Mississippi Early Childhood Advisory

Council

Jackson, MississippiSeptember 23, 2009

Presented by Carol Burnett

Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative

•increase children’s participation in existing early childhood programs; and

•increase collaboration and coordination among early childhood programs.

The Improving Head Start for School Readiness Act requires states to address some important early childhood challenges. These include:

Mississippi’s Licensed Child Care System

Child Care & Development

Fund

Head Start

All Other

Working Parents Need CCDF Child Care

• 2 out of 3 MS children under 6 have working parents. 62% of MS working families qualify for CCDF child care.

• Child care costs exceed college tuition.

• CCDF provides greatest financial relief of any work support. For example, CCDF reduces child care costs from $592 to $65 per month for single mom with 2 children.

• CCDF child care reduces reliance on public assistance. A single mother leaving welfare for work is 82% more likely to still be working after two years if she has this child care program.

Strengthen CCDF Child Care for Working Families

•Make it easier for parents to access CCDF child care. Simplify the application requirements.

• Improve retention. Once parents have CCDF child care, make it easier for them to keep it. Prevent terminations of services to eligible parents.

•Stabilize CCDF child care programs by providing contracts to providers

Increase Collaboration between CCDF Child Care & Head Start

•Promote Head Start/child care partnerships to provide full time child care needed by working parents.

• Coordinating child care is easier for working parents with a collaborative system.

• Some Head Start programs are full time, but most aren’t.

• Some Child Care centers provide wrap-around services, but not through partnerships with Head Start.

CCDF Child Care Head StartServes children birth to 12 Serves children 3 & 4 (EHS

serves children birth to 3)

Income eligibility up to 85% of state median income

Income eligibility tied to federal poverty level

Parents must work No work requirement

Single parents must apply for child support

No child support requirement

Parents must pay fees Parents not allowed to pay fees

Typical services 8 – 10 hours/day, 12 months/year

Full-time defined as 6 hours/day. Often closed in summer months

Recertification every 6 months

Recertification once every program year

No quality requirements Extensive federal quality requirements

$3026/child (vouchers to parents)

$5999/child (grants to programs)

•Extend CCDF child care recertification to 12 months to match Head Start.

•Eliminate child support requirement in CCDF child care to align with Head Start.

•Use ARRA funds to provide grants to child care centers so they can afford to meet the Head Start quality requirements.

Align CCDF Child Care and Head Start to Promote Partnerships and Collaboration

For more information contact

The Mississippi Low Income Child Care Initiative

P. O. Box 204 Biloxi, MS 39533228-669-4827

info@mschildcare.orgwww.mschildcare.org