REGULAR MEETING of the EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL JANUARY 10, 2024, 9:00 A.M. CITY HALL, BOARD AND COMMISSION ROOM #1101 301 WEST SECOND STREET AUSTIN, TEXAS Some members of the Early Childhood Council may be participating by videoconference. Public comment will be allowed in person or remotely via telephone. Speakers may only register to speak on an item once, either in person or remotely, and will be allowed up to three minutes to provide their comments. Registration no later than noon the day before the meeting is required for remote participation by telephone. To register to speak remotely, call or email Caitlin Oliver, Program Coordinator, Austin Public Health, at 512-972-6205 or Caitlin.Oliver@austintexas.gov. CURRENT BOARD MEMBERS/COMMISSIONERS: Cathy McHorse, Chair Alice Navarro Corie Cormie Choquette Hamilton Maggie Jaime Casie Schennum Leonor Vargas John Green-Otero, Vice Chair Brianna Menard Eliza Gordon Tom Hedrick Cynthia McCollum Ellana Selig AGENDA CALL TO ORDER PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first five speakers to register prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three-minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on November 8, 2023 APPROVAL OF MINUTES STAFF BRIEFINGS 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Updates from Caitlin Oliver, Austin Public Health (APH), regarding a planning grant from Home Grown to build a comprehensive network for local child care home providers and regarding pre-K classroom start-up funds this fiscal year DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS Discuss and approve updates to 2024 Early Childhood Council regular meeting calendar Discuss and appoint an ECC member to serve as ECC liaison to the Success By 6 (SX6) Coalition Leadership Team DISCUSSION ITEMS Updates from related groups (as needed), including Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, Austin ISD, Child Care Regulation, Child Inc, E3 Alliance, Success By 6 Coalition, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, and other groups in attendance Updates from Margo Kinneberg, UWATX, regarding the cost modeling project of early childhood services in Travis County Presentation from Gayle Yondorf-Chavez, United Way for Greater Austin (UWATX), and Claudia Zapata, AVANCE, Inc., about the strategies and activities of Success By 6’s (SX6) Family-Based Child Care (FBCC) Workgroup and AVANCE’s Quality Child Care Matters (QCCM) program which supports and guides family child care educators to learn new strategies that increase the quality of care for children and …
Greater Austin Cost Model Analyzing the True Cost of Child Care January 10, 2023 What is a cost model? ● Tool to measure the true cost of a service ● Used to understand gaps and predict funding needs ● Accounts for regulations and programmatic components that influence cost impact overall cost ● Ability to predict how changes in wages, structure, quality, and location Sources ● Survey of local child care providers on program structure and finances (56 respondents) ● Texas Workforce Commission: Subsidy rates and staffing ratios ● TWC/University of Texas: Cost of Quality Price Modeling Reports ● AISD: “Pay parity” salary scales ● Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center at Vanderbilt University: Benchmarking Design VIEW DEMO Interactive workbooks that capture how changes in enrollment, Texas Rising Star Ratings, and staffing affect per-child costs in comparison to reimbursement rates Range of Costs Factors that influence cost include: ● Wages and benefits ● Staffing ratios ● Number of participants ● Facilities Subsidies are determined by Texas Rising Star (TRS) quality rating Model estimate for a center with current average TRS4 structure Model estimate for a TRS4 center with comprehensive benefits, $20/hr minimum wage, and lower staffing ratios Annual per infant subsidy for a TRS4 center is ~$17,000 depending on days of care Average annual per infant tuition at a center is $14,500 Key Trends & Takeaways ● Personnel (staffing ratios,wages, and benefits) account for the majority of overall costs at both center and home settings. ● Infants and toddlers are the highest-cost age groups for providers to serve ● True cost of care generally exceeds reimbursement rates, particularly at higher quality facilities ● Providers that seek to improve quality and/or increase employee benefits incur further costs that must be made up through external funding or higher tuition Questions?
