 Good afternoon Could people take their seats, please Hi, so I'm Patrick Shields on the executive director of the Learning Policy Institute, and I want to welcome you to our Event today where we're unveiling some new research on the early care system here in California I want to I'm going to give a little bit of an introduction then Assemblyman McCarty is going to Give us some words here from the state capital and we'll have a presentation of the research followed by two panels And we'll try to get everyone out of here by four o'clock. I'd like to start by thanking our partners early edge first five the advancement project as well as the many other groups that we work with here in the state that I Won't be able to remember all of you, but you know children now the Silicon Valley Community Foundation the California Budget and Policy Center and of course Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce we'd also like to thank the Heising Simons and Packard Foundation for their support of the research that we're going to talk about today Okay, so let's get going. I want to remind everybody why we're here today Which is the urgent concern that we have about the child care Situation here in California We all know that the first years of children's lives are the developmentally most important yet in California We expect that parents and families are Responsible for finding care and for paying for it, which is a challenge for many parents even middle-class parents and Simply the state of the state is not doing enough only 33% of the eligible Students in the state are in care The state is rated only four out of ten quality indicators by the National Institute on early education research and only 1.8 percent of the budget is appropriated for child care Pre-k etc here in the state which is exceedingly low and then as you all know We had a huge cut in investment in in early care during the great recession Which has not been fully restored yet now. Let me just say a little bit about the learning policy Institute We've only been around for a couple of years During that time we have started to do some work in on the child care front The first work we did was in response to states across the country asking us not about whether it was important to expand child care But how do you expand child care? How do you provide both greater access and retained quality? And so we found a number of states around the country that had done so that it had Radically expanded their programs while maintaining quality and we did a series of case studies Some of which will highlight today when we talk about exemplars from other states But the bottom line of that report is that in fact it is possible to have a coherent Wide-spread high quality child care zero to five program in a state if you put the resources in the political will behind it Then last year we shifted our attention here to California and did a landscape study with the famous subway map in it which underscored the incoherence of the early care system here in California and Today we're turning our attention to a bottom-up look looking from the local community level up towards the state And how do communities manage to handle the disparate flows of dollars regulations and programs in the state? But before we get there, I'm going to turn to Assemblyman McCartney McCartney. I'm sorry Who was elected to the state assembly in 19 in 2014? He represents the 7th assembly district, which is here in the Sacramento West Sacramento California area many of you know assembly McCartney is the Chair of the assembly budget subcommittee on education And so he address has to address many of these issues and over the past few years He has really put a lot of effort and a lot of his own political capital behind expanding early child care providing more dollars in the K-12 system and expanding dollars in and Access to higher education as well He says has consistently advocated for higher quality Early childhood and he currently serves on the state's blue ribbon Commission on early childhood education, which is sort of the main policy vehicle that we have in the state right now for bringing these concerns to Policy makers. We're very glad to have him join us today. I'd like you all to Welcome assemblyman McCartney. Thank you. Thank you. Good afternoon It's good to be over here from the state capital to see my friends working in the ECE world and I know we have a couple of panel discussions, but I just wanted to maybe give you a Birds-eye view from 40,000 feet from the state capital of how I'm feeling about ECE these days First is I feel really upbeat about the issue. I think we have a lot of momentum a lot of people working in the issue a lot of leadership at the state level the local level in the Legislative arena, but also in the governor's office. So who listens to podcast America? A few of you. Okay. That's the David Axel ax. No, that's podcast America. I'm sorry. Who listens to the ax files? David Axelrod's got him confused So David Axelrod he interviewed Jerry Brown about three months ago Or the summer maybe the fall summer sometime and Jerry Brown was talking about California and important issues And he mentioned ECE and I went I was a whoa. Let me go back on my little iPhone. Did he actually say that and he did? So there we go after eight years. He's championing ECE. So good job to all of you and the other really good news is Is all the candidates for governor are really talking about the ECE issue, which I think is tremendous I've met with all of them. I met with the fourth one. I just actually yesterday and They're all talking about this issue. They all know about the brain research They all the plan they all want to tackle it one of the first things that if they get elected to the to the governor's office So I'm I'm really upbeat about that and then in the legislature. We have made progress There was some as you as you mentioned some really tough tough choices and some cuts during the recession We you know not quite bounced back But we had made tremendous investments the last few years in large part because the Rebounding economy and especially money in the prop 98 fun to fund things like our state funded preschool But also on the general fun side for zero through three programs in child care. So we have we have made some improvements Also was noted our speaker of the assembly who came from the ECE world Anthony Rendon ran a program down in Los Angeles He created the Blue Ribbon Commission looking at the issue and and asked Christina Garcia and me to co-chair that And I see some of the same things that we're gonna be talking about in the panels today We're talking about in our blue ribbon Commission. I think they kind of go hand-in-hand To focus on if we did have an infusion of resources, you know How would we want to to spend it and I think you know that that is is critically important So thank you all for gathering here today I did want to recognize the partners that helped make it happen the advancement project our LA Chamber of Commerce and Early-Edge, California. I love that the banner earlier up there the hashtag ECE matters I think that's that's what this is all about, but also LPI research talking about What needs to be done in our system in California? looking at our strengths and our weaknesses the administration overall of ECE Certainly issues and challenges with access to care The ECE workforce which we spent a lot of time talking about our eat on our blue ribbon Commission in December Quality which we know matters the most, you know, if you want the high results You need to focus on quality and then data systems to make sure we can track and know what's working So I'm very hopeful that The research here and the discussions will help guide us in Frankly that the year