Maryland State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care Evaluation Update – May 15, 2013

1. Maryland State Advisory Councilon Early Childhood Education and CareEvaluation Update – May 15, 2013 Peg Anawalt, M.S. Executive Director, CCCRC - Chesapeake College Lesley Fallon, B.A., Coordinator, CCCRC - Chesapeake College H. Susie Coddington, Ph.D., Director, Johns Hopkins University, Carey Business School

2. Advisory Board Goals Goal # 1: All children, birth through age five, will have access to adequate and equitably funded quality early care and education programs that meet the diverse needs of families. Goal # 2: Families of all young children will have access to the resources needed to be their children’s first teacher. Goal # 3: Children, birth through age five, will have access to adequate and equitable resources that will enable them to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies.

3. Methodology Evaluators: Reviewed the objectives, activities, time frame and the outlined measures of success for each objective/activity. Provided documentation and/or status of each measure of success.

4. Highlights 2010 – 2011 -Goal # 1: All children, birth though age five will have access to adequate and equitably funded quality early care and education that meets the diverse needs of families. SCHOOL READINESS IMPROVEMENT: Kindergarten assessments through MMSR indicated that 81% of the children entering kindergarten in 2010/2011 were fully ready, a 8% increase from the previous year. GREATER ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY CARE: Creation of Maryland EXCELS , a voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System that will award ratings to child care programs that meet increasingly higher standards of quality in key areas. Pilot program officially launched. INCREASED CULTURAL SENSITIVITY AND OUTREACH FOR MINORITY AND IMMIGRANT CHILDREN: Grant funding for VIOLETS (Vocabulary Improvement and Oral Language Enrichment through Stories) program that promotes support for preschool children with language needs and for English Language Learners. INCREASED NUMBER OF ACCREDITED CHILD CARE PROGRAMS AND CREDENTIALED CHILD CARE PROVIDERS.

5. Highlights of Goal # 2: Families of all young children will have access to the resources needed to be their child’s first teacher. COMMUNITY LISTENING FORUMS HELD FOR FAMILIES, CAREGIVERS, AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS TO PROVIDE THEIR INPUT ON EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROGRAMS: Maryland Family Network sponsored “Parent Cafes”. Ready at Five held parent learning parties at local libraries. Maryland Public Television sponsored “Listening Forums” with community leaders. Parent Survey developed with MSDE that surveyed parents’ satisfaction with current Individual Family Service Plans (ISFP).

6. Highlights of Goal # 3: Children, birth through age five, will have access to adequate and equitable resources that will enable children to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies. EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT PROJECT Consultation standards and a post-Masters certificate from the University of Maryland were instituted. SEFEL-Social Emotional Foundations for Early Learning Demonstration sites of high quality child care programs in diverse communities were identified to work with an early childhood mental health consultant acting as coach to provide T/TA to implement the SEFEL programs at these sites. EXPANSION OF HOME-VISITING PROGRAMS State wide Needs Assessment mapped out high risk communities Two Home Visiting Stakeholders’ Meetings were held in 2010. Maryland Home Visiting Consortium Conference was held in 2011.

7. Evaluation Year Two – Highlights: Goal # 1, All Children, birth through age five, will have access to adequate and equitable funded quality early care and education programs that meet the diverse needs of families. SCHOOL READINESS MMSR kindergarten assessments (MMSR) showed a 2% improvement from 2010/2011 of 81% to 83% in 2011/2012, of children entering kindergarten that were “fully” ready to learn. HIGH QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROVIDERS The Maryland EXCELS Standards to include Child Care Center Standards, Family Child Care Standards, School Age Standards and a draft for the Public Pre-K Standards were completed in 2012. INCREASING CULTURAL SENSITIVITY AND OUTREACH FOR MINORITY AND IMMIGRANT CHILDREN VIOLETS (Vocabulary Improvement and Oral Language Enrichment through Stories) is currently being implemented in Head Start, Child Care, and Pre-K programs in 15 Maryland Counties.

8. Evaluation – Year Two Highlights of Goal # 2: Families of all young children will have access to the resources needed to be their children’s first teacher. FAMILIES OF ALL YOUNG CHILDREN WILL HAVE ACCESS TO THE RESOURCES NEEDED TO BE THEIR CHILD’S FIRST TEACHER. Parent Café’s, Family Learning Parties, Parent Learning parties were held in various locations throughout the State to secure information. Maryland Family Engagement Coalition developed a family, parent and community engagement framework, based on the Head Start Parent, Family and Community Framework.

9. Highlights of Goal # 3: Children, birth through five, will have access to adequate and equitable resources that will enable them to arrive at school with healthy minds and bodies. THE EARLY CHILDHOOD MENTAL HEALTH CONSULTANT PROJECT In 2011, 304 child care programs and 810 individual children received assistance from staff located in the 13 ECE Mental Health projects located throughout the State. JUDY CENTERS 2011 Judith Hoyer Early Care and Education Enhancement Program Annual Report in a portion titled, “An Analysis of Influence of Judy Center Services on MMSR Kindergarten Outcomes” that more Judy Center Children were fully ready for kindergarten compared to children not exposed to the Judy Center experience.

10. Race to the Top(RTT) /Early Learning Challenge Grant • Maryland received award in 2011-2012 for capacity & infrastructure building. • Implementation under the Early Childhood State Advisory Board. • Ten Projects: • Local Early Childhood Councils • EXCELS • Breakthrough Centers • Revise Early Learning standards to align with Common Core Standards • Professional Development • Comprehensive Assessment System • Health/Behavioral needs addressed through early interventions and prevention programs • Coalition of Family Engagement • Leadership in Early Learning Academies • Child Care Administration Tracking System (CCATS)

11. Evaluation – Year ThreeCompletion Activities • Evaluation of Local Early Childhood Councils Start- Up grant • On line survey leadership team members • Interviews with Local ECE Council Chair persons with questions developed from response of on line survey and the objectives of the Leadership Academy. • Continue review of Advisory Board’s 3rd year outcomes/objectives, activities. Collection of documentation. • Request written report from each of the State Advisory Board Committee chairpersons that provides a comprehensive summary of the work done in the past three years.

12. Year Three – Evaluation Completion Activities • Capstone Event: World Café in August 2013. • AM – Guest Speakers to provide overview of Advisory Board outcomes and Local Early Childhood Council’s start up activities. • Lunch • PM – World Café Event with two sets of 4 tables discussing 4 questions in each set. Questions based upon the three State Advisory Goals and the Local Council’s Start up operations. • Summary by host at each table