REGULAR MEETING of the EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL APRIL 9, 2025, 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 Brooke Freeland Chloe Latham-Sikes Andrea McIllwain Alice Navarro Ellana Selig Choquette Hamilton, Vice Chair Eliza Gordon Cynthia McCollum Brianna Menard Hilda Rivas 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. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on March 12, 2025 2. 3. 4. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS Conduct officer elections for the positions of the 2025 Early Childhood Council chair and vice chair DISCUSSION ITEMS Presentation from David Feigen, Director of Early Learning Policy at Texans Care for Children, regarding the potential impact of the 89th Texas Legislative Session on the early childhood sector Presentation from the Housing Department regarding the City of Austin’s application process for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) grants Presenters: • Rocio Pena-Martinez, Grants Program Manager, Housing Department • Leslie Boyd, Grants Program Manager, Austin Public Health • Julie Smith, Engagement Specialist, Housing Department 5. Updates from the Early Childhood Council Quality-of-Life (QoL) Study Workgroup regarding the previous meeting with the study researcher 6. Updates from the March Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) meeting STAFF BRIEFINGS 7. Briefing from Caitlin Oliver, Austin Public Health (APH), regarding the Week of the Young Child; Public Health Week; the Family-Based Child Care Tour of Homes; and updates from related local early childhood groups such as Child Care Regulation FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS ADJOURNMENT The City of Austin is committed to compliance with the American with Disabilities Act. Reasonable modifications and equal access to communications will be provided upon request. Meeting locations are …
Discussion on community needs and spending priorities for the FY 25-26 Action Plan for federal grants. Agenda Federal Grants Overview FY23-24 Goals, Outcomes & Impact Community Engagement Background Continuing the dialouge: FY25-26 Priorities The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocates entitlement funding to municipalities and state governments. The City of Austin applies for approximately $14 million in annual grant entitlements across four grants for affordable housing, community development, economic development, and public services. These grants are part of a 5-year cycle. Consolidated Plan (5-Year) Allocates federal resources to housing and community development Action Plan (1-Year) Summarizes actions, activities and federal/non- federal resources in the Consolidated Plan Consolidated Annual Performance and Evaluation Report (CAPER) (1-Year) End-of-year report on progress toward consolidated plan 3 HUD Funding Sources 4 Programs & Activities Overview FY 23-24 5 Goals & Outcomes FY 23-24 6 Who Did We Serve? Fiscal Year 22-23 Snapshot 1,856 # households served FY 23-24 Source: City of Austin FY 23-24 CAPER Who Did We Serve? Fiscal Year 22-23 Snapshot 1,856 # households served FY 23-24 Source: City of Austin FY 23-24 CAPER Who Did We Serve? Fiscal Year 22-23 Snapshot 2024 Median Income for family of 4: $126,000 Source: City of Austin FY 23-24 CAPER How do we fund our programs? HUD Annual Entitlement Grants Housing Trust Fund Approved City Bonds City Operating Budget Project Connect Anti-Displacement Funds 2024 Community Needs Assessment Feedback immediate help stability trust building wealth access 11 2024 Community Needs Assessment Feedback from Boards & Commissions Early Childhood Council Transparency & Accountability What is the total funding for housing programs? What has changed since you came to us last? How are you holding partners accountable? Outreach and Engagement How are you reaching our community? Data and Impact How great is the need? How are you serving our community? Funding Possibilities Programs and projects specific to each community Disappointment and Distrust More questions than input Calls for accountability The council members expressed concern about decreased funding and the impact on households. They stressed the need for a singular point of access and wanted to know what was being done to address this need. Council members asked if funds could be used to repair and enhance homes that serve as childcare facilities and encouraged policy change to make that possible. 2024 Community Needs Assessment Feedback Data and Impact Transparency Outreach to vulnerable communities Progress and Commitments …
December 2024 Policy Recommendations to Support Texas Children During the 2025 Legislative Session During the 2025 legislative session, state lawmakers will have the opportunity to make significant headway on challenges facing Texas kids and families. Certain issues have emerged as higher profile priorities for this particular session, including funding public schools, improving access to high-quality child care, and ensuring that kids who are already eligible for health coverage are able to sign up. There are also opportunities to continue making real progress on persistent challenges that the Legislature has chipped away at in recent sessions, including maternal health, children’s mental health, Early Childhood Intervention for toddlers with disabilities, safely reducing the number of kids entering foster care, and supporting kids who do enter foster care. Finally, as the Legislature aims to improve early learning, legislators need to pay particular attention to students with disabilities, emergent bilingual students, and pre-k students. Fortunately, this session, the Legislature will have access to significant revenue, specific high-impact policy proposals to address these challenges and opportunities, and advocates ready to work with them. This agenda provides a high-level overview of those recommendations. We look forward to working with legislators and Texans from across the state to make these proposals a reality for Texas kids. 1 Texans Care for Children Early Learning Increase access to high-quality early learning programs that help young children thrive, including emergent bilingual students and children with disabilities. Improve access to high-quality child care. • Invest state funding to provide more child care scholarships through the Texas Workforce Commission’s Child Care Services (CCS) program. • Include the children of child care educators on the priority list for CCS scholarships. • Provide grants that address shortages of infant care, care for children with disabilities, nighttime care, child care deserts, and other high-need areas. • Ensure Local Workforce Boards have flexibility to provide reimbursement rates to Texas Rising Star programs at the state’s established rate for the provider’s quality. Increase funding for public education, including dedicated funds for high-quality pre-k in schools and community-based pre-k partnerships. Strengthen early learning opportunities for three and four-year-olds with disabilities by addressing unintended funding gaps in Early Childhood Special Education and ensuring children with IEPs are eligible for Texas pre-k. Leverage the recommendations from the state’s Teacher Vacancy Taskforce and Emergent Bilingual Strategic Plan to recruit more certified bilingual educators, increase the number of effective dual language programs, …