to come as we as we phase out this administration and look forward to the next But also in the present we're working with the budget today We just had a briefing from the legislative analysts office and there is some Positive news with more good news coming in the mayor revise with more money on the table to focus on priorities What we should be looking at and certainly I think that investing in pre-k is something that we ought to be You know focused on right now not waiting for the for the next governor something that I'll be working on Oversing the budget this year. I did want to note that out of the gate. There are there are two Major legislative proposals put forward talking about this issue Over the Senate side Senator Bill Dodd from the Napa area has introduced a bill I'm not sure the number of it, but it's essentially a TK for all bill building upon that the TK System in California, which you know as we know works for 25 percent of the families in California If you have to be born during the fall months, but his bill would make it Universal TK regardless of income for everybody who's for you know, that's you know in the three billion dollar price range And certainly that's something I think that you know, we ought to be looking at down the road It is a big price tag today I'm introducing a bill. I actually already have introduced it. It's a B 1754 Essentially similar bill that I worked on a few years ago. The governor wasn't too keen then but we'll try again, right? It's essentially we're calling it the pre-k for all acts and we're calling it pre-k specifically because I want to realize that there are different You know programs and fields for kids before the enter kindergarten You want to kind of be agnostic on what it is but make sure at the minimum all low income four-year-olds have access to at least one year of quality ECE before they enter kindergarten And I do realize that there are other issues to address I realize that child care infant and toddler programs are critically important But I think if there's one thing that in California wants to step up with it's making sure that you have it Universally accessible for all low-income four-year-olds recently had a chance to visit Mexico City with our other speaker and a delegation talking about you know immigration issues Trade issues and we talked about education issues and and even Mexico City They're talking about free universal preschool for all their four-year-olds And so countries around the world can do it if red states in the south can do it and certainly California should be doing it as well So that's kind of the agenda that I'm looking forward to for 2018 and I look forward to working with you And I do have one thing I want to ask of you before it before I leave and I asked you all this and the ECE coalition a few Weeks ago, but I want you to continue to talking to my colleagues about early education and the issues and sometimes you think oh You know what it is and what the issues are but I don't want to name names and who they are but sometimes people we get confused and we think that TK and first five are the same thing and And they're obviously not and so You know when you have a chance to meet with a lawmaker Assemblymember a senator or their chief of staff their district director bring them out to your site Even if you don't have a site bring them out to a group of people that are interested in the issue and and I talk about three things Talk about why pre-k matters the brain development the science, you know the cutting-edge research So why it matters and then what it is today? What happens out there? We have this mixed delivery system. We have you know TK state preschool head start You know some I've met with some my colleagues. They thought it was mandatory and it's just for public schools No, it's voluntary and nonprofits and churches can run these programs So educate the folks on what it is and then lastly talk about where we want to go What the latest research is from today what it would cost kind of kind of the future where we want to go I think that would be very very helpful and help me help you and help us push the issue forward in the Months and years to come so thank you very much and we'll see you soon Great. Thank you so much assemblymember I'm Hannah Melnick research and policy associate at the learning policy Institute I'm going to be presenting along with my colleague Beth Malloy a senior researcher on our early learning team I first want to say thank you so much to all of you for being here today to talk about this important topic So I want to start with the story of a single mother of young children Jennifer and the impact that child care Subsidies had on her life She said I was making minimum wage and I had no other support I don't make enough money to for rent and childcare so I couldn't keep working Luckily for Jennifer in her case. She was able to access a child care subsidy in California She goes on to say I agreed I Signed up for school and applied for Cal works in addition to paying taxes I was able to raise four amazing children who also value education and this is Extremely lucky and for Jennifer, but unfortunately over two out of three parents who are in her situation Do not get access to the support to which they're entitled and this is a situation which we urgently need to address So as Patrick mentioned the research We're going to be introducing today is a follow-up study to our state landscape of early learning in California And in this time we really went from the ground up studying 10 diverse counties across the state Urban rural and suburban with varying child care costs and affordability And from this analysis and that of our first two reports we lay out many bold recommendations for the state You'll also see in our brief that we suggest several interim steps about how we can get there in the short term So I'm going to start by describing the administration and access to early learning in California Then we'll pass it to back to talk about workforce and quality So when it comes to administration, we asked a couple of questions what ECE programs does California fund? And how is ECE administered at the state and county levels? So in this study, we look specifically at California's state and federally funded early learning programs really trying to see the system as a whole We While these programs all five of them almost all serve low-income children They really vary substantively from transitional kindergarten a universal program run by public schools To the vouchers that are offered to low-income families to use to access child care on the private market And as many of you know the administrative system is just far too complex in our state Here each of the boxes represents a different administrative agency at the federal state or local level And when you get down to the bottom boxes the providers You'll see that those that blend and raid many different programs those colored lines are Responsible for responding to multiple different agencies Now unfortunately the state's complexity is passed down to the people in the counties So first want to thank all of you who are coming from diverse counties across the state today Especially those who work with us and helped inform the study and many of these counties are Having to have multiple different agencies that are responsible for a different part of the early learning system like San Bernardino County There are some examples of counties that are trying to streamline the process for families and providers for one example of San Luis Abizbo that has a non-profit capsule that Has many different agencies housed under one roof Which allows them to do some Streamlining such as having a single eligibility intake for families or having providers access