DIGEST

DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH:

CONSULTATIVE SERVICES TO CHILD CARE PROVIDERS

BACKGROUND

• The Department of Public Health's (DPH) Division of Community Based Regulation is responsible for licensing and inspecting child care providers statewide.
• 1,652 child care centers (more than 12 children), 70 group homes (7-12 children), and 3,696 family day care homes (6 or fewer children) were licensed as of August 2001. Licensed capacity levels for centers and group day care homes totaled 89,951 slots; family day care homes totaled 22,047.
• 32 DPH licensing specialists regulate child day care statewide; 21 are directly involved with licensing and mandatory inspections.
• Approximately 1,200 family day care homes, 825 centers, and 35 group day care homes are inspected annually. Licensing specialists within the unit also assist with the yearly relicensing of approximately 1,830 family day care homes and 860 center-based facilities.
• Total expenditures to regulate child day care were $2.77 million during FY 01.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES

FINDINGS

• Although state law requires DPH to provide "consultative services" to licensed providers to attain and maintain child care regulations, the department uses the term "technical assistance" to describe its efforts but has not adopted a formal working definition of technical assistance.
• State law specifically requires "consultative services" be provided to child care centers and group day care homes, but is silent regarding family day care providers.
• Technical assistance services are provided by DPH through a variety of methods, yet services lack a centralized focus or master implementation plan. Services need to be more fully communicated internally and externally, and better management analysis regarding overall performance needs to occur.
• There is no formal process in place to assess child care providers' needs for technical assistance or determine if technical assistance services are adequate to meet those needs.
• Other units within DPH, along with the state's social services department and nonprofit organizations, offer technical assistance or outreach services to child care providers.

RECOMMENDATIONS

1. C.G.S. Sec. 19a-82 should be amended to change "consultative services" to "technical assistance," as it relates to the services offered by the public health department to help child care providers and applicants attain and maintain compliance with state licensing regulations.

2. C.G.S. Sec. 19a-82 should include family day care homes in the types of providers required to receive technical assistance.

3. The Division of Community Based Regulation shall adopt a formal definition of technical assistance based on C.G.S. Sec. 19a-82. The division shall also ensure all child care regulatory staff and child care providers know and understand the definition.

4. The Division of Community Based Regulation shall take the following actions.

a. Develop clear and concise management objectives relating to technical assistance to child care providers. At minimum the objectives should specify the division's definition of technical assistance, the purpose of technical assistance, and the division's technical assistance policy.

b. Integrate the various technical assistance methods/services for child care providers currently used by the division into a formal implementation plan. At minimum, the plan should detail the technical assistance services available to providers, how providers can obtain the services, and when/where the services are available. The division should develop the implementation plan in consultation with provider groups, statewide child care associations, and the day care council.

c. Develop a systematic approach to hold licensing specialists, supervisors, and managers accountable for carrying out the division's technical assistance objectives and providing the technical assistance services outlined in the implementation plan. This includes regular analysis of the technical assistance services provided for performance measurement purposes.

d. Communicate the management objectives, implementation plan, and performance measurement method(s) with each division manager, supervisor, and licensing specialist involved with child care technical assistance services.

e. Fully communicate the outcome of the plan development and implementation with the child care community, as identified by the division. A plain-language summary of the division's technical assistance objectives and services shall be distributed to each licensed child care provider on a regular basis as determined by the division or upon substantive changes to services/objectives.

5. The Division of Community Based Regulation shall develop a system to formally identify and assess the types of technical assistance desired or required by licensed child care providers. A system to collect feedback from licensed child care providers on the types of technical assistance they desire and the performance of current technical assistance services shall be established. Such feedback shall be collected on a routine basis and the information collected should be used to develop, eliminate, or enhance the division's technical assistance services. The information shall also be used by the division for developing its management objectives and services when implementing C.G.S. Sec. 19a-82.

6. Regular and thorough management analysis and performance measurement of the technical assistance services offered to child care providers through the Division of Community Based Regulation shall be conducted. Proper and adequate data regarding technical assistance services shall be collected, automated, and used for management analysis purposes.

STAFFING AND TRAINING

FINDINGS

• All current licensing specialists met the job qualifications when they began work as DPH licensing specialists.
• Twenty-two percent of the current licensing specialists were either directors or assistant directors of child care facilities before becoming specialists; almost one-fifth owned or operated a family day care home, group day care home, or child care center prior; and 15 percent worked in centers in a teacher capacity.
• Fifty-six percent of the current licensing specialists have been DPH specialists for at least five years, 72 percent at least three years, while 28 percent have served for less than three years.
• Fifty-nine percent of the licensing specialists held a four-year college degree related to children or education at the time of their hiring.
• Specific training for licensing specialists, especially new specialists, regarding technical assistance is limited.
• There is no formal oversight system in place to fully gauge whether the current "cross-training" program actually enhances delivery of technical assistance services.

RECOMMENDATIONS

7. The overall training program regarding technical assistance for child care licensing specialists, including the current emphasis on cross-training, needs to be formalized and enhanced based on specialists' needs. As part of this process, the Division of Community Based Regulation should update the relevant components of the NARA training curriculum it uses relating to technical assistance.

8. The Division of Community Based Regulation needs to develop a system to regularly monitor its staff training efforts to ensure such training enhances the effectiveness of technical assistance services to child care providers as required by C.G.S. Sec. 19a-82.

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CONSISTENCY

FINDINGS

• Written and dated policies and procedures relating to providing technical assistance are limited and need to be enhanced.
• According to a committee staff survey, 84 percent of providers surveyed said they have not received conflicting or inaccurate information from DPH child care staff regarding child care regulations.
• Although there are multiple efforts underway within DPH to ensure consistency in applying child care regulations, there does not seem to be a broad analysis of how well licensing specialists are implementing them.

RECOMMENDATIONS

9. The Division of Community Based Regulations shall make its interpretive guidelines for center-based and family day care home regulations available to the public on its website by March 1, 2002. Where appropriate, the division should fully cross reference the guidelines with additional resource information dedicated to child care and include "best practices," as determined by the division. DPH should also include a disclaimer the guidelines do not substitute state child care regulations.

10. The Division of Community Based Regulation shall develop written and dated policies/procedures for internal use for providing technical assistance during each phase of the licensing and enforcement processes. The policies and procedures shall become part of the division's technical assistance master implementation plan.

11. The Department of Public Health shall include a "Frequently Asked Questions" (FAQ) component on its Child Care Licensing Program webpage. Additional technical assistance information for child care providers, such as bilingual regulations, should be included on the website as determined by DPH.

SURVEY RESULTS (See Appendix A of report for full survey results)

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