Autism Commission Meeting December 20, 2010

1. The Department of Early Education and Care & Related Supports, Programs, and Services for Children on the Autism Spectrum & their Families Autism Commission Meeting December 20, 2010

2. Overview • Agency Overview & Mission • Overview Programs and Services • Services for Children on the Autism Spectrum & their families  • Quality Management • Gaps in Services

3. The Department of Early Education and Care • The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was established under M.G.L. Chapter 15D in 2005 to build a coordinated, comprehensive system of early education and care in Massachusetts. • EEC combined the functions of: • the former Office of Child Care Services (OCCS) • The Early Learning Services Division at the Department of Education (currently DESE) • EEC’s central office is in Boston and 5 regional EEC offices are located in Lawrence, Quincy, Taunton, Worcester, and Springfield.

4. EEC Mission • “The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care provides the foundation that supports all children in their development as lifelong learners and contributing members of the community, and supports families in their essential work as parents and caregivers.”

5. Overview EEC Services and Responsibilities • Provides early education and out of school time care services for children in Massachusetts through a mixed delivery system • Serves as the lead agency responsible for licensing early education and care, out-of-school time programs, group care and temporary shelter facilities, as well as adoption and foster care agencies serving children and youth throughout Massachusetts • Administers a statewide child care financial assistance program for low-income families with children up to 13 years of age • Provides support for information and referral services, inclusive programming for children with special needs, parenting and family support • Offers professional development opportunities for educators in the early education and out of school time fields

6. EEC Services for Children on the Autism Spectrum & their families “To assure every child a fair and full opportunity to reach his full potential by providing and encouraging services which maximize a child’s capacity and opportunity to learn, which strengthen family life, and which support families in their essential function of nurturing a child’s physical, social, educational, moral, and spiritual development.”

7. Services supporting Children on the Autism Spectrum • Income Eligible and Special Needs Flex Pool funding • Grant funding to agencies and LEAs providing Inclusive Preschool Programs for Children age 3-5 with disabilities • EEC professional development opportunities designed to build capacity of educators to support children with disabilities are available to educators in mixed delivery system – CFESEL, Development Screening, Assessments • Statewide Mental Health and Behavioral Specialists, Consultation • Interagency partnerships support the coordination of services for children with disabilities and developmental delays,(DPH,ESE, ECE DMH, DMR) • Programs and agencies are licensed by EEC provide education and care services for children on Autism spectrum and their families.

8. Financial Assistance Eligibility: Family Income Entry (up to 85% SMI; Exit at 100% SMI), Requires submission and approval of Verification of Special Need Form and related documents, documentation of family income, eligibility is re-assessed at least every 12 months. Funding: Subject to the availability of funding and budgetary constraints. Funding Source: Child Care Development Fund (CCDF), federal block grant for low-income, working families in Massachusetts (not entitlement funding) Parent Fees: Sliding Scale (i.e. 85% SMI, family of Two $56,968/ Cost: $145/wk) Income Eligible Financial Assistance A child with a documented disability/special need (birth to age 16) may be eligible to receive financial assistance to access to early education and care/ Out of School Time care. $1.8 M in FY 10 For Children with Special Needs:

9. Financial Assistance Eligibility: Contracted programs seeking funding to serve children must have documented physical, mental, or behavioral disabilities that have prohibited or will prohibit the child from participating in the program. Requests with appropriate documentation are approved on a case by case basis, for up to a 6 month period. Funds may be used to: • support training for program staff • consultation to identify necessary supports for the child • technical assistance in meeting the individual needs of the child • enhanced staffing to effectively include the child in the program, or • specialized equipment Funding: Subject to the availability of funding and budgetary constraints. Flexible Pool EEC may provide funding through the Flexible Pool to assist families in accessing Income Eligible Child Care when they have continuity of care needs, and/or special transportation or service needs which current contract capacity cannot accommodate without causing undue burden on the program or provider.

10. Financial Assistance FY 2010 Special Needs Flex Pool • Approximately 100 children were receiving flex pool funds from EEC. (Cost: $1,167,212) • 18 children on the Autism Spectrum benefitted from Special Education Flex pool • The average cost per child is $11,556 per year for 1:1 aide

11. Financial Assistance The Inclusive Preschool Learning Environments designed to support inclusive preschool learning environments for preschool children with disabilities with their typically developing peers Eligibility: Program must meet the standards/definition of Inclusive Preschool Learning Environments Funding: 97 lead agencies, including public school districts ($ 9M)/EEC The Early Childhood Special Education Allocation ($7.3 M) The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA/IDEA) ($10.2 M) Eligibility: LEAs serving 3, 4, and 5 years with IEP in public school preschools. Funding: to 277 LEAs, using ESE federal allocation formula through 619 Part B IDEA funding/ESE Early Childhood Special Education Consolidated Package contains three grants related to the inclusion of children with disabilities in early education and care programs. Each grant has a similar purpose to support young children with disabilities and each has unique reporting requirements to state and federal agencies

12. Professional Development, Technical Assistance and Systems Coordination • 6 Regional Educator and Provider Support (EPS) Grantees to provide coaching and mentoring, competency development and intentional professional development • 6 Regional EOE Readiness Centers to provide coordination between early education and care, elementary and secondary education and higher education • EEC Initiatives to build the system and support the programs and educators include: • Core Competencies • Professional Qualification Registry • Infant Toddler Physical Environments • Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) Training • Course development • Literacy • Core Competencies • Preschool Guidelines • Formative Assessments

13. Professional Development, Technical Assistance and Systems Coordination • Foundations of the CSEFEL Pyramid ModelProfessional development to providers through qualified MA CSEFEL trainers, offers an evidenced-based approach to encourage social emotional growth and prevent and address challenging behaviors in children birth through five years. • Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Grant to provide the following opportunities and resources to early education and care providers: A grantee is available in each EEC region to provide early childhood mental health consultation services to programs in the mixed delivery system (Head Start, private center-based, independent and system-affiliated family child care, private and public schools) and out of school time programs.  Through direct consultation between the programs and the grantees, programs, families and children will be able to access direct services or referrals.

14. Programs Supports • 6 Regional Educator and Provider Support (EPS) Grantees to provide coaching and mentoring, competency development and intentional professional development • 6 Regional EOE Readiness Centers to provide coordination between early education and care, elementary and secondary education and higher education • EEC Initiatives to build the system and support the programs and educators include: • Core Competencies • Professional Qualification Registry • Infant Toddler Physical Environments • Environmental Rating Scale (ERS) Training • Course development • Literacy • Core Competencies • Preschool Guidelines • Formative Assessments

15. Supporting Quality through Massachusetts’ QRIS • Programs and providers use one streamlined set of standards that are connected to supports and fiscal incentives to help them meet and maintain the standards. • Programs receive feedback and are involved in continuous quality improvement. • Parents have easily accessible information about the quality of early care and education programs. • Policymakers understand where and how to invest additional resources. High-quality early education and care and out of school opportunities are available throughout the Commonwealth that demonstrate improved outcomes for children.

16. Identifying and Addressing the Gaps Early Childhood Information System 10 fundamental elements: • Unique statewide child identifiers • Child-level demographic and program participation information • Child-level data on development • Ability to link child-level data with K-12 and other key data systems • Unique program site identifiers with the ability to link with children and early care and education workforce • Program site data on structure quality and work environment • Unique early education workforce identifiers with ability to link with program sites and children • Individual early care and education workforce demographics, including education and professional development information • State governance body to manage data collection and us • Transparent privacy protection and security practices and policies