quality funds from one place But really the counties are having to deal with a mess of that the state has created As David Fleischman from the resource and referral network agency in San Mateo put it is it complicated our parents confused unequivocally yes so To make the system more Coherent administratively the first thing that we recommend is that the state Have a governing body that has both the authority and the expertise to coordinate all the states early learning programs effectively Now this could be a single agency. It could be an interagency council. This is something that the first panel will take up But we also need to have a similar agency or council at the local level that has again the Authority and the funding to be able to manage ECE at the county level as well Now finally we think believe that California really needs to develop a one-stop shop So that allows parents to have visit learn about their child care options and figure out where space is available without having to go door To door to figure out where they can find space for their child One that allows providers to learn about what families are eligible for so they don't have to do the tough work of blending and braiding on their own This should include both a physical location like a resource and referral agency, but also we need an online portal one that allows us to learn Collect valuable information about who is being served and how Now one of the states in our 2016 report North Carolina has a good model for this one-stop shop called smart start County smart starts are a hub for young children and their families They oversee local ECE Initiatives they often run state preschool programs and some even have a single eligibility intake that families can turn into their local provider Really providing no wrong door When it comes to access we set out to learn what what is the unmet need for ECE in California? And what prevents families from accessing care? Why is subsidized care so scarce? We estimate that there are over a million children under the age of five in California that qualify for subsidies And the state is actually making progress towards serving its four-year-olds With 69% of the eligible population served in 2015 in some places like Los Angeles with expanded transitional Kindergarten or San Francisco with its preschool for all are making progress to serving an even greater portion of these four-year-olds And yet only 38% of our three-year-olds are served those that are eligible and 14% of our infants and toddlers Care for these youngest children is the both the most expensive and potentially the most important And so many of our interviewees called access to infant toddler care a crisis something that Beth and I as parents of young children know very well And what's more there's a sharp income cliff when it comes to eligibility for subsidies such that families earning just a dollar over the maximum amount qualify for nothing As one administrator pointed out you get a fifty-side increase which is going to approximate be approximately a thousand forty dollars a year But you're not going to qualify for child care and that's going to cost you fifteen thousand dollars a year We heard in one county about a mother who lost her child care subsidy due to a very small raise She subsequently was unable to pay her rent and became homeless Thankfully the legislature has allowed families to keep their care for up to 12 months and has raised the income eligibility threshold But that factor means we still have an income cliff and families just over that cliff cannot afford ECE So another issue is that those families that do have subsidies don't always find care that meets their needs They often need to go to multiple different agencies to find care that's available in the paperwork can be overwhelming Over half of the state's programs run for just a few hours a day not very helpful if you're a working parent especially working non-traditional hours and in rural areas center-based care is often completely unavailable leaving these families with fewer options And finally, there's just not enough licensed care even on the private market Why is this one reason is that providers are just simply unable to cover their costs Part of the problem is low reimbursement rates that don't necessarily cover wages for their staff They also don't necessarily cover the cost of facilities especially in high-cost counties and the state is dealing with an outdated Contracting system where providers often have one-year contracts and they need to predict at the beginning of the year How many children they're going to enroll if they enroll too many they don't always get reimbursed if they enroll too few They send that money back to the state despite there's still being an urgent need for that funding in the county So to expand access we really need to make large investments as a state and one of the things We need to do is establish a universal preschool program for four-year-olds as it's done in seven other states Where children all receive care that meets the same high quality standards Yeah, as mentioned California's already begun down this path with transitional kindergarten and really needs to continue Now in doing so, we we believe that we should follow the path that's set by West Virginia and Oklahoma and including private and public providers in the system This allowed these states to expand their universal programs more rapidly while still ensuring that all all children are in high quality care We also believe that we need to make preschool accessible for three-year-olds Now we while we recognize that the state does not have the funds currently to do To have universal preschool for both age groups We do suggest using a sliding fee scale where families pay increasingly more as their incoming pieces This would make sure that preschool is accessible without having to put the poorest children in one program with those who can afford it in another Which has the this integration has both academic and other benefits for our society and And similarly the state should ensure that subsidized care is available for infants and toddlers Especially those with working parents because we know that both this time is the least affordable for families and the most Developmentally important and we know that investing early pays Has the highest return on investment So now I'm going to turn it over to Beth who's going to speak about how we can ensure that such expanded programs Maintain high-quality workforces Great. Thank you, Hannah Okay, so with regard to the ECE workforce We really started with a foundation of knowing that the research really has told us that specialized preparation for early childhood educators Is associated with stronger outcomes for children and that programs across the country have recently been Raising their qualifications to reflect that fact So when we were asking our questions, we really wanted to understand Who exactly is teaching our youngest children in California and how well prepared are they for that task? Then we also wanted to understand the barriers and challenges that programs face in recruiting and retaining highly qualified workforce as well as the barriers that Educators face in pursuit of higher education So the first thing that we found is that the qualifications for ECE educators in California very greatly Do in large part to inconsistent requirements for state-funded programs So as you can see Transitional kindergarten requires a bachelor's degree and a teaching credential Well, the requirements for California's state preschool programs does not require a degree and the requirements for the childcare voucher program are even lower These low requirements are particularly concerning given that what we know about the link