger stated that they would provide resource information but would not be able to provide free assistance. Currently they do not provide this information to child care centers.
Deborah Aquino stated the Maternal and Child Health Home Visiting program is working on partnering with Healthy Homes especially around asthma detection and prevention.
VII. Race to the Top Report Discussion
The Council members were provided a copy of the Race to the Top written report regarding Nevada?s scores and lessons learned. The members stated it was helpful to have the feedback and suggestions on how to move forward. The following comments were noted.
Joanne Everts stated that states awarded the grant demonstrated state commitment and systems in place to serve young children and Nevada does not have that level of commitment. This was the same as the K-12 grant recipients and the grant was not awarded to states without systems in place already. There is a need to have state commitment and more resources. The state has a plan to administer QRIS and the implementation of the Striving Readers grant and State pre-k programs will help to demonstrate the importance for the state to commit funding. Carrie Paldi agreed that next time we will have more systems in place.? Larry Charlton stated that Nevada needed the funding to get the systems in place.
Ms. Chappel stated she met with Dale Erquiaga and Judy Osgood. They are aware of how other states are supporting early care and education and want to provide assistance. The Governor is considering creating an office of early learning.
VIII. Part C Data Systems Update
No representative from the Part C office was in attendance to provide an update.
Lunch Break 12:30pm ? 1:30 pm
Meeting re-convened and was called to order by Margot Chappel at 1:30pm, roll was taken.
IX. Home Visiting Update ? Deborah Aquino
Deborah Aquino provided an update of the Home Visiting program. Ms. Aquino stated that the contracts with the participating Early Head Start program are finalized and will be presented to the Board of Examiners in March. Early Head Start programs may be able to begin work in June. Ms. Aquino stated some states had to adjust their plans because of data collection requirements. Perry Smith, the manager for the Home Visiting program will assist with the School Readiness Summit.
X. For possible action: Early Childhood Data and Kindergarten Entry Assessment System Approach Overview and Input ? Social Entrepreneurs, Inc.**
a. AB-546 Discussion
b. Inclusion Questions
c. Key Informants
d. Sign-off on approach
Kelly Marschall and Kari Earle from Social Entrepreneurs, Inc. (SEI) provided a power point presentation on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment and Early Childhood Data System Project. Council members were provided with a copy of the power point presentation. Presentation highlights are as follows. Please see handout for more a detailed description of the presentation.
Project Goals
Determine Nevada?s feasibility and plan to implement effective data practices that link to a statewide Early Childhood Development Data System and support early childhood educators to understand and utilize child assessment data to improve programs, curriculum and environment
Determine Nevada?s feasibility and plan to administer a common, statewide Kindergarten entry assessment that generates data which educators are trained to use in order to improve program outcomes for children. Ultimately all school districts will adopt a common kindergarten assessment tool.
Approach
Build upon the planning included in the Race to the Top application. The Early Childhood Advisory Council is the coordinating body for this project. Planning for both the kindergarten assessment and data system will be carried out simultaneously. Gather information and feedback from stakeholders and partners across the state through seventeen counties (early childhood community, parents, and school administrators) through focus groups, interviews and surveys. A plan will be created and feedback will be solicited. Plans will include how to implement projects for each county. By December of 2012 each county will have a plan and a final report will be presented in January of 2013. In addition, Joanne Everts will provide training on the Zero to three early learning guidelines and Pre-K standards. Inclusion will be integrated throughout the plans.
Communication and Reporting
Small workgroup planning will be reported to the Council
A website will be created to communicate updates and planning.
SEI will provide updates at ECAC meetings and monthly via e-mail.
Initial Workgroup Formation
Data Systems ? Sherry Halley, Anna Severens, Deborah Aquino, Jack Zenteno, Patti Oya, Margot Chappel, Glenn Myer
Kindergarten Assessment ? Sherry Halley, Anna Severens, Deborah Aquino, Jack Zenteno, Patti Oya, Margot Chappel, Carrie Paldi, Gary Vause, Representative from child care licensing
The first planning meeting to discuss strategies, draft questions and goals is scheduled for February 16th in Las Vegas. Ms. Marschall and Ms. Earle requested that the Council e-mail them with any ideas and suggested participants.
Suggested participants include representation from Resource and Referral Agencies, Subsidy, parents and special education.
Additional venues to provide information on the project or to conduct focus groups include:
Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children Conference
Indian Education Conference
State Department of Education Conference
TACSEI Family Coaching Training
AB-546 Discussion
The Council discussed Assembly Bill 546. The following comments were noted.
