Report Card to the Community

June 30, 2003

 

Capacity, Quality, Career Development, and Infrastructure were identified as major child care needs in the Montgomery County Early Care and Education Needs Assessment and Plan (June 2002).  Progress in these areas is a combination of the Consortium’s work and that of many groups invested in the well-being of young children and their families.

 

 

Capacity

 

v      The June 2002 planning report recommended that Montgomery County build child care capacity, with special attention to infants, children with special needs, at-risk children, children and families with limited English proficiency, and school age children.

 

Ø      The Consortium has focused on at-risk children in Norristown over the past year.  We built relationships with the Norristown Area School District (NASD) and child care providers in the Norristown area, with a focus on improving the school readiness of children entering Norristown public schools.  See the following Quality section for more information.

 

Ø      The number of child care centers has been relatively stable over the past several years, although the number of family child care providers and programs providing school-age care only declined. Note that changes in the overall number of providers may or may not represent changes in the actual number of slots available. Our School District Profiles (www.mc4.org) are a first step in breaking apart this data for a more focused look at needs in specific areas. 

 

NUMBER OF CHILD CARE PROVIDERS

IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY BY TYPE 2000-2003

                    

TYPE OF CARE

2003

2002

2000

Family child care

114

152

158

Group child care

18

n/a

17

Center-based child care

323

323

363

Head Start classrooms

29

28

27

Head Start slots

497

478

461

School-age care only

95

110

n/a

 

Ø      In FY 2002-2003, CCRD sustaining grants helped to build 117 new slots in Montgomery County (40 school age, 21 preschool, 35 toddler, and 21 infant).  Head Start has added two classrooms since 2000, increasing its capacity by 36 slots in this time period.

 

 

QUALITY

 

Two recommendations for improving quality were made in the June 2002 planning report:

 

v      Lack of accreditation suggests need for incentives and skilled technical assistance.

 

Ø      Participation in Keystone Stars is a means of  improving quality, with merit awards as an incentive:

§         109 Montgomery County centers applied for entry; 59 received Star One status and 8 received Star Four with Accreditation status.

§         33 of these centers are in Phase II, receiving case management towards the next star level.

 

Ø      More Montgomery County child care programs have earned NAEYC accreditation:

§         1999--5 centers; 2001--11 centers; 2003--16 centers.  However, this low number suggests that many centers do not have the resources to achieve accreditation.

 

v      School readiness and the transition to kindergarten need to be addressed, since there are many remedial and transitional programs for children entering public kindergarten.  There is a specific need for collaborative school readiness strategies tailored to local circumstances.

 

Ø      The Consortium has focused on Norristown, due to this community’s demonstrated need. In partnership with Penn State Cooperative Extension and NASD, the Consortium has:

§         Developed a statement about school readiness in Norristown (Is Your Child Ready for Kindergarten? brochure) with input from child care providers and public school teachers.

§         Sponsored training for child care providers about the NASD Kindergarten program. Training was delivered by NASD Kindergarten teachers.

§         Begun opening lines of communication between NASD and child care providers.

 

 

CAREER DEVELOPMENT

 

v      The June 2002 planning report stressed career development as an important goal for Montgomery County.  There is a need to draw college educated teachers into the county’s child care workforce, and to upgrade the preparation and credentials of those coming into the field.

 

Ø      Career development has been addressed through the training for Norristown area  providers mentioned above, the Consortium’s participation in creating a regional training calendar, and participation on Montgomery County Community College’s Early Childhood Advisory Board

 

 

INFRASTRUCTURE

 

v      The June 2002 emphasized infrastructure as a key goal for the county.  This infrastructure should knit together the various stakeholders for networking, information exchange, collaboration, technical assistance for all kinds of providers, and for further research and planning.

 

Ø      The Consortium emphasized building Infrastructure over the past year.  Our efforts include:

§         Monthly Steering Committee meetings (with CCRD Advisory Board every other month).

§         Enhanced the Consortium’s web site (www.mc4.org) as a means of information exchange.

§         Bi-monthly meetings with the Southeastern region’s local child care planning coordinators.

§         Acquisition of additional funding through William Penn Foundation and Penn State Cooperative Extension, as well as submission of a proposal for an Early Learning Opportunities Act Discretionary Grant.