between educator training and the quality of instruction We also know that ECE educator wages are far too low Wages for childcare workers are particularly low so low in fact that nationally half of the childcare workforce is dependent on public assistance We also know unsurprisingly that turnover is quite high among ECE educators And that can have adverse effects as you can imagine on the children that they care for And national survey data also indicated that many of these staff departures stem from this low compensation In order to make higher wages presumably by going into Higher paying ECE physicians Educators usually have to return to school However, many of them struggle to attain a higher degree Of course, the cost of tuition is a barrier But so is completing relevant coursework and ensuring that that coursework actually culminates in a degree So many of these educators move in and out of the higher education over several years or even decades and As Cindy Faulkner of first five San Bernardino noted Often what they find is that a lot of their coursework they had taken before is not counted toward a degree at all Given these challenges We recommend California take action to build a well qualified and well compensated workforce So that children of similar age and need in state subsidized programs have access to educators with comparable training knowledge and skills Starting with preschool where the disparities we know are quite large however Increasing expectations Would be a significant lift given the current status of the workforce So it's really important that the state pair any higher Requirements with supports for the current workforce to access higher education California could look to New Jersey for a model of how to accomplish this Following the creation of its preschool program New Jersey gave pre-k teachers most of whom did not meet the new requirements for teacher qualifications five years To get both a bachelor's degree and a teaching credential But the state also accompanied this new requirement with scholarships of up to five thousand dollars per year To cover the cost of tuition along with increased training higher wages and substitutes to cover time when teachers were in class in 2000 when the program started only 15 percent of teachers in private settings met the the requirements But by 2007 that number was 97 percent finally And certainly not least The state needs to pair any increase in expectation With higher reimbursement rates so that programs are able to pay educators the salaries they deserve So moving on to program quality We sought out to answer several key questions First and foremost we wanted to understand what the quality standards were that govern California's easy programs And we also wanted to know how the state supports quality improvement In programs as well as how counties are administering their quality improvement systems. So programs receiving State funds very significant very significantly in terms of their quality standards not just in terms of Staff qualification requirements, which we've already covered but also with regard to staff to child ratios and educational Standards even when you're just looking at preschool recent state investments to monitor and enhance quality focus primarily on county-level quality rating and improvement systems or QRIS is As this graphic demonstrates there have been four core funding sources to support QRIS But each of these has admit or most of these has been administered through time limited grants and usually only to select counties Some of these grants also limit which providers can be supported with the funds and First five impact was the first QRIS grant to reach all 58 counties and it is available to support many different types of programs But some counties are just getting started And many counties even those who have received every available grant still lack the funding they need to serve all providers and help them improve In fact to date only 14 percent of providers across the state participate in the voluntary system The need for additional quality improvement funding is underscored by both the promise and the price tag of coaching research suggests that coaching is an effective method for improving the quality of Early learning experiences and our interviewees confirmed that it's also an effective incentive for Participation in QRIS Yet as one interview we noted coaching can be very expensive. So it's hard for programs to expand Although a few counties have implemented some innovative cost effective strategies to provide coaching to a large number of providers Many counties struggle to grow their programs We think the California should continue to work toward a system of high quality early learning across all of its programs This means of course that the state Needs to ensure that all of its investments go towards high quality experiences By requiring all state funded programs employee qualified staff and implement consistent education standards How the state should do this is actually going to be a question our second panel is going to explore So I'm really excited to hear what they have to say But any solution will need to recognize that the state currently offers Subsidies to many private providers, which means They will likely need to phase in additional requirements over time and take steps to help providers improve Therefore, we also recommend that the state play a greater role in ensuring equity of access to quality improvement activities for all providers And the children that they serve In order to ensure all programs participate in quality improvement, California should continue and Increase its investments in QRIS with the goal of eventually requiring participation of all providers receiving state funds Finally California should give every educator the opportunity to participate in activities that research has linked to improved instruction and child outcomes Especially coaching and staff collaboration time For example, the state might Require and provide funding for coaching and all state contracted preschool programs as the state of Michigan has done Every preschool classroom in Michigan Is supported by an early childhood specialist Assigned by the district and they meet with the teachers on a monthly basis to train and mentor them so in conclusion high quality ECE as The assembly members said can put children on the path to success in school and in life. We know this But as I hope we've made clear today California needs to reconsider its approach to early learning In our report We outline recommendations both big and small short-term and long-term For how California can create a system that as a whole will serve children and families better In our conversations with local stakeholders It was clear that there are model practices that exist in many of California's counties So it's time for California to build on those successes And then I don't know are we gonna take a couple of questions to you can take one or two questions Hannah if you want to come up. Are there any questions? If not, we can there's one. Okay patients I Was curious if you had decided upon and I don't think that the field has what the ideal qualifications would be Or if you see models in other states that you think should be replicable here in California, you know, it's a really good question I don't think that the field has really solidly landed especially for the diversity of the workforce and the children that both the Settings and the age of the children that are served I think one thing that is clear though is that you need to have early childhood specific Training and knowledge in order to be able to work with really young children and help them Grow and development develop in an individualized way So I would say the