EEC Annual Legislative Report

1. EEC Annual Legislative Report State Associations & Legislators Subcommittee Meeting February 14, 2013

2. 2013 Context • Legislative language requires EEC to report on Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK), Mental Health initiatives and the Workforce Development System • Report seeks to provide anupdateon EEC’s five-year Strategic Plan andwill frame this year’s accomplishments and future planned activities by the Board’s Strategic Directions and Indicators of Success • Interagency Partnerships with DCF, ESE, DHCD, DMH, DPH, DTA, ORI for cross- training, data sharing and screening and assessment

3. What EEC Must Report (at a Minimum) • Progress in achieving goals and implementing programs authorized under M.G.L. c. 15D; • Progress made towards universal early education and care for pre-schoolaged children; • Progress made toward reducing expulsion ratesthrough developmentally appropriate prevention and intervention services; • Behavioral health indicators; • Rules and regulations promulgated by the Board related to civil fines and sanctions, including the types of sanctions and the amount of the fines; and • Findings and recommendations related to the study on the programmatic financing and phase-in options for the development and implementation of the Massachusetts universal pre-kindergarten program.

4. EEC System Components and Strategic Directions: Legislative Report EEC Strategic Directions

5. Framework of Annual Report

6. EEC’s Core Areas of Focus • EEC is focused on strengthening the system of early education and care in Massachusetts as a critical element of the education pipeline from cradle to career. • The child outcomes that we are trying to achieve require investment in four critical areas: • teacher quality, • program quality, • screening and assessment, and • engagement of communities and families. • The system EEC is building includes all children, not just those who are subsidized or in formal care.

7. FY2013 Context will include: • Educator and Provider Support System • Program Quality/QRIS • Screening and Assessment • Community and Family Engagement • Access Challenges • Interagency Partnerships • Birth to 3rd Grade Alignment • Brain Building in Progress Campaign

8. Massachusetts Context • The total population in Massachusetts from the 2010 Census was 6,547,629 • Of the total population,1,517,090(23%) are children birth to age 18. • There are 442,592 children(6.8%) birth through age 5 living in Massachusetts and close to one-third,135,000 are low-income. • The National Center for Children in Poverty, reports that 135,000 children in MA experience at least one risk factor and 20,000 have three or more risk factors • Research shows that children with risk factors are more vulnerable to encounter developmental delays and have school readiness gaps, and are most likely to benefit from high-quality early learning experiences.

9. Access to Child Care • As of January 1, 2013, Massachusetts has 10,528 licensed early education programs across the state that include early education and care programs. The total licensed capacity for these programs is 227,531 We are currently serving: • Early Head Start and Head Start: 13,355 • EEC’s average caseloads are : • DTA:16,556 • Income Eligible: 30,895 • Supportive: 5,748 There are nearly 30,000 children from birth to age five waiting for financial assistance to attend an early education program in Massachusetts.

10. Strategic Direction: Quality Create and implement a system to improve and support quality statewide Accomplished This Year • FY2012On-line System for QRIS-QRIS Program Manager(QPM) • As of January 2013, of the 10,528 total early education and care programs licensed by EEC, 4,757 programs (45%) have submitted 5,794 final applications to participate in QRIS, representing a 29% increase from FY2011 • Verification of Programs • 4,291 QRIS applications have been processed through an automatic verification process. • An additional 640 programs have been verified through a full review by EEC of the program’s documentation. • 29 program visits, representing 111 classroom observations, received an independent observation visit, for the second level of validation • This year, there will be 164 program visits, which will cover 582 classrooms. To date, 7 program visits, representing, 28 classrooms have been completed.

11. Strategic Direction: Quality Accomplished This Year • Implementation of FY2012 QRIS Program Improvement Grants • 376 applications were submitted • The state awarded 307 grants, with priority to those serving high need children • The following programs and regions received grants: Family Child Care- 124, Center and Group-Based- 122 and After School and Out of School - 61 • Region 1 -37 • Region 2 -50 • Region 3 -64 • Region 4 -28 • Region 5 -56 • Region 6 -72

12. Strategic Direction: Quality Accomplished This Year Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK)-currently 227 UPK programs, 442 UPK classrooms, serving 1,953 high-needs children, including 80 new expansion classrooms serving 342 high-needs children Center for Assessment and Screening Excellence (CASE)-provided training on assessment, screening and observation to 2,111 educators and 419 programs received assessment, screening and observation tools Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment (MKEA) – during the implementation, 809 teachers and administrators were trained in the formative assessment tools

13. Strategic Direction: Quality Planned for Next Year • QRIS Validation Study • After implementation of the Spring 2013 pilot, the full Validation study will begin in the Fall 2013. This study will validate the tiered QRIS, ensuring program quality matches assigned tiers and leads to improved child outcomes. • Massachusetts Alignment Study Plan • EEC and ESE will host strategic planning sessions on the strategy for alignment of the standards between Birth and Kindergarten; • An additional report on the alignment between the evidence-based formative assessment tools supported by the state and the current early learning standards • Preschool Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Learning Standards and Guidelines • Adopt early learning Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics standards

