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I agree with the previous comment that focusing on programs that choose to enroll children over 2 and run a preschool only program should be addressed in addition to the ratio discussion about infants and toddlers.  

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I agree with the previous comment that focusing on programs that choose to enroll children over 2 and run a preschool only program should be addressed in addition to the ratio discussion about infants and toddlers.  

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Those programs that accept children 2 and up or 2.9 and up should also have a voice in the upcoming regulations. From what I have read so far, there will be a choice to get a license for infants and toddlers only or infants, toddlers, preschool & school-age if I remember correctly. What was lacking was a licensing option without infants. I have never and will never take infants in my program and I want that to be a choice. The decision to run a program without infants should impact ratios as ratios are often based on ages.

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I think one of the biggest problems FCC's face is that we are often viewed as ignorant and truly misunderstood.  Legislators in particular do not have a true idea of what we do daily or even the difference between the fact that tuition is paid either with vouchers or fully by parents.  Even within the Early Childhood field as a whole, we are misunderstood.  A select few of us have been fighting to be heard for the past year and a half to no avail.  We still are outnumbered or left off completely at every table.  Sometimes it just comes down to the fact that those of us that do run quality programs are doing just that...busy running them.  Advocacy is a full time job in itself, let alone the 50-60 hours many of us are easily putting into our businesses a week.  So much of the energy put forth into our field targets people just beginning or the ones that could benefit from really taking a look at what they offer and think about how to improve it.  While that is important, what about those of us already doing that??  Those of us with Bachelor and Master's degrees who make the conscious choice to stay in the field, even with the constant lack of respect and understanding?

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The EEC needs to become accountable for the BRC. Their current system is untenable—it takes way too long and there is zero transparency as to why. Is the department short-staffed? Is the workforce ill-qualified or poorly trained? Is there no institutional will to fix what is broken and become accountable? I doubt any one of these problems is unfixable Individual providers through sheer force of their will and tenacity have managed to be a squeaky wheel that gets greased. I think this proves that the system just needs a careful review and recalibration.
Fingerprints do not change every three years. The EEC puts an undue burden on providers and their families to provide fingerprints so often. It is expensive, time consuming and the source of delays for licenses. This is something the EEC could fix if it would simply muster the will.

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And this might seem to be the elephant in the room, but honestly the biggest problem facing most FCC providers is their licensing authority, the EEC. Too many providers have turned to their licensors and even directly to the Commissioner for real-time help and been shut down, ignored or even punished for reaching out. When providers are scared of their licensors and would do anything rather than reach out when they need help or clarification or support we have a real problem. When the entity that is supposed to lead us is viewed with trepidation we have a real problem. When our licensing authority makes simple things difficult we have a real problem. It should not be so hard to get an assistant. It should not be so hard and take so long to get a background record check. We should not have to be fingerprinted so ridiculously often. I don’t even think these are hard fixes, it just seems as if the EEC does not care that these things exhaust us. They do not mind being perceived as a punitive organization by their providers.

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I included this in the first column under ratio discussion, but it applies here.  Allowing FCCs that operate as a pre-K programs to consider children in the +2 on their fifth birthdays would create more availability in FCCs for a preschool children. By allowing us to increase capacity by 33% we can also create  bigger peer groups for our programs which  makes us more competitive with other preschool programs. Parents are often looking for more peers for their older children. By the same token, if a pre-K program in an FCC setting could have two teachers (lead and assistant) and increase capacity from 10 to 12 this would also be ideal. Obviously not every FCC has the physical space for 12 preschool children, but if it does why not allow this?

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Continuing the ratio discussion, it also impacts providers with older children.
If you are a provider who only takes children 2.9 to Kindergarten age, it would be great if children count in the +2 on their fifth birthday. Already that is how some providers interpret the reg on this. I think the reg actually considers a child to qualify in the +2 when said child is 5 and enrolled elsewhere for a full time K program.
I only take pre-k children. 8 children, most of whom are already four or five, is not only doable, it provides a bigger pool of peers for this age group. And most parents want that for their pre-k children.

