Turnaround Ohio Early Care & Education "Just For You: Supporting Inclusion in Preschool Classrooms September 6, 2007 Columbus, Ohio

Overview  Turnaround Ohio  Current Early Childhood System  Programs and Workforce Development Supports  Questions and Answers

Ohio’s Children  884,593 children under the age of 6  62% of these children live in families with all parents working  22% of children under 5 live in poverty  1 in 6 children is hungry or at risk of hunger

Ohio’s Children  Nearly 1/3 of the 130,000 children entering kindergarten are NOT prepared  36% of fourth graders read below grade level  34% of fourth graders perform below grade level in math

Turnaround Ohio A Fair Start for Every Ohio Child  Work to make high quality early care and learning for all children a reality in Ohio  Recognize the critical importance of a child’s social, emotional and physical development to school readiness and lifelong learning  Realign state government to promote healthy early childhood development

Governor Strickland’s Commitment  Executive Order to create the Early Childhood Cabinet in May 2007  Mission: The Early Childhood Cabinet will unite key state agencies around the common goal of promoting school readiness by setting and coordinating state policy and programs which serve Ohio’s children, prenatal to six years of age.

Governor’s Early Childhood Cabinet  Ohio Department of Drug and Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services  Ohio Department of Education  Ohio Department of Health  Ohio Department of Job and Family Services  Ohio Department of Mental Health  Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disorders

State Early Childhood Development System

Early Childhood System  Early Learning  Health/Mental Health/Nutrition  Family Support  Special Needs/Early Intervention

System Development Efforts  Build Ohio  School Readiness Solutions Group  Ohio Family & Children First  Groundwork  Child Care Resource & Referral

Build Ohio  7 states  Public/Private Partnership  Infrastructure Development Professional Development Social and Emotional Communication and Public Will Making Connections 

School Readiness Solutions Group  State Board  18-month planning process  2020 vision  Major Recommendations BA degrees New teacher license Change fiscal structure Licensing that mirrors national accreditation 

Ohio Family & Children First  Created by Governor Voinovich  88 county collaborations  Service coordination for children birth-21  Commitments Expectant Parents and Newborns Thrive Infants and Toddlers Thrive Children Are Ready for School Children and Youth Succeed in School Children and Youth Engage in Healthy Behaviors Youth Successfully Transition into Adulthood 

Groundwork  Grassroots Advocacy  Focused on making ECE a priority for elected officials  Instrumental in state budget process 

Child Care Resource & Referral  Movement began in early 1970’s  Statewide system funded in 1992  Core Services Consumer education Professional development Recruitment Technical assistance Quality Initiatives 

Early Learning  5 Major Programs Federal Head Start Early Childhood Education Subsidized Child Care Early Learning Initiative Preschool Special Education

Early Learning-Federal Head Start  Administered by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  Federal Head Start Bill  1-100% of Poverty (10% waiver)  In , $244,204,960 allocation 36, year olds 1,466 birth-2 year olds  National Performance Standards-comprehensive services, including parent involvement

Early Learning-Early Childhood Education  Ohio Department of Education  Formerly Public School Preschool  Targets families under 200% FPL, but school districts have the ability to go higher.  12,000 3 & 4 year old children  Must meet ODE Program Guidelines

Early Learning-Subsidized Child Care  Administered by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services  Funded by the Child Care Development Fund and TANF in centers and family child care homes  Serves 0-185% where a family is working or in an approved training or educational program  Birth-13 years of age  Each month approximately 95,000 children receive services

Early Learning-Early Learning Initiative (ELI)  The Ohio Department of Education and the Department of Job and Family Services  A collaboration to provide children, often identified at risk of school failure with educational experiences that will help them enter kindergarten ready for success.  0-195% FPL  In May 2007, over 11,500 3 and 4 year old children served.

Early Learning-Special Education Preschool  Ohio Department of Education  Preschool received the first budget increase in years.  Programs are provided to meet the needs of children with disabilities as required by I.D.E.A.  Serves 23,455 three to five year old children  8:4 ratio with typically developing students

Early Learning-Step Up to Quality  Ohio’s Quality Rating System  3 steps above licensing for ODJFS centers  Benchmarks: ratios, group sizes, teacher qualifications, on-going professional development  Began with a pilot; now available statewide

Early Learning Workforce  2005 Workforce Study-Key Findings Wages  ODE average wage $18.90  ODJFS average wage $9.81 Education  67% of ODE teachers have BA or higher  25% of ODJFS teachers have BA or higher Benefits  66% of ODE teachers are offered fully or partially paid health benefits  37% of ODJFS teachers are offered fully or partially paid health benefits

Workforce and Professional Development Supports  Ohio Professional Development Network Professional Profiles Training/Trainer Registry Core Body of Knowledge Workforce Data

Workforce and Professional Development Supports  T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Ohio 23 states Education, Compensation and Retention Partnership Centers and Family Child Care CDA/Associates Degree

Technical Assistance Network  First Steps/ Infant & Toddler Specialists  Healthy Child Care Ohio  Literacy Specialists  Early Childhood Mental Health Specialists  SUTQ/ELI

Thank you   Questions??