Finance:
Three Proposals for ARRA Funding to
Increase Access to Financial Assistance
for Early Education and Care
December 8, 2009
Continuation of Summer
Learning Promotion Voucher
Initiative for School Age Children
Summer 2010
Early Education and Care System
Components: Summer Learning Vouchers
 Early
Education and Care and K-12 Linkages (FS, C, I, WF)
 Standards,
 Finance
Assessment and Accountability (Q, FS,WF)
(Q, FS, WF, I)
EEC Strategic Directions:
Q = Quality
FS = Family support, access, and affordability
WF = Workforce
C = Communications
I = Infrastructure
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Summer Only Voucher Extension
Proposal
 Extend the period for using the $2.25 million of CCDBG
ARRA Funds appropriated for “Summer Only” child care
financial assistance in fiscal year 2010, through fiscal year
2011 to continue the initiative in summer 2010.
 The initiative helps low income working families retain
jobs by providing up to full time school age child
care/summer camp access during the summer months, a
period in which many families struggle to find full time care
for their school age children.
 This initiative also supports addressing the summer
learning lost experienced by many low income children, by
providing quality experiences
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Background
EEC subsidizes care for 21,000 school age children
across the state.
Currently an estimated 22,000 children across the
state are on the waiting list for an EEC subsidy for
child care.
Of these, 7,748 are school age children.
October, 2009 data
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2009 Summer Only Initiative Data
In summer 2009, ARRA funds supported 774
school age children (of which 701 were billed) in
271 school age summer programs across the state
through this initiative.
Total expenditures: $636,000
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2010 Summer Only Voucher Priorities
The Summer Only Voucher Initiative: 2010 would
continue to be subject to the following policy objectives:
• Children attending Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education (ESE) “Commissioner’s Districts”
•Ten districts: Boston, Brockton, Fall River, Holyoke,
Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, New Bedford, Springfield,
and Worcester
• Children whose siblings are already enrolled/receiving
child care financial assistance from EEC
• If on June 1, 2010 EEC has not filled the maximum
number of placements through these priority
considerations, it will open enrollment to all eligible
children on the waitlist.
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Eligibility
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
Program Eligibility: To be eligible to accept these vouchers,
the summer-only programs must agree to provide a specific
program component or focus that addresses summer
learning loss.

Family Eligibility: To be eligible to receive a Summer
Learning Promotion Voucher families must be working or
participating in education or job training.
Implementation
Voucher Allocations:

$1,613,285 total available funding
 An estimated 796 children can be served in summer 2010 with
the use of $1,478,285 (average cost of voucher is $1,857)
 EEC proposes dedicating $135,000 of the ~$1.6M for CCR&R
agencies to administer this access initiative (based on 3 months;
to be allocated by numbers of vouchers each will manage)
Period:
•Enrollment to occur in April, May and June 2010
•Start beginning June 14, 2010*
•End by September 3, 2010
•Eligible families would sign a voucher that stipulates the one-time
nature of the ARRA funding and underscores that the voucher will
expire in September 2010
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Proposal for Consideration

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Allocation of up to $1,613,285 ($1,478,285 for vouchers +
$135,000 to supplement the administration of these
vouchers) of ARRA funding to extend the summer learning
promotion voucher initiative for school age children through
fiscal year 2011 (summer of 2010).
Eight Week Summer Kindergarten Entry
Enrichment Program
Early Education and Care System
Components: Kindergarten Entry
 Early
Education and Care and K-12 Linkages (FS, C, I, WF)
 Informed
 Finance
Families and Public (FS, C, I)
(Q, FS, WF, I)
EEC Strategic Directions:
Q = Quality
FS = Family support, access, and affordability
WF = Workforce
C = Communications
I = Infrastructure
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Context and Proposal
Need:
 In order to eliminate the achievement gap in kindergarten through
grade twelve, efforts must be made to address the school readiness
gap; the difference in the breadth or depth of knowledge, language or
vocabulary, and social skills of children entering kindergarten.
Proposal:
 EEC proposes investing $4.1 million of ARRA funds to support an eight
week Kindergarten Entry Enrichment Program during the summers of
2010 and 2011 for preschool children entering kindergarten who have
not previously had access to high quality early education and care.