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Solution:
Providers should be allowed to make rebuttal statements on the EEC portal to let parents know their side of the story

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Center based program are given millions in facilities grant. FCCPS never got any facilities grant to make physical structural changes to their environments to provide higher quality care. What can we do about this?

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I have had the same issue with an investigation. A disgruntled parent put in a false complaint after she was terminated from my program. The way that EEC works is that a provider is guilty until proven innocent. Even though the entire investigation was found to be false and a complete lie EEC will not remove it from my file! It is there for all parents to see when they search for me. 

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I have had the same issue with an investigation. A disgruntled parent put in a false complaint after she was terminated from my program. The way that EEC works is that a provider is guilty until proven innocent. Even though the entire investigation was found to be false and a complete lie EEC will not remove it from my file! It is there for all parents to see when they search for me. 

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As far as numbers go I have a set of 2 yr old twin boys, a 7 month old, a 10 wk old, a 20 month old, an almost 3 yr old and a 5 yr old. Every child enrolled has been here since they were 10 wks old. I rarely get calls for children 3 or older. I am getting calls for infants and children under 2 daily! Parents cannot find infant care and many parents of infants do not want them in center care due to the pandemic. Many FCC's do not charge extra for infants as centers do which makes a difference for families financially as well. I am receiving calls for parents looking for care in the spring and summer of 2022. We have asked EEC continuously to increase our infant ratios as this is where the biggest need for care is. Parents of older children (3 yrs and older) have many more options for care than those parents of infants. The older children have head start, public and private preschools, playgroups, center care, and FCC's to chose from. Parents of infants have very limited options. We have repeatedly told this to EEC and they do not want to listen. In my opinion, we should be allowed 4 children under the age of 18 months. Many parents of multiples cannot return to work because they cannot find care for 2 infants! The shortage in infant care is forcing new mothers to pick between their child and their job.

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Many providers that got a substantiated 51A becomes a 51B. Almost 70% of these 51B are reversed when providers go through the appeals hearing. Effective October 2019, these report will be on the providers' record on the child care search unless providers want to appeal it. I have contacted EEC to take down the 51B on my record. I talked to Andrew Rome and during our meeting, he admitted that he did not read the DCF final decision to reverse the 51B on my record. He said that according to EEC investigation report, 1 out of 5 citations on my record should remain on the EEC portal. This is an unusual action on the part of EEC. What can we do about this injustice?

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Investigation process: A provider posted on our FB group that her licensor called her last Thursday, Sept. 30 telling her to close her program. EEC is shutting her down for 3 weeks without notifying her of the allegation or who made the allegation. When she asked what the allegation was about, the licensor told her that they she did not want to give her any information because she did not want her to be able to have a prepared statement during the investigation. What can we do to make sure the EEC is not violating her rights?

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Meeting #1: We talked about the ratios needing to be adjusted. It seemed like there were a few needs here;

parity between licensed capacities within FCCs re: teacher : child,

explaining the why behind differences between GSA (center) and FCC licensing capacities and Teacher Assistants and/or achieving parity

Taking a look at licensing and ratios for children under 2/2.9 - explain the why behind current reg and look at adjusting numbers to reflect program realities. (May also want to look at rates for these age groups based on cost of care)

Clarifying Questions:

Can folx respond to this post or email me with examples of numbers for children under 2/2.9 - i.e. what is currently happening in your program, how would adjustment affect you/ability to provide care, why does this maintain health & safety standard, etc.

What else am I missing about regs? Feel free to add in additional reg problems here!

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Meeting #1: We talked about how UPK will affect FCCs and that where UPK exists parents may be going to public/center-based care because there are less hurdles to enroll. How do we find out about/demonstrate parent preference?

Goals - Giving parents real choices when it comes to the delivery model that works best for their family.

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Meeting #1: We discussed using a budget tracker to capture real compensation numbers for FCCS (compared to centers, compared to k-12). We also brought up that this could capture info re: how much $ is available to put into programs vs. "trust cost of quality"
Goals - We mentioned working towards a salary scale, helping target grants $, equity

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2021.09 - 11 CAYL Workgroup Meeting Dates (3)

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Contact Amanda Storth (Networks Program Manager) at astorth@cayl.org