answer to that I think is no but that we think there should be higher requirements Especially for those that have essentially none And that there should be some focus on early childhood training Yeah, Mike all Nick I'm the child care resource center that you have listed up there from San Bernardino. I'm the president's executive director President and CEO that's my title right so You showed a number of different organizations there and implied that Something needed to change But did you get into the into really the nuts and bolts of what actually goes on in some of these? Consortiums that go on because we already all meet together. We have a steering committee we make decisions as a group between the between all those folks and Actually contract with each other to do different things so CCRC does all the coaching And you show that there's no coaching going on at San Bernardino, which which is not the case That's what your chart looks like And I'm just wondering if how how much in depth you got into some of these things So I'm first of all, I'm very sorry if we are implying that there was no coaching or if there is lack of Coordination among the many players in the counties that's certainly not our intent And we actually did speak to administrators about what they're doing and I think the point was For us that is One way that many counties are coming together is through QRIS consortia And I think that has been actually a really shining Example which hopefully comes out in our report if not yet in our presentation, but the way the states Regulations are set up is that you need to come out of multiple different agencies to meet in consortia Multiple different consortia, which is not efficient for people at the county level So I think there is a lot of work that's happening through Relationships and through collaboration that is in spite of the way the system is set up and not Because of it and it's making people's lives more difficult that they need to spend the time Trying to work across agencies rather than having some of these regulations Working in the in the best interest of the people who are administering the system and of the children Thank you for those questions And so now it's my pleasure to introduce on the moderator of our first panel Karla play its howl Karla is the advancement projects director of Educational equity program and she leads strategy development to ensure that educational investments aligned with community needs Thank you so much Karla and to all those on the first panel It is lovely to be here in Sacramento with you all on the release of this report And I really want to take a pause at this moment To really thank Learning Policy Institute for doing this for the early care and education field as I think about The issues that we see on the ground for those of us that have been doing this work for a really long time I'm reminded of how important it is to uplift these issues. I started as a public interest lawyer And my work began in community development and as I was doing community development We started helping child care providers that were looking to open centers in Los Angeles County and slowly My passion for this work just grew and the more it grew the more complicated it became and I Knew that back then and I worked at a public interest law firm and the the firm had It was a lot of women and as we became pregnant and had our kids We develop our sort of own ad hoc committee to try to figure out this crazy system And as we were trying to figure it out for ourselves we were also trying to figure it out for our clients and that was Over a decade ago and what I really I lift that up because I think about these reports that the Learning Policy Institute is bringing out and shedding the light on how Complicated this system is is so important and bringing us all together as these reports are coming out is really really appreciated so thank you to the researchers. Thank you to The board that has decided to make this important and thank you Roberto Vira Montes for Lifting this up as this is a conversation. We all need to have together So the first panel is to introduce the complexity of this system But we don't only want to give the complexity of the system We want to share some best practices of what we see on the ground that can be lifted up at the state level So that when McCarthy is lifting this up for the rest of the elected officials We have real examples of what's happening on the ground So with that I'd like to introduce some of the panelists on this and I'm gonna read from my phone I didn't want to kill trees today First if I could welcome Rochelle Bolle Sutton coordinator of San Luis Obispo County Child Care Planning Council and Miss Bolle is going to address some of the issues that Michael Olnick lifts up In terms of how we work together in a coordinated way in the different counties The next person we'd like to bring up is Sean Casey Sean is the executive director of first five contra costa As the executive director, he has lifted up issues around QRIS to help me grow and family support systems So we'll learn of some of the work that's happening in the Bay Area and then if we could bring up miss Sarah Neville Morgan Point it out. I can't remember what slide and we saw the first five impact actually Giving dollars for QRIS that we're touching all the different counties I I saw Aaron and Sarah sort of like high five each other And yes, thank you. And now we have this leadership at the state level, which is really Remarkable and we'll hear more about what's happening at the state level and then last but not least if we could have miss Natalie Woods Andrews Come up and Natalie as many of the folks at the table also wears two different hats director of early learning Sacramento County Office of Education and director of California preschool instructional network So what Natalie does is she takes the really hard work of coordinating? The different parts of the system and helping us think about how to better coordinate. So with our distinguished panel We will have about 20 to 30 minutes for Q&A up here and then we'll open up 10 minutes of questions with the audience and As an overview what we're trying to do here is unpack this labyrinth of what we call the ECE system as Different families are walking through this complexity I think the one thing the one thing we do know is we could do better for our kids We we can't stay where we are right now and the panel will help us solve that So So let's start with the first question And what our presenters pointed out in can you still hear me in the back? Okay What our presenters pointed out is that it works differently at the local level different counties will have different systems in place And I am wondering if we could start with the challenges that you all could lift up because it's going to be different Depending on where you are and I'll address this first to Rochelle Rochelle wears a local planning Counsel hat and as many of you know we've seen cuts in The LPC funding learning policy Institute lifts up can we fund this fully again? And I'm wondering Rochelle if you could let us know what it means to have some of that funding cut And what hats you have to wear in order to fully Fund what you're doing for families at the local level You hear Um, so yes, I'm the planning council coordinator for San Luis Obispo County and as Carlos saying Our funding was cut in half a while ago And so many planning councils myself included have had to piece together what that looks like So on top of the planning council and also our local administrator for our QRIS system For our county. We are very lucky. We're able to blend the funding streams together. So we Operate the infant toddler QRIS blocker CSPP QRIS blocker and impact all in one Nicely