Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025 EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2025 The Early Childhood Council convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, at City Hall, Board & Commission Room #1101, 301 West Second Street in Austin, Texas. Chair Hamilton called the Early Childhood Council Meeting to order at 9:01 a.m. Board Members in Attendance: Chair Hamilton and Members Freeland, Latham-Sikes, McHorse, McIllwain, McNary, and Navarro Board Members in Attendance Remotely: Members Gordon, McCollum, and Rivas Staff in Attendance: Caitlin Oliver, Cindy Gamez, and Alejandra Mireles 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 general public comment. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on May 14, 2025 The minutes from the meeting on 5/14/2025 were approved unanimously on Member Navarro’s motion and Member Freeland’s second, on an 8-0 vote. Members McCollum and McNary were absent at the time of the vote. DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Discussion and possible action to approve the Early Childhood Council’s 2026 goals for the July 2024-June 2025 annual review EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025 Chair Hamilton moved to approve the Early Childhood Councils goal as follows: In the new calendar year, the ECC will: 1. Continue to support the development and implementation of the Early Childhood Quality of Life Study and use results to inform future recommendations that align with the mission of the ECC. 2. Continue to monitor the City of Austin development and implementation of the Infrastructure Academy to ensure that there are sufficient investments, resources, and capacity in the local childcare system to meet the anticipated increased demand. (The Infrastructure Academy is estimated to need to train and upskill an additional 4,000 workers each year.) 3. Continue collaboration and coordination with City of Austin Economic Development Department’s role in oversight of childcare investments to maximize the benefits of this partnership. 4. Continue to elevate and prioritize the voices of those with lived experience in informing the priorities and recommendations of the Early Childhood Council. 5. Increase the impact of Early Childhood Council actions by continuing to improve communications between ECC members, Joint Inclusion Committee, and City Council and Mayor’s offices. 6. Monitor the implementation of Travis County’s voter approved child care and out of school time initiative. 7. Make budget recommendations regarding the Austin Public Health and Economic Development Department budgets, informed by community, for investments in early childhood in the City budget. 8. Monitor changes in federal funding related to investments in early childhood. The motion was seconded by Member McHorse and passed unanimously on a 10-0 vote. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. Updates from Decision Information Resources (DIR) regarding current activities and next steps for the quality-of-life study of Austin’s families with young children Dr. Tiara Jackson, Project Director, and Dr. Tiffany Ricks, Community Engagement Lead, presented updates on the progress of the quality-of-life study of Austin’s families with young children, including the timeline for the caregiver survey, caregiver focus groups, and organization interviews over the summer. Presentation from Jason Gindele, YMCA, regarding the child care center at the new City of Austin Dove Springs Public Health Facility Jason Gindele, of Greater Austin YMCA, shared updates about the classrooms, curriculum, enrollment, family support services, program needs, and goals of the YMCA EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025 5. 6. 7. 8. Tomorrow Academy, which has been the child care operator at the Dove Springs Public Health Facility since March 2025. Presentation from David Feigen, Texans Care for Children, regarding the potential impacts of the 89th Texas Legislative Session on the early childhood sector David Feigen was unable to attend the meeting. Lauren McKenzie, senior policy associate at Texans Care for Children presented a recap of early childhood education- and health- related legislation and funding approved during the 89th legislative session. Updates from Travis County regarding implementation of the voter-approved child care and out- of-school time initiative Michelle Mejia and Monica Guzman provided public comment related to item 6. They encourage the City of Austin and Travis County to develop an interlocal agreement that would direct $500,000 of the Travis County Child Care and Out-of-School Time Care (CCOST) fund to the Austin-Travis County Family Child Care Educator Network. Member Rivas, senior planner with the Travis County Health and Human Services Research and Planning Division, provided updates on the Travis County Commissioner’s Court recent actions related to the CCOST initiative, such as the approved plan to build a community advisory council over the summer. Discussion about the time and location of the ECC regular meeting on Saturday, August 16, 2025 Members discussed the location of the regular meeting in August and directed the staff liaison to reserve meeting space at Austin Public Library’s Carver Branch. Updates from the May Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) meeting Member Navarro provided an update on the JIC’s “Know Your Commission” events for community members that will be in July and August. STAFF BRIEFINGS 9. Briefing from Caitlin Oliver, Austin Public Health (APH), regarding updates from related local early childhood groups such as Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children, Austin ISD, Success By 6 Coalition, and Child Care Regulation Caitlin Oliver, staff liaison, shared an update on the City of Austin’s Economic Development Department financial relief grant program for eligible home-based child care providers in Austin and an update about the newly-hired program coordinator for the Austin-Travis County Family Child Care Educator Network. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Members listed the following future agenda items: EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JUNE 11, 2025 • Presentation from United Way for Greater Austin about Pre-K partnerships • Update from DIR on the quality-of-life study survey results • A briefing on how local children in immigrant households have been impacted by immigration enforcement activities • Update from Austin ISD regarding potential school closures and expansion of Pre-K Chair Hamilton adjourned the meeting at 10:36 a.m., without objection. The minutes were approved unanimously at the August 16, 2025, meeting on Member Menard’s motion and Member McNary’s second, on a 9-0 vote.