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DCF/Supportive Account Review and Discussion Fiscal Committee December 2, 2013

DCF/Supportive Account Review and Discussion Fiscal Committee December 2, 2013. DCF ACCESS: Line Item Language. 3000-3050

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DCF/Supportive Account Review and Discussion Fiscal Committee December 2, 2013

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  1. DCF/Supportive AccountReview and DiscussionFiscal CommitteeDecember 2, 2013

  2. DCF ACCESS: Line Item Language 3000-3050 For supportive early education and care services; provided, that funds from this item shall only be expended for early education and care costs of children with active cases at the department of children and families; provided further, that the department of early education and care, in collaboration with the department of children and families, shall maintain a centralized list detailing the number of children eligible for services in this item, the number of supportive slots filled and the number of supportive slots available; provided further, that funds may be used to provide services during a transition period of 6 months for families upon the closure of their case; and provided further, that all children eligible for services under this item shall receive those services ............$76,991,445

  3. DCF ACCESS: Waitlist and Access • EEC is currently managing DCF through contracted and expansion slots. • DCF maintains a non-centralized waitlist. • The DCF waitlist is maintained by 29 Area Offices which periodically report the waitlist number via Survey Monkey. The most recent exercise shows approximately 625 children on the “placement waitlist”. • DCF has 22,000 open cases and believes that a large percentage of these open cases would receive child care if it were available.

  4. DCF ACCESS: Cost of Increasing Access Projecting the actual number of DCF eligible children waiting for care is difficult because the estimated range is anywhere between 625 and 22,000 children. Below is the projected cost for the number of children served and a separate chart detailing the average annual cost of care we used to arrive at the estimated costs.

  5. DCF ACCESS: Pilot Program • EEC supports the construction of a credible DCF waitlist to build a long term financing model to support the need represented by the waitlist. • We further support financing which supports DCF’s best estimate that satisfies their near term need. • In the absence of a credible waitlist number, but aware of the need, the EEC Board approved an FY15 Aspirational budget that includes a DCF Access pilot program. The pilot program would make 500 vouchers available providers. The FY15 cost for these additional children would be $6,618,810 on average. • The vouchers will be managed by CCRRs and will be given to providers who can prove they have the capacity and the ability to provide service to a DCF child above their contract allocation (if they have one). Some of these providers might be Family Child Care providers. • A particular emphasis will be on the delivery of these vouchers to children in Western Massachusetts. • The voucher pilot program helps the department’s efforts in satisfying the state mandate to serve all children.

  6. DCF ACCESS: Add-On Rate $17.22 Add-On Rate • Purpose: To provide support services for children who receive subsidized child care. Examples of “add-on” services include transportation, social services, and consultation services. • Vouchers vs. Contracts: The Add-On rate for a child with a voucher is applied only when a child is in care. Conversely, EEC pays the contract provider the add-on rate for each contracted slot, regardless if the slot is actually filled. The benefits of a voucher delivery system are: • Cost Savings of the $17.22 per child (per day); • Family can go to any child care provider; and • Expands the pool of providers available to DCF children. • DCF has indicated that there are children waiting for care who may not need support services.

  7. DCF: Choices and Challenges Waitlist • How do we advance service in DCF without a credible waitlist? Add-On Rate • Do we maintain the add-on rate? • Do we keep the same rate ($17.22) or increase it? • Do we pay the add-on rate only when DCF says the child needs the services the rate provides? • If the child needs only transportation services, do we pay the same transportation rate we pay in IE and DTA?

  8. DCF: Choices and Challenges Funding Level • Do we want to serve all children on the waitlist? • Do we propose a language change in the appropriation? • What is the strategy we create to seek additional funds in the DCF account? • Who are our partners? Competitive Bid • Last bid was done in 2010; contracts were given for three years. In 2013 we awarded a two year contract renewal. We can award one more two year renewal. • Do we want to restructure the program to become a voucher program? • In the bid we could select vendors or programs who meet the standards required to provide DCF care; DCF and parents would choose the location. • Elimination of contracts would erode a base of financial support for contract providers.

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