colorful bow, hopefully And so that's it's one of the hats that I wear on top of all of that also within the QRIS administration I hold a lot of the positions within that as well And so I think that the challenge that you're putting forward there with how many hats need to be worn within a planning council has In our county benefited how much collaboration we're able to have Oftentimes when we're able to have back-to-back meetings and things like that it helps build the relationships And that's something else that was brought up today Is the relationships that we're able to build and I think the part of the planning council is that You can't put Relationship building as an agenda item. I wish you could we sometimes try to and it has helped us over the past to be able To do that because when you have relationships with different agencies, you're able to collaborate So I can call our division chair for our ECE department at our community college on the weekend when I have this idea of Hey, can we present something at your class and see how that goes so we can talk about QRIS within the early learning At our community college that doesn't happen because we saw each other at a meeting Or because it might have been a mandate it happens because we had the opportunity to build Relationships and I think that's one of the big pieces that the planning council offers is the opportunity to build Relationships and so that's why I think thank you So it sounds like there's the wearing a multiple hats happening at the local level in San Luis Vismo and I am wondering Natalie if you could share a bit of what this means for Families so you you help with the professional development of different folks that are serving our families So what you hear from them it means for families and what it means for them as you're giving those trainings So with the work that we do to provide professional learning We have a couple of contracts right to really support our providers So one of the contracts and one of the hats that I wear is the director of the California preschool instructional network So this is our opportunity to work with our providers Whether they are state-funded program providers or head start providers or whether they are family child care or privately funded program providers We have an opportunity to bring teachers and in administrators together to engage in collaborative professional learning opportunities the nice thing is that While there is this complex system We do have an opportunity where we can bring programs together to have some common Understanding in terms of how they can support families and some of that happens not all but some of it happens through that professional learning So being able to provide opportunities to talk about the preschool learning foundations and the curriculum frameworks Sharing those effective practices to really support our families. The State Department of Education has recently I've been working on a number of programs one. I'm thinking about cultures family family cultures and partnerships Also, some of those best practices documents, you know supporting boys of color the Families who are experiencing homelessness or even about the nature of play and how that is really important for providers to understand so that they can Support families in their understanding and engagement as well So professional learning is very important, but it also takes that of an administrator Who can as Rochelle was saying understand how to braid? funding and Leverage funding so that we can make a comprehensive system for our families to access because there are inequities Not only in quality, but in accessibility of programs and a lot of that is based on the funding Thank you very much, and I'm wondering Sean if there are any challenges that you would lift up in the Bay Area You're representing the Bay Area now just so you know I First I have to make sure if there are any legislators in the room first five, and we're not TK Well, of course the Bay Area has challenges because we consider ourselves to be very special people and so We always have to sort of go we have to zig when everybody else zags somewhat I you know California it's interesting watching the maps that you all put up about where other states have done things and the hard part is California is like no other state and many of our counties are really bigger than states and so the Bay Area as a region we like to consider ourselves Los Angeles and So there are issues of scale that we have in the Bay Area. We have large concentrations of Providers and families particularly families in need But I think the challenges of trying to administer systems with the same Funding streams that every other county has to has the same challenge They're the same They really are about how do we make it coherent for families in other words less painful for families How do we make it less painful for providers in terms of the administrative hurdles that they have to jump through? And how do we get good? Kind of essentially bureaucratic consortiums together so that the bureaucrats can handle the load and everybody else gets good care And gets to teach kids So in Contra Costa that's meant that we have actually had to work on very strong relationships among the core agencies It's interesting, you know first five's kind of still kind of the new kid on the block really we've been around This is our 20th anniversary by the way But you know it's taken a long time to build up the trust and relationships with the folks who've been doing this even longer than First five's been around But I would say at this point There's you know first five has a lot to offer But we couldn't do it without the LPC We couldn't do it without the Office of Ed and the R&R and the community colleges and the school districts So the big lesson I think is even in large counties with lots of resources and large populations Those agency relationships are still important. There's nobody who can really own all of it We have to be willing to share the space and as Michael said really work together We are also contracting with each other. It's a little weird sometimes Past contracts back and forth some days, but that's that's how we make it work and so When we talk about the system being incoherent It's not impossible to make coherence out of it And I think the big lesson we've had is concentrating on quality has been a great driver for that because that's one of the few areas everybody agrees on from the start and The standards and things we were able to work out through a race to the top have been a huge platform for Building and sustaining those relationships and really getting things done And sustainable down the road Thank you and The next question will be directed to Sarah's as you hear some of the challenges at the local level. We'll let the I'll guess ambulance As we hear about some of these challenges at the local level You you get to see it from the Eagles. I have you now at the state level and I wonder if you could share some of the things that are being considered at the department right now that are looking at How we make a more coherent system from the state perspective Sure, so always great when you see a slide and it shows lots of complicated pathways and you realize you're at the nexus of creating a The same time that means there's opportunity, right? So if you can look at it and say well this is opportunity for change and an opportunity to actually streamline and create some efficiencies and We will say we get it We see programs most of my team have worked in those same programs that then they're in that they're now Supporting at the Department of Ed. So we've been in them. We've been on the ground. We've worked in R&Rs We've worked in LPCs We've run child care programs and preschool