Additional Federal Child Care Funding to Help Centers Essential Workers

Providers given new pandemic procedures today to ensure safety
 

(LITTLE ROCK, Ark.)—Funding is now available to help licensed child care centers cover costs associated with the COVID-19 outbreak and to cover child care costs for some essential workers in Arkansas, a group of State Legislators and the Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS) announced Friday.

“Safe and high-quality child care is critically important to families trying to get back to work and to our economy as a whole,” said DHS Deputy Director for Children and Families Keesa Smith. “This funding will help address the safety and economic issues for child care that have arisen as a result of this pandemic, and the enhanced safety procedures will help assure parents that we at DHS are committed to protecting children.”

The DHS Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education (DCCECE) issued additional pandemic procedures to licensed child care providers today aimed at stopping the spread. The guidance follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Arkansas Department of Health recommendations and requires screening for all individuals (staff, children, and families) entering a facility and prior to transporting; limiting group size to 10 or less, including staff and children; requiring staff to wear masks; serving individual rather than family-style meals, and more frequent handwashing and sanitation.  

These precautions are in addition to regular licensing requirements related to infectious disease. DCCECE also outlined how federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding of over $41 million in Child Care Development Block Grant funds will be used to:

• Support licensed providers so they can remain open or re-open as appropriate through continued supplemental voucher payments through August, to coincide with school start dates. Estimated $15 million
  • Child care providers will get an additional $10 per infant/toddler, $7 per preschool, and $5 school-age/out of school time care for children receiving federal child care assistance.
  • One-time supplemental maintenance payment for licensed providers open March 13 and that have remained open through May.
  • Funding is based on licensed capacity and quality-level programs.
  • Providers do not need to take any action. DHS will process and send payments for all providers open during this time. Re-opening providers should contact their licensing specialist.
• Help licensed child care providers cover costs of cleaning and sanitizing facilities to ensure safety and meet required pandemic protocols. Estimated $8 million
  • Reimbursement for actual costs of deep cleaning and sanitization after programs are advised by the Arkansas Department of Health that they must close.
  • One-time payment for so centers can meet new pandemic procedures for safe operations, including social distancing requirements in the building and while offering transportation, masks for staff, and screening processes.
  • Funding is based on licensed capacity and quality level-programs and will be available for licensed providers who remain open or re-open between May 4 and August 31, 2020.
  • Providers should contact their licensing specialist to make this request.
• Provide short-term child care assistance to essential workers. Federal requirements made it clear that essential workers should be able to access this support regardless of income (as funds allow). The funds would be payments to a qualified child care provider that accepts vouchers – not to the workers themselves. Estimated $18 million
  • Essential personnel, under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, includes but is not limited to emergency responders, health care providers, public health personnel, manufacturing workers, sanitation workers, child care and early childhood staff, and individuals involved in the food supply chain during the pandemic.
  • The vouchers will be paid during the public health emergency. Payments would cover the full cost of child care during that time as funding allows.
  • Applications will be processed and approved in the order received, and assistance will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. 
  • A simplified application can be found here. Completed applications should be sent to FamilySupport@dhs.arkansas.gov.

“Child care and early childhood programs in Arkansas are committed to doing everything they can to support families and keep children safe, as evidenced by their willingness to remain open during this difficult time,” said DCCECE Director Tonya Williams. “DHS is excited to support those efforts and to ensure funding is available for those essential workers who need it.”

DCCECE licenses about 2,000 child care centers in Arkansas. Of those, more than half have remained open during the public health emergency.

Arkansas Department of Human Services
700 S Main St
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203
(501) 682-1001
TDD: (501) 682-8820

added 05/18/2020

Better Beginnings is the statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) which is managed by the Arkansas Department of Human Services, Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education. It operates by connecting Arkansas families with information and guidance that helps their children experience a safe, happy, healthy childhood.

Better Beginnings improves the level of quality in child care and early childhood education for all licensed center-based programs and licensed/registered family child care programs across the state. It functions as a voluntary three-tier system that evaluates programs along five component areas: 1) Administration, 2) Administrator and Staff Qualifications and Professional Development, 3) Learning Environment 4) Environmental Assessment, and 5) Child Health and Development. The requirements of Better Beginnings are aligned with Arkansas' early learning guidelines and core competencies for professionals.

• Visit the Better Beginnings website for much more info that parents, families, providers, and teachers can all use
• View the state profile of Better Beginnings from Quality Compendium for a complete comprehensive report
• Remember to look for the Better Beginnings star ratings when searching for local child care providers in Arkansas

Please note that Better Beginnings is currently implementing the addition of three new levels—Levels 4, 5, and 6, to its program. The official launch date for this has not been announced.

---

Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) provides a framework for building strong early care and education systems within states. With its increased focus on data collection, QRIS can be a powerful policy tool to transform early childhood education. These state systems can be designed for use by all types of early childhood programs—child care centers, family child care homes, Head Start programs, and school-based preschool programs. States can make participation entirely voluntary, or they can make participation mandatory for certain providers, such as those that accept public funding or all programs that are licensed to operate in the state.

QRIS is necessary because only 10% of early childhood providers across the US are considered high quality, with children from low-income families and minority families more likely to be in lower-quality care. QRIS offers a framework to:

• Increase the availability of high-quality programs
• Deliver ongoing professional development and quality improvement supports to providers
• Strengthen parent understanding of program quality and the importance of high-quality child care and preschool

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ATTENTION ALL ARKANSAS CHILD CARE PROFESSIONALS:

The below MLR's are the most current version from the Division of Child Care and Early Childhood Education, effective January 1, 2020. The latest revisions are highlighted in yellow. Please check the publication date on the cover page at your center or home and ensure that it's the newest version.

Minimum Licensing Requirements for Child Care Centers  revised 01/01/2020

Minimum Licensing Requirements for Licensed Child Care Family Homes  revised 01/01/2020

Minimum Licensing Requirements for Out-of-School Time Facilities  revised 01/01/2020

Minimum Licensing Requirements for Registered Child Care Family Homes  revised 01/01/2020

Vistit the Division's website for more info.

 

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