STRONG MINDS NETWORK

1. STRONG MINDS NETWORK INFORMATION SESSION DM 163080

2. AGENDA Welcome Introductions Presentation: Children’s Services Council Strong Minds Network Questions

3. Children’s Services Council: Who We Are Children’s Services Council, a special district created by Palm Beach County voters in 1986, provides leadership, funding, evaluation, program and system development on behalf of the county’s children so they grow up healthy, safe, and strong.

4. CSC Guiding Principles • Primary prevention and early intervention • Targeting the earliest developmental stages • Theoretical integrity • Minimal sufficiency • Data driven and evidence-based • Continuous learning and improvement • High return on investment

5. Building an Early Childhood System of Care Education and Outreach Bridges Healthy Beginnings • Quality Child Care: • Early Education • Afterschool Professional Development Program & System Performance Data Systems

6. Palm Beach County’s QRIS Journey • 1998, Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) considered best practice • 2002, Palm Beach County pilot, 6 sites • 2003, the system was named Quality Rating System, 40 sites • 2006, Palm Beach County and 11 other counties in Florida, formed the Multi-County Collaborative to align the standards in Florida • System renamed Quality Counts (tri-county; Palm Beach County, Miami-Dade County, and Broward County.) • 2014, Quality Counts had 210 sites serving approximately 11,000 children

7. Why a New System? • New evidence & research • Focus on child outcomes • Return on investment (ROI) • Feedback from national experts • Feedback from stakeholders • Most intentional high quality providers

8. Strong Minds Network

9. Strong Minds Vision and Mission • Vision: • Children will have quality early educational experiences that will increase their chances of achieving school success and becoming productive members of society • Mission: • To use research and data to increase the quality of early care and education programs through integrated supports and resources offered to the early learning community, children and their families. • Goals: • Children are ready for school • To improve children’s learning and development • To improve teacher-child interactions • To improve parent engagement

10. Who’s Included • Children: Birth-Five in Palm Beach County • Practitioners: working with children Birth-Five in Palm Beach County • Programs: publicly-funded • Includes: School Readiness, Early Head Start, Head Start • System Partners: Early Learning Coalition, Early Head Start/Head Start, Palm Beach State College, School District of Palm Beach County, Literacy Coalition, Family Central, The Children’s Forum, Healthy Beginnings, & Bridges

11. System Elements

12. Pre-Entry Criteria • School Readiness Agreement or Head Start/Early Head Start Contract • In good standing* with: SR Agreement VPK Agreement HS/EHS Contract Licensing *In good standing is defined as no quality assurance/compliance plan, corrective action plan, or probation within the last 12 months • No Class 1 and no more than two of the same Class 2 licensing violations in the past 12 months

13. Pre-Entry Criteria • Agree to use GOLD Child Assessment System • Gold Seal Accreditation within three years of achieving In-Network status • All professional staff are active members of the Palm Beach County Early Childhood Registry

14. Application • Online application will be available beginning March 2, 2015 at: http://earlylearningpbc.org • Notification by email within 15 days regarding status: Ineligible Assessment Pending

15. The Early Childhood Registry The Registry is a professional development approval system that has been created to support and promote quality assurance, formal and informal courses, and assure trainer content knowledge. The Registry helps track formal and informal education and provides a basis for planning future professional development.

16. Active Registry Membership • Before applying to Strong Minds • User Manual available at https://www.pbcregistry.org/index.php/forms Documents (Direct Care Program Registration User Manual) • Register your site in the Registry system http://www.pbcregistry.org/ • Make sure all current staff join the Registry • Make sure the viewable list of staff along with career level, position title, and registry status is accurate and up to date • Contact: Kimesha House or LaCandice James 561-374-7650

17. Program Assessments

18. Program Assessment Program Assessments for Strong Minds • Preschool CLASS – classrooms with children 3-5 • Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale(ITERS-R)– classrooms with children 0-2 ½ • Toddler CLASS – optional for classrooms with children 2 ½-3 • Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS-R) – for Family Child Care Centers • www.forumpac.com for more information

19. Program Assessment Program Assessment Protocol • 50 % of preschool classrooms assessed • 50% of infant / toddler classrooms assessed • Classrooms randomly drawn by assessment staff prior to arrival at the site

20. Network Status

21. In-Network Status

22. Promising Status

23. Emerging Status

24. Technical Assistance

25. Technical Assistance • TA Specialists provide technical assistance to programs with In-Network and Promising status in the following targeted areas: • Accreditation • Assessment and Documentation • Behavior Management / Special Needs • Curriculum, Planning and Instruction • Interactions • TA supports can be offered on site, via phone, virtually, and in groups

26. Career Advising • To provide individual professional development guidance and support to the Early Childhood Workforce of Palm Beach County • Strong Minds Network programs are assigned a Career Advisor • Appointment, extended hours, walk-in during business hours, on-site • One on one, face to face, through technology and group settings • Tutoring services

27. Professional Development • Registry approved community based training • Informal/non-credit courses • College Credit Certificates • AS Degree in Early Childhood Education • Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education • Master Degree in Early Childhood Education • Early Childhood degrees at other institutions of Higher Education

28. SEEK Scholarships Available to staff* in licensed Early Childcare Sites • GED Test Fee • Translation/Evaluation of Foreign Higher Education degrees • PBSC Test Fees (PERT, TABE, COMPASS) • ECPC/FCCPC coursework ▪ Director Credential coursework • Non-Credit Coursework (HEO) ▪Community Based Training • Associate Degree in ECE • (including Prep, General Education and Language course) • Required books/materials for coursework *Specific Eligibility requirements must be met

29. SEEK Scholarships In addition the following are also available to Strong Minds programs (any status) • Bachelor Degree in ECE • Master’s Degree – up to 12 ECE Credits Handbook, Deadlines and Application Forms available at www.palmbeachstate.edu/IEECE *Specific Eligibility requirements must be met

30. ACHIEVE Salary Supplements Available to staff*in Strong Minds sites- In-Network and Promising Status only *Specific Eligibility requirements must be met

31. What is Tiered Reimbursement? Strong Minds Tiered Reimbursement Supplement Program issues differential payments to programs that participate in the county’s voluntary quality child care network and meet In-Network Status. The purpose of the Tiered Reimbursement Supplement is to assist in offsetting the cost of quality for high performing programs.

32. Tiered Reimbursement Supplement High Needs= High Poverty Zip Code & High Poverty Census Tract Area

33. GOLD Child Assessment System WHAT IS IT? -Teaching Strategies GOLD is an authentic and formative early childhood assessment tool. -TS GOLD requires early education practitioners to observe, document, and assess the demonstrated abilities of children from birth to Kindergarten across several areas of development. - It is designed to support a cycle of ongoing observation, documentation, assessment, planning, and reporting.

34. GOLD Child Assessment System What supports are available for the GOLD Program participants? • GOLD Program – application available to programs with In-Network status at: www.elcpalmbeach.org/child-assessment-pilot • GOLD Introductory Training and ongoing TA provided upon request by the Assessment Team at the ELCPBC. Additional supports offered by ELCPBC: Webinars, Newsletters, GOLD Provider Meetings, Video Tutorials, and Online Resources. • Technology Support - Provided by NonProfits First • Informal trainings at Palm Beach State College • Ongoing TA provided upon request by Strong Minds Technical Assistance Specialists.

35. For More Information Please visit the website of the Children’s Services Council at: www.cscpbc.org Information Session PowerPoint Presentation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Strong Minds Network Provider Manual Please Contact Strong Minds Navigators at: strongminds@cscpbc.org 561-374-7521 561-374-7532