programs though that helps a lot as we look at it But there have been some recent opportunities So I think first we need to step back and say a big Thank you again for last year's budget year and all of the wonderful and amazing things that happened for Children for families and for our programs. So one of those being 12-month eligibility just looking at creating some simplifications Reducing some of that churn in and out Administratively that was a huge piece of making that happen for everybody But that doesn't mean that we're done yet and that we can check all of our boxes We realize that the department there there's a lot more work to do. So we've actually Sort of re gone back to an AB 104 group that was created a couple years ago in the legislature and said wow There was a lot of work still to do. What can we keep plugging away on? We're partnering with DSS so it's always good to have those relationships and be able to say hey Kim Johnson come help me facilitate this group so we can work on this together and Expanding who was at the table AB 104 was pretty narrow and who was Selected and we really felt like we needed a few more voices there as we looked at Efficiencies and simplifications. So just looking at some of the things and some of those opportunities around alignment around reporting requirements and Looking at contracts. So I in my naivete did not realize that every single year. We issued 760 contracts annually, which means actually as they go out to some contractors it's over 1300 contracts that were processing and so Thinking of the burden that puts on in the agencies that are contracting with us some of whom have multiple Contracts and then thinking of the burden actually back in the department is it has to go through Program staff reviewing it contract staff, you know, just all of those layers like well There's got to be a better way to do this So trying to think outside the box around how long can you have a contract to go? What does that mean for audits, right? So what are all the unintended consequences as you streamline and create efficiencies to make sure you're still Ensuring the accountability of those very precious public dollars So we are working on quite a few things to see more and more rolling out But we will also say that quality piece that everyone's mentioned around the QRIS That's something that we're living and breathing and also trying to say how does that become something that the department does every single day? continuous improvement and how is QRIS part of what we look at across that continuum So not just trying to make it focused specifically on our state preschool program But how are we ensuring access for the whole continuum of settings and engaging people? And how are we looking at those quality dollars through the CCDF to make sure that every investment in those is then looping back in to support? QRIS so that goes back to I think what Sean said about Roles and systems and all of those people it doesn't mean that all of the dollars goes to one agency But it means that everyone does actually have to coordinate and have Relationships and we get that that probably takes a little bit of money just so that you have the time to be able to do that Thank You Sarah and I'll lift up one of the Recommendations and the report by Learning Policy Institute is that we look at our contracts and try to figure out How do we extend the timeline? Can we consider five years and ask those really good questions that Sarah is asking are there any? Consequences to that. What could it look like? So it is a question that lifted up as folks were interviewed and Now we've heard some of the challenges The reason you all were asked to join this panel is that you are all leading really innovative work at different levels in the state and Sean maybe we could start with you around so the buckets that we were looking at were administration access workforce and program quality and the question of workforce Keeps on lifting up and so does quality Sarah finished with quality and we'll talk about that in a little bit But with workforce what innovative? Systems or work on the ground. Do you see happening that could help inform some of our state policy? Sure, I think 80% of quality is workforce I Mean really one about the other is impossible I Would say for as long as we've been around We have been steadily scaffolding a professional development system in Contra Costa That is heavily based on community college education So Contra Costa we have three community colleges one district with three campuses each autonomous And when we started, you know, 16 or so years ago They had entirely separate ECE programs with different course requirements and expectations and and descriptions and so if you started Working in the campus in Richmond, and then you moved to Concord and went there. It was all different So it really started with getting our community colleges on board with let's have one Process for educating early childhood educators in this county And since then we have been building up provider Supports and advising within those campuses that are the same across all of them. So There is an advisor who works with all ECE students And works on their professional development plans. There are supports to pay for books We have actually textbook loans in all the campuses to pay for provider time when they are missing work Because they have to do work at the school. All of that is necessary cohort learning is huge for ECE providers in community colleges particularly when they're doing the non ECE coursework believe me Who knew we'd spend so much time talking about how we're going to get people through math, right? So these are the kinds of things that we had to build out these chunks to really make it happen but now a provider can Get an AA and ECE at any one of our campuses or at all three that is fully Transferrable to Cal State or UC which is one of the things you were pointing up there So it can be done But I think a big piece for us as a state is we've really got to bring in our our community college systems on this They I think will be the answer to a highly trained work force the other thing we've been able to do on that is include in those curriculum the Aspects of quality that we are building up through QRIS So those folks are coming out of their AA program. They've already worked on class for example They've done ERS They've already experienced coaching so when they get to their work site or they go back to their work site They are fully Fluent in what is now becoming the industry standards of quality for early learning So they don't necessarily learn it on the job. They come with those skills. They come with that reference already So I think that's where we have to go to build the workforce of the future is making sure that the quality Standards that we are saying have to be the standards are built into it from the very beginning of ECE education for providers that thank you for sharing that example and this connecting quality and workforce as Rochelle and Natalie you all actually are looking at quality at the other spectrum So we heard slightly about the workforce and starting with the workforce What examples can you share from your particular counties that really look at quality? In the work settings that you're in so I'll start with Natalie and then Rochelle. Maybe you could close this up So at the Sacramento County Office of Education We have had an opportunity to work very collaboratively with our community I think it starts with leadership and we are very fortunate to have a county superintendent who is a champion for early learning Dave Gordon and We had an opportunity to take the lead in coming up with a plan for Sacramento County That was spearheaded through the whole voluntary