American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Draft EEC Board Meeting May 12, 2009

1. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)Draft EEC Board MeetingMay 12, 2009

2. ARRA Requirements Overlay Existing Federal Law ARRA Requirements Federal Agency Guidance on ARRA Governor’s Office, State Comptroller, and Legislature EEC

3. ARRA Constraints • Funding is available on a two year basis only; • Funding should expand, not supplant existing budgeted and appropriated funding; • Expenditures must be directly tied to stimulating economic activity/creating and protecting jobs; • Funds must be spent with transparency and accountability; • Where applicable, funding will be subject to existing rules and regulations of the governing funding source with additional specific guidance to be provided by relevant federal agencies; Applicable Goals • Spend quickly to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery; • To assist those most impacted by the recession; • To stabilize State and local government budgets, in order to minimize and avoid reductions in essential services and counterproductive state and local tax increases.

4. Draft Principles for ARRA Expenditures: EEC Board’s Fiscal and Budget Committee Sustainability Invest one-time ARRA funds thoughtfully to minimize the “funding cliff” Accountability Ensure transparency, reporting and accountability Economic Impact Spend funds quickly to save and create jobs Collaboration Develop cross-agency initiatives to maximize benefits to children Reform Use ARRA to promote reforms and cost saving initiatives that will provide a foundation for future growth Prioritization Prioritize limited resources toward children with the greatest education and care needs and multiple risk factors.  EEC’s Strategic Plan emphasizes that the Department values all children and all families.  In a fiscally constrained environment, the Strategic Plan also recognizes that children with the greatest educational needs and multiple risk factors come first.

5. EEC Outreach and Planning Process for ARRA

6. U.S. DOE and M.A. ESE ARRA Guidance IDEA Part B- Preschool Special Education Award: $10,263,466 Guidance • Must be used to support preschool special education and to improve student achievement through school reform; • Funds must demonstrate a “sustainable commitment” given they are one-time in nature; • 100% goes directly to school districts; no set-aside; • 50% of total funding must be used for recovery and 50% for reinvestment • ESE/EEC have limited discretion on use of funds, but may encourage certain expenditures for all districts. • EEC may require certain activities or expenditures only for districts not in compliance with OSEP Indicator 12 (% of children transitioned from EI to Early Childhood Special Education by age 3)

7. U.S. DOE and M.A. ESE ARRA Guidance IDEA Part B- Preschool Special Education Implementation 1st allocation: $5,131,733 available July 1 for FY10/FY11 with RFR posted in Mid May 2nd allocation: $5,131,733 available in late Sept for FY10/FY11 • All Districts will be allowed to use funds to mitigate staff and service reduction. • All Districts will be encouraged to develop local protocols/procedures for transitions from EI to Special Education; Districts not in compliance with indicator 12 will be required to do so. • All Districts will be encouraged to strengthen linkages with community-based programs, especially for delivery of itinerant services.

8. Administration for Children and Families: ARRA Guidance CCDBG EEC Award: $23.9 Million • $20.1 Million to Provide Access to Financial Assistance for Child Care For Low Income Families • $3.8 Million in Quality Set-Aside • $1.1 Targeted to Infant Toddler Quality Wampanoag Tribe Award: $4,716 (Not Administered by EEC) Guidance • Assist those most impacted by the recession through the provision of funds to expand services to additional children and families; • Through targeted funds, improve the quality of child care to support the health and well-being of children; • Activities allowable must fall within EEC’s existing program requirements, per State Plan.* *Any changes to program requirements such as provider rates (e.g., provider rate increases), income eligibility guidelines, and sliding fee scale require State Plan amendment and federal approval which may delay implementation of ARRA programming.

9. CCDBG ARRA Proposals ACCESS • Summer Learning Promotion Vouchers Job Retention Policy for Existing Families (Continuity of Care) • Self Sufficiency Voucher for New Working Families of (2 Year Only/Preschool Aged Children) QUALITY Summer Learning and Literacy Promotion Incentive Grants to Facilitate Local Coordination of Family and Community Engagement Programming • Child Care Regulation Reform Implementation • Statewide Initiative to Advance Existing Quality Efforts/Support QRIS (e.g., assessment, UPK standards) • Sponsorship for Literacy-Based or other ARRA Related Training Opportunities

10. Job Retention Policy For Existing Families (Continuity of Care) Purpose: Support existing working families receiving EEC financial assistance to retain and find work by providing continuity of care for their children in the following circumstances: • Summer-only care • A sibling of children already enrolled; • A child “aging up” of a current program; • A family who loses their job or has a reduction in hours below current minimum eligibility (extend child care provided during job search/ work hour reduction up to 26 weeks total); and • A family who finds work within 90 days of losing eligibility. Discussion options/questions: 1) prioritize among categories; 2) eliminate some categories; 3) provide only part-time care for job search/during work hour reduction

11. Job Retention Policy For Existing Families (Continuity of Care) Proposed Allocation: ~$5M Method of Distribution: Revision to existing “Continuity of Care Policy, ” and implemented through voucher for ARRA tracking purposes. Expected Cost/Impact: Timeline: Policy development in May and June; implement in Summer or when funds are received

12. School Age Learning Promotion Grant Purpose: Statewide training and technical assistance grant to support partnerships between public schools and school age child care programs to deliver intentional summer learning opportunities. Grant supports complementing school day and year learning, summer academic retention, and literacy acquisition among children and youth in Massachusetts’ lowest performing urban school districts through: • Modeling effective practices for developing literacy skills; • Providing professional development to afterschool program staff on literacy curricula; and • Providing coaching and feedback to afterschool program staff as they implement literacy practices

13. Summer Learning and Literacy Promotion Allocation: Up to $250,000 Method of Distribution: Competitive Grant – single award Eligibility: Afterschool intermediary with experience in providing afterschool and summer programs with professional development on complementary learning and technical assistance on partnering with schools. Expected Impact: Up to 3,000 children and youth from ~50 programs Timeline: Summer 2009

14. Local Family and Community Engagement Incentive Grants Purpose: Incentive/planning grants to local communities to facilitate development of a Coordinated Family and Community Engagement infrastructure. Grants funds to be used for developing and implementing an effective local model for the delivery of family engagement and support activities and to develop and integrated proposal for submission in FY2011 competitive bid process. Funds to be used to help resolve/facilitate key issues including: governance/council consolidations; service area realignment, expansion to services for families with school-age children, delineation of roles and responsibilities, coordination with other public and private resources, etc. Eligibility: Communities with multiple EEC grants, multiple governance structures and/or inconsistent service areas. Allocation/Method of Distribution: $5,000–$15,000/eligible community; through competitive bid Timeline: RFR to be posted in late Summer/early Fall 2009

15. ARRA Proposal Summary • Implement new/revised Job Retention Policy to ensure existing families currently enrolled in EEC Financial Assistance are able to retain and find employment (~$5M). • Initiate a statewide grant to provide training and technical assistance to school-age programs serving children from “Commissioner’s Districts” to support summer learning and literacypromotion ($250,000). • Provide incentive grants to local communities to develop an integrated and coordinated family and community engagement infrastructure ($250,000).

16. Key Next Steps • Draft School Age Learning Promotion RFR; • Develop/Refine Job Retention Policy; • Draft Local Family and Community Engagement Incentive RFR; • Further discuss/develop other ARRA proposal with Advisory Team and Board Committees June Board Meeting • Discuss: Self-Sufficiency Vouchers; Regulation Reform Implementation , Statewide Quality Initiative, and Literacy Training Opportunities.