Approved Minutes — original pdf

Approved Minutes

EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 8, 2025 EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2025 The Early Childhood Council convened in a regular meeting on Wednesday, October 8, 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 9:06 a.m. Board Members in Attendance: Chair Hamilton and Members Latham-Sikes, McCollum, McIllwain, and Sears Board Members in Attendance Remotely: Vice Chair Menard and Members McHorse, Navarro, and Rivas 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. Cyndy Karras, Austin Chapter of the Texas Association for the Education of Young Children (TXAEYC), gave public comment regarding accreditation meetings and the TXAEYC conference. Madison Mattise, Workforce Solutions Capital Area (WFS), gave public comment regarding the WFS contract with Travis County for child care scholarships and gap funding for child care providers. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Approve the minutes of the Early Childhood Council Regular Meeting on September 10, 2025 The minutes from the meeting on 9/10/2025 were approved unanimously on Member Latham-Sikes’s motion and Member McCollum’s second, on a 9-0 vote. EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 8, 2025 DISCUSSION AND ACTION ITEMS 2. Discussion and possible action to approve the 2026 Early Childhood Council (ECC) regular meeting calendar The 2026 ECC regular meeting calendar was approved unanimously on Member Latham- Sikes’s motion and Member McIllwain’s second, on a 9-0 vote. DISCUSSION ITEMS 3. 4. 5. 6. Presentation from Denisse Baldwin, Associate Vice President of Early Learning Advancement at United Way for Greater Austin, regarding Pre-K Partnerships Denisse Baldwin presented an overview of the Pre-K Partnership hub at United Way for Greater Austin, which co-enrolls pre-K eligible children at high-quality child care centers in either Austin ISD or Round Rock ISD. Discussion of the draft summary report and other deliverables for the quality-of-life study of Austin’s families with young children conducted by Decision Information Resources, Inc. (DIR) Members discussed the child care, housing, health, community-based supports, and economic security recommendations in the summary of the draft report. The ECC may have future discussions about how the recommendations in the report could inform the ECC’s budget recommendations. Updates from the September Joint Inclusion Committee (JIC) meeting Member McIllwain encouraged ECC members to promote upcoming dates of the JIC’s “Get to Know Your Commission” meetings. McIllwain also shared updates about new workgroups established by the JIC. Updates from Hilda Rivas regarding the implementation of the Travis County voter-approved Child Care and Out-of-School Time (CCOST) initiative Member Rivas shared the updated name for the initiative, which is Raising Travis County. Rivas gave an overview of the current Raising Travis County activities, including approval of the community advisory council, the Workforce Solutions contract, and timeline for long-term investments. Chair Hamilton shared that there is no action for the ECC to take at this time regarding Raising Travis County investments, as the City of Austin and Travis County discussion about a possible interlocal agreement is ongoing. STAFF BRIEFINGS 7. 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, Child Care Regulation, and Workforce Solutions Capital Area EARLY CHILDHOOD COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OCTOBER 8, 2025 There was no staff briefing. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Members listed the following future agenda items: • Discussion and possible action to approve new Joint Inclusion Committee representatives • Discussion of the revised quality-of-life study final report Chair Hamilton adjourned the meeting at 10:43 a.m. without objection. The minutes were approved unanimously at the November 12, 2025, meeting on Member McIllwain’s motion and Member McNary’s second, on a 9-0 vote.