Office of Child Care Technical Assistance Interest Form: Improving Child Care and Part C Integration or Disability Inclusion in Child Care

Improving Integration of Child Care and Part C Early Intervention Services: State/Territory Interest Form

INTEREST FORM

Supporting States and Territories to Improve Integration of Child Care and Part C Early Intervention Services

Background: The Office of Child Care (OCC) is partnering with Guidehouse, ZERO TO THREE, and Start Early on a project to support approximately five state/territory lead agencies to integrate Early Intervention services and other developmental supports in child care settings.   States/territory(ies) will receive customized technical assistance (TA) designed to identify strategies to improve the implementation of CCDF and inform policy. Examples include policy, practice and system improvements that lead to:

• Increased services and supports in child care for infants and toddlers with developmental delays and disabilities, and infants and toddlers who are at risk of developing delays (based on the state’s Part C Early Intervention definition for at-risk);

• Improved coordination and integration of services aligned to the developmental needs of the child;

• Improved service delivery of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) in coordination with child care; and

• Children with developmental delays or disabilities or at risk of developing delays have access to high-quality child care that meets their needs.

Criteria for Participation: Interest forms will be accepted from State and Territory CCDF lead agencies. State/territory indicators of readiness to participate for this initiative are:

• Existing relationship(s), partnership(s), or plan(s) to partner with Part C;

• Demonstrated efforts integrating Early Intervention services and supports in child care settings;

• Capacity to dedicate time (at least 10 hours per month for the project lead) to the project;

• Willingness to work with Part C and other partners, including family/provider/community voices to develop a goal and action plan;

• Demonstrate ability to leverage other resources (e.g., PDG B-5 grant, coordination with other agencies or funding sources) toward project goals.

This interest form should take approximately 30 minutes to complete. We expect five state or territory lead agencies to be selected for a brief virtual meeting to further discuss the project.

Interest Form

1. Briefly describe your state/territory’s interest in this TA opportunity and how it can support your efforts to advance integration of Part C Early Intervention services in child care. [200 word maximum]

2. Briefly describe any promising approaches and/or strategies being explored or occurring in your state or territory to integrate Early Intervention services and supports in child care. [200 word maximum]

3. Please list the two required individuals and any others who should be involved in this effort. This does not need to be a complete list of team members. Note: teams may include: individuals with lived experience (ex. families, providers, community leaders), other state/Territory leads, advocates, leaders from other systems such as Medicaid, child welfare, home visiting, infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH), data, and/or research and evaluation partners, early learning council, State Interagency Coordinating Council, or philanthropic partners.

Agency/Organization/Role	Name/Title	Status confirmed, likely, unsure
CCDF Lead Agency Representative (required)
Part C Agency Representation (required)

4. Can the lead agencies commit to the following expectations for participating in this technical assistance project over an 11-month period?

Expectations for Participants	Checkbox (Yes/No/Unsure)
CCDF lead agency and Part C lead could commit to:
Finalize a core team (as described above) and select team lead(s) within one month of the project launch
Engage in assessment process to understand how well the state/territory currently supports integration of Early Intervention services in child care settings by the end of the fourth month of the project launch (may include family/community engagement and review of policies/systems/practices).
Develop and make progress toward a policy/systems goal and action plan throughout the duration of the project period (approximately 11 months).
Hold monthly core team virtual meetings with the TA Specialist, as well as more regular calls/connections between the team lead(s) and TA Specialist.
Dedicate at least 10 hours per month to this project, inclusive of core team virtual meetings and calls with TA Specialist(s).
Sustainability
Develop a plan to sustain progress beyond the project period.
Demonstrate ability to leverage other resources (e.g., PDG B-5 grant, coordination with other agencies or funding sources) toward project goals.
[Optional] Please provide context on any items above:

Questions or requests for accommodations can be sent to ACF_OCC_Engagement@Grantsolutions.gov.

Contact information for the person completing the Interest form:

State/Territory:	Region:
Name/Title:	Organization:
Phone Number:	Email Address:
Alternate Point of Contact Name/Title:
POC’s Phone Number:	POC’s Email Address:

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Public Law 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: The purpose of this information collection is to understand CCDF lead agency interest in and capacity to participate in the TA projects. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to take no more than 30 minutes per respondent, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a voluntary collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is 0970-0531 and the expiration date is 9/30/2025. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact Frances Martinez-Pedraza.

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