14. Strategic Direction: Workforce Create a workforce system that maintains worker diversity and provides resources, supports, expectations, and core competencies that lead to the outcomes we want for children Accomplished This Year • Early Educator Scholarship Program: 2,300 educators applied and of the 1,529 OFSA approved applicants, EEC awarded 1,190 scholarships. • Professional Qualifications Registry: 67,531 educator records have been added to the Registry. • Educator and Provider Support- Professional Development Course Catalogueoffered 300 credit-bearing opportunities. • Coaching and Mentoring: 3,846 educators received coaching and mentoring support services. • Educator Certifications-6,395 applications with a total of 5,063 (79%) applications processed • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) trainings and summit were offered

15. Strategic Direction: Workforce Create a workforce system that maintains worker diversity and provides resources, supports, expectations, and core competencies that lead to the outcomes we want for children Planned for Next Year • 2012-2013 Early Educators Fellowship Institute- statewide initiative that includes public school and early childhood programs, has accepted 17 teams comprising 158 applicants • Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)- will receive feedback from the field as draft preschool science standards and guidelines are developed • WGBH Media-based Literacy Support for Educators-creating curriculum units and professional development videos for educators

16. Strategic Direction: Family Increase and promote family support, access and affordability Accomplished This Year • Coordinated Family and Community Engagement (CFCE)- 24 grantees received evidence-based Literacy grants • Quality Family Child Care Guides- 10 guides printed and distributed in six languages • Early Childhood Resource Centers (ECRC)- ECRCs offered 613 presentations to providers and parents • Improved Access to Care- Online Income Eligible Waiting List- over 22,491 children entered the online waitlist for the first time • Reach Out and Read- 272 pediatric practices in MA that are participating in this national early literacy initiative, serving 200,399 children and families

17. Strategic Direction: Family Accomplished This Year Deliverables provided by the CFCE networks: • Referrals - Number of Families 114,393 Number of Children these families represent 151,564 • Enhanced Referrals - Number of Children these referrals represent 27,338 • Parent Education Opportunities - Number of Children represented by participants 69,120 • Family Literacy Opportunities - Number of Children represented by participants 111,479 • Received Information about Kindergarten Registration - Number of children these families represented 119,064 • Non-Kindergarten Transition Supports - Number of children these families represented 98,525 • Parent/Child Playgroups - Number of children 107,766 • Number of Programs that received referrals to comprehensive services 20,074

18. Strategic Direction: Family Increase and promote family support, access and affordability Planned for Next Year • Museums and Libraries Project- will continue to provide opportunities through intentional family engagement activities • WGBH Media-based Literacy Support for Families and Educators- creating videos and activities for parents on early literacy , STEM and ELA • Support for Immigrant and Refugee Families- the Office of Refugee and Immigrants(ORI) will conduct 5-10 community presentations and 5 regional trainings

19. Strategic Direction: Communications Create and implement an external and internal communications strategy that advocates for and conveys the value of early education and care to all stakeholders and the general public Accomplished This Year • Brain Building in Progress Public Awareness Campaign- Expanded awareness among new constituencies, including 3 events on Beacon Hill • Communication with State and Local Leaders- EEC Commissioner and staff held regular meetings across the state to keep stakeholders informed of EEC’s work • Work of the EEC Advisory Council- 6 expertise subcommittee groups were combined to allow for discussion across groups

20. Strategic Direction: Communications Create and implement an external and internal communications strategy that advocates for and conveys the value of early education and care to all stakeholders and the general public Planned for Next Year • Brain Building in Progress Public Awareness Campaign- next phase of messaging supports EEC’s system building efforts including QRIS and Family and Community Engagement Networks • WGBH Media-Based Literacy Support for Families and Educators- production of a ‘digital hub’, a free, online platform for educators and parents to be launched in April 2013

21. Strategic Direction: Infrastructure Build the internal infrastructure to support achieving the vision Accomplished This Year • Data Visualizations-Web-based Analysis and Visualization Environment (WEAVE) for key MA demographicswaslaunched in January 2013 • State Agency Partnerships with 11 agencies • Statewide Unique Identifier assignment (SASID)-data quality auditing visits reviewed 2,506 child records and 79% could be assigned a SASID

22. Strategic Direction: Infrastructure Build the internal infrastructure to support achieving the vision Planned for Next Year • Data Visualizations-(WEAVE) make all web images adaptable, ADA compliant and customizable by June 2013 • Engaging the Private Sector- continued engagement of key supporters include WGBH, Boston Children’s Museum, IBM, United Way of Mass Bay & Merrimac Valley • Birth to School Readiness: Massachusetts Early Learning Plan includes specific projects in direct community or statewide infrastructure investments

23. Key Initiatives Advanced in FY2013 Highlights of the FY2012-2013 initiatives that advanced the work of EEC include: • QRIS Quality Improvement Grants • Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) Reform • Redefining Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) • Birth to Grade Three Alignment • Social/Emotional, Language and Literacy Development • ASQ – Access to Children Beyond Formal Child Care Settings • Alignment of Quality with a Rate Reform Initiative • Availability of On-line Resources • Interagency Work