Funds will be made available to high quality programs in the mixed-delivery
system of Head Start, private center-based programs, public and private
school programs, and independent and system-affiliated family child care
providers meeting the criteria of the program.
• Restricted to income eligible contracted programs who are pre-qualified
/screened to provide a Kindergarten Entry Enrichment Program.
• In limited instances, EEC may consider providing vouchers if a
contracted program is not available in a geographic area, however those
programs also will be required to go through a prescreening process.
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Eligible Applicants, Program Quality and
Target Population
Eligible Applicants

EEC contracted programs and family child care systems

Must meet QRIS level 3 requirements (inclusive of levels 1
and 2)
Target Population


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Four and five year old children on EEC’s income eligible
waiting list, which is estimated at 2,100 children each year
Contracted providers shall first seek children from the wait
list, however if additional slots are available providers shall
outreach to communities to place on the wait list other
income eligible children not on the waiting list and will use
these families to establish the program
Program Requirements for
Participation

Full day services


Public school partnership


12-15 children per classroom (estimated 70 classrooms to
participate in the program)
Teacher qualifications



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Specific relationships and formal agreements for alignment,
transitions, engagement of families
Class size


8 weeks, 5 days per week, up to 10 hours per day
Classrooms must have 2 teachers (at least one Bachelor’s degree
teacher preferred)
FCC providers may have CDA if supervised by staff with
Bachelor’s degree or higher (master’s preferred)
Support for English language learners (ELL) must be evident (e.g.
having a staff person available who speaks the native language of
all ELL’s)
Program Requirements for
Participation, Continued

Supervision



Intentionality



Programs must be able to outline a plan of how they intend to
use the 8 week as an effective Kindergarten Entry Enrichment
Program
Particular focus must be given to engagement of families,
curricula, assessment, support of English language learners and
students with special needs, and alignment with the local public
school system.
Assessment and Evaluation


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Teachers/providers must be supervised by staff with a Bachelor’s
degree or higher (Master’s level preferred)
Program staff must be able to illustrate how they will provide
reflective and ongoing supervision to educators
Programs must use an EEC-approved child assessment system to
assess children’s developmental progress during the intervention
and use data to inform and individualize instruction
Programs must agree to administer whole child assessments
(specific battery to be determined) for the purpose of providing
aggregate-level data to EEC and informing implementation of a
statewide assessment measure
Discussion Points Identified by the
Program & Policy Board Subcommittee
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
Consider what groups of providers should be eligible
to provide the program services

Identify what population of children preparing to enter
kindergarten will be served and if any priorities should
be set within that group

Consider if a minimum number of hours of services
per day must be provided and if there should be
variations allowed in number of hours offered

Discuss if children attending part year programs
should be eligible to participate since they will be out
of care during summer months
Proposal for Consideration
Allocation of up to $4.1 of ARRA funding to support an eight
week Kindergarten Entry Enrichment Program for up to
1,100 children per year during the summers of 2010 and
2011 for preschool children entering kindergarten who have
not previously had access to high quality early education and
care.
Funds will be distributed through a procurement for
contract slots with a quality add-on.
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Increasing Access to Financial Assistance
for 18 Months for Select Populations
Early Education and Care System
Components: I/T and PK 18 mo Access
 Finance
(Q, FS, WF, I)
EEC Strategic Directions:
Q = Quality
FS = Family support, access, and affordability
WF = Workforce
C = Communications
I = Infrastructure
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Opening Access for Infant/Toddlers and Preschoolers
Background Information and Options
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
The $8.1M proposal for preschool children aging- up, which was
approved by the Board in September, may not be approved by ANF for
ARRA funding; at this time due to attrition we believe we can pay for
the preschoolers who aged up with the funds from the income eligible
line item.

EEC proposes to reallocate the $8.1M and add an additional $3.9M for
a total of $12.2M to open access for infant/toddlers and preschoolers
select populations on the waiting list for an 18-month period (March
2010 - September 2011).
Proposal for Consideration

Allocation of up to $12.2M of ARRA funding to support either:

Option One: Financial assistance ($12.065M) for early
education and care for ~877 preschool children from the
waitlist.
or


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Option Two: Financial assistance ($12.065M) for early
education and care for ~316 infant/toddlers (~$6.1M)
and ~433 preschoolers (~$6.1M) from the waitlist.
EEC proposes dedicating an additional $135,000 of the
$12.2M for CCR&R agencies to supplement the administer of
this voucher based access initiative (based on 3 months; to be
allocated by numbers of vouchers each will manage).
Opening Access for Infant/Toddlers and Preschoolers
Additional Information
Prioritization
 In either proposal, priority would first be given to the 672 infants and
toddlers and 127 preschoolers on the waitlist who already have
siblings in care;
Addressing Funding “Cliff” Concerns
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
Preschoolers: Most of these children would enter kindergarten.

Infant/Toddlers: EEC hopes to utilize attrition savings to support the
full year continuation costs of these children ($3.3M) in FY2012 (for 10
months; 10/1/2011 - 6/30/12) as ARRA funding would end on
September 30, 2011).

If option two is selected, it is recommended that the proposal sent to
EOE and ANF for approval includes additional language that indicates
that although the recommendation is to fund both infant/toddlers and
preschoolers, if interested in limiting the respective funding “cliff” it is
the preference that option one is considered for the full funding of the
proposal.