Success By 6 Family Based Ch Presented by: Gayle Yondorf Chavez Program Manager, Family Based Child Care United Way/Success By 6 Family Based Child Care Purpose The purpose of the Family Based Child Care Program of United Way/Success By 6: ● ● ● ● ● ● Recognize, support, and integrate FBCC programs as essential components of the ATX early care and education system. Partner with community organizations to build and scale infrastructure for the family based child care homes in Austin that tend to be outside of the scope of systemic programs. Ensure that FBCC programs have equitable access to materials, technical assistance, and professional development in Travis County in order to provide high quality care for children and families. Increase the number of FBCC programs that move along the continuum to a next level of regulation and quality. Build support with community partners to develop the leadership of existing providers as network specialists within their communities in order to support child care workers and parents in their role of helping young children prepare for school and life success. Bring together a broad group of stakeholders to represent the views of the community, to serve as a work group, in order to provide input to help develop strategies to recognize, support, and integrate FBCC programs as essential components of the ATX early care and education system. Work Group: Roles and Responsibilities The Role of FBCC Work Group ● ● ● ● Share information / knowledge of FBCC Be engaged in developing the FBCC strategic plan and action steps by asking questions, sharing ideas and participating throughout the process Help identify any community issues and provide ideas related to potential solutions Receive feedback from stakeholders outside the work group and serve as a link between the work group and the Community Participation ● Attend meetings on the second Monday of each month ● Be informed of the strategic plan for FBCC and provide ideas to support action steps ● Participate in planning, organizing and implementing conferences for FBCC providers ● Help communicate with providers about training and other opportunities and resources available: newsletters, calendars. ● Share your knowledge of FBCC in meetings and or workshops Click images to open links Contribution Success by 6- FBCC is the only workgroup in the area to bring together representatives from Austin Chapter of TXAYEC, Workforce Solutions-Capital Area, Austin Public Health, PBS,Texas Licensed Child Care …
EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 10, 2024 EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JANUAR Y 10, 2024 The Early Childhood Council convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at City Hall, Board & Commission Room #1101, 301 West Second Street in Austin, Texas. Chair McHorse called the Early Childhood Council Meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Board Members in Attendance: Chair McHorse and Members Cormie, Hamilton, McCollum, Menard, and Navarro Board Members in Attendance Remotely: Members Gordon and Schennum Staff in Attendance: Caitlin Oliver, Donna Sundstrom, Rachel Farley, and Drew Ballard PUBLIC COMMUNICATION: GENERAL The first five speakers to register prior to the meeting being called to order will each be allowed a three- minute allotment to address their concerns regarding items not posted on the agenda. There was no public comment. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on November 8, 2023 The minutes from the meeting on 11/08/2023 were approved on Member Hamilton’s motion, Member McCollum’s second, on an 8-0 vote. There was one abstention from Vice Chair Green-Otero. STAFF BRIEFINGS EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES 2. JANUARY 10, 2024 Updates from Caitlin Oliver, Austin Public Health (APH), regarding a planning grant from Home Grown to build a comprehensive network for local child care home providers and regarding pre-K classroom start-up funds this fiscal year Caitlin Oliver, APH Early Childhood Program Coordinator, shared the following with ECC members: • APH has submitted a grant application for a $25,000 planning grant from Home Grown to build a comprehensive network for local child care home providers, building on the work of United Way, AVANCE, Inc, and GAVA. • In fiscal year 2024, APH will provide a total of $128,000 to area school districts in start-up funds for new Pre-K classrooms for 3-year-olds from the APH general fund budget. In past years, these funds have helped districts open 8 new classrooms, while this year’s funds will help open 6 new classrooms because the cost of materials districts purchase with these funds has increased. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 3. Discuss and approve updates to 2024 Early Childhood Council regular meeting calendar The ECC members approved to move the April regular meeting date from April 10 to April 11, 2024, on Vice Chair Green-Otero’s motion and Member Menard’s second, on a unanimous 9-0 vote. Discuss and appoint an ECC member to …