?- Larry Charlton stated the intent was to raise the qualifications of early childhood teachers. Nevada is 50th in the nation for teacher training requirements and has no pre-service requirement.
?- Carrie Paldi stated child care centers were concerned that trainings that were proposed would not be relevant to all teachers and questions were raised on how much the trainings would cost and who would offer these trainings. It would have been helpful if the United Way of Southern Nevada met with providers before the bill was written to discuss the proposed regulation and provide feedback.
?- Gary Vause stated some providers would not be able to afford the trainings. From his experience, parents are okay with the level of care that their children are receiving.
?- Jack Zenteno asked if an economic impact study was done. Carrie Paldi stated that a survey was sent to providers for feedback only.
?- ?Nevada?s ranking in child care licensing regulations depends on which study is looked at.
Margot Chappel stated she would e-mail a survey to the members requesting anonymous feedback on the controversial sections of the bill. Results will be presented and discussed at the next meeting. Feedback will also be gathered during focus groups as a part of the Kindergarten and Data System Assessment project. This information will provide an opportunity for the ECAC to move forward and build on work that has been completed.
XI. HSC & ECS Office Update
Updates were given during other meeting agenda items.
XII. Updates from ECAC members
?- Ann Polakowski stated they are working on building a better mental health system in the state. Diane Branson and Janice Lee from the Nevada Technical Assistance for Social Emotional Intervention (TACSEI) are participating.
?- Sherry Halley stated that the Nevada TACSEI program is holding a family coaching training in Reno early March. The Expanding Opportunities Leadership Team will hold a face to face meeting in Reno on March 1st and 2nd.
?- Anna Severens stated West Ed announced grant opportunities to strengthen implementation of research based practices based on Doing What Works through the U.S. Department of Education. The award amounts will range from $15,000- $55,000. The Nevada Department of Education is supporting efforts to improve low performing schools, expand the P-3 initiative and improve literacy. Website address is: dww.ed.gov
?- Gary Vause stated parents need jobs and unemployed parents are removing children from licensed programs.
?- Larry Charlton stated the United Way of Southern Nevada (UWSN) established a $100,000.00 fund to provide scholarships to children that live in at-risk neighborhoods to attend pre-school programs. To qualify for the scholarships, parents need to be involved and participate in their child?s preschool activities. UWSN received a $500,000.00 check from the Wind Song Foundation. Margot Chappel stated the UWSN is a good example of how private and public funding sources create needed services.
?- Jack Zenteno stated the state lost $7,000,000.00 in state general funds. Currently funding is flat. There is a forty percent increase in case load of families needing assistance with child care costs. There are five hundred people on the waiting list. Cuts to the subsidy funds affected the Children?s Cabinet staffing levels resulting in layoff of some staff.
XIII. Feedback on project reports from contractors
No reports were presented.
XIV. Updates from local Early Childhood Advisory Councils
Margot Chappel provided an update of the local Early Childhood Advisory Councils. There are four communities that have local Advisory Councils. They include: Washoe County, Clark County, the Tri-County Council of Carson, Douglas and Lyon counties and the Tribal Early Childhood Advisory Council. These existing Councils received $10,000.00 implementation grants. Grant funding was used for the following:
?- Washoe County ? Developed P-3 Pilot site at Kate Smith Elementary, implementing the CLASS assessment tool.
?- Clark County ? Worked with National Institute for Children?s Research and Planning to create goals and strategic plan.
Amanda Haboush provided an update of the Southern Nevada Local Early Childhood Advisory Council. Workgroups will focus on the following:
?- Plan a seminar ? an educational event for providers. They will let the Council know how this will align with the comprehensive plan.
?- Work on the strategic plan
?- Work on a marketing plan
?-?Tri-County ? Develop resource mapping and training.
?- Tribal ? Develop early childhood messaging to all twenty seven tribes.
Churchill, Elko, White Pine and Nye counties solicited applications and Joanne Everts will facilitate development of local ECAC plans for each.
XV. For possible action: Agenda items for next meeting**
1. Discuss results from AB 546 survey
2. Update from SEI on Kindergarten Entry and Data System Assessment Project
3. Discuss results from the School Readiness Summit
4. Update on Licensing Committee Meeting ? Carrie Paldi
5. Discuss Quality Care Needs Assessment Report
6. Results of discussion with Health Division administration regarding child care licensing issues raised.
XVI. For possible action: Decide on meeting schedule dates for the remainder of 2012**
The following meeting dates were decided upon for the remainder of 2012.
October 16th ? 11:00am ? 4:00pm
December 3rd ? 11:00am ? 4:00pm.
XVII. Public Comment
There was no public comment.
XVIII. Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 3:30pm.
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