preschool for all movement and with that movement We made a point of engaging Probably about 90 stakeholders throughout Sacramento County in terms of those who are providing some type of service or program To early learning and it was a very diverse group of stakeholders So I think that first piece, you know, it's important to have that leadership that strong leadership in that commitment But it is also Important to have individuals who are willing to come to the table roll up their sleeves and have some challenging conversations quite honestly About what early learning should look like and how will that be supported? It's a give and take of all all parties And so through that process We were able to utilize that same consortium to come together to to talk about quality rating and improvement system To build many of the components out that we would want as a standard for Sacramento County That did evolve into another plan not only focused on preschool But early learning the culmination of 15 months of work with about 60 stakeholders this time again Diverse is Sacramento County's early learning roadmap and in this roadmap We had an opportunity to come together and to tackle five different components all focused in on quality and a vision of What we want for Sacramento County And with that came that commitment that not just SCOE But all entities who are part of this process will really take a look at that vision that mission Align their resources align their services to really focus in on what we say is important for Sacramento County So I think that collaboration is absolutely key, but it's also committing your resources You know putting your money where your mouth is right to invest in what you want first for your for your children and families At the same time our leadership Has done some reorganization in terms of how we operate as a county office of education And one of those components is that number one we're committed to a mixed delivery system So we're continuing to access and seek out funding that will stay true to a mixed delivery system And so that does require a lot of leveraging of funding to make that work But at the same time internally we have reorganized so that we're truly supporting all children A lot of times we put that disclaimer all children including children with disabilities or Including dual language learners or English learners. And so one of the components that we have done is special education early intervention and Support all come under the the general services of educational services so that we're looking at children first And then we are looking at how can we support all children and families to make sure that they're successful So I think re-aligning and kind of shifting the paradigm to support all children is a critical aspect That is led by leadership Rochelle, can you share what's happening in San Luis Obispo? So in San Luis Obispo, we're a small county and so we Use that very much to our benefit where we're able to actually collaborate not just on The quality piece of everything but how our agencies work together so our County Office of Ed also Works all very close with what we're doing and so being able to have those partnerships in Pretty much every aspect of what we're trying to put forth in early childhood education Has been huge in that capacity. So just for example in the past year We've been actually able to collaborate between agencies and leverage resources to provide a single professional development calendar Where we're able to say I have this capacity Do you have a room and even be just the simple pieces like that or I know we can bring in a trainer Can we hold a few other slots for family child care and make sure that's there? Because maybe resource and referral wants that training for their providers But they haven't been able to bring a trainer in and so making sure that we have the dialogue around that We like to do it informally because we are a small county and we get to have tea parties But and that's what also brings people to the table to be able to have these informal Conversations of saying yeah, this is what I have and I think the vulnerability of Of our community to say this is what I have I'm going to put it on the table And can we all work together to help each other? This is what we need to put forward through QR is but also through the community colleges They're wanting to reach this many people we even looked at how many people within the programs that are in QRIS are in your classes And that was huge for us to even say let's can we see the rosters and actually compare and say we're already Serving these people why? Do we need to reach out and do extra professional development? What if we included that training into one of your class sessions? And so that's something that has been huge for us to be able to have just those simple conversations But in a very safe environment and having those relationships Yep, and relationship seems to be a theme that keeps on being lifted up from all of you So we've heard about the importance of collaboration and relationships We've heard about the importance of scaling good models and how do we do that? Thinking about professional learning and you all have lifted up important issues at the local level the learning policy Institute report also lifts up here are things we could do to make our system more coherent Let's explore central eligibility lists again. Let's think about the state level government agency There are really really incredible recommendations in the report So you've seen the report and you have your own personal experiences of what you see on the ground So if in 30 seconds you all can close us off and tell us This is what's really important for an coherent ECE system And this is what I would lift up from the perspective from where you come from and Sarah will leave you till the end So that we get the state perspective on what else can we be doing in California? So Shawn, maybe you start us off and then we'll go to Natalie. Is the clock started yet? I think they think the key thing to remember it again, you know, you know other states often like New Jersey kind of started from scratch sort of very quickly because of their situation our situation is California's experience has been growing these systems at the county and regional level So how we go from here needs to build on that. I'm very concerned You know in the Steinberg bill came out several years ago. One of the things that really concerned me most was What does that mean for what we've been doing locally? What is it? You know, how is that really going to build on what we have locally because it seems to sort of Kind of start to carve things up. And I think we really want to be saying Let's what's the next level we can scaffold to given where we are now? I think that's where I would say I would put, you know our efforts in in going forward And I would concur with Shawn But I would also say that it is important that we just Begin to break down these silos. There is so many compartmentalized Funding opportunities the way we do business and we're not utilizing our resources and maximizing our resources in the way that we could So I think it is again. I go back to collaboration and building relationships But it is also taking a look at the existing Infrastructure and how can we bring people to the table right that may not have been to the table before? So a lot of times when we're in farms like this We have a lot of individuals who are in the preschool infant toddler world But we don't have the other part of the early learning system and that is for our early elementary So how can we bring all players together to really sit down at the table and have the conversation? These are the same children moving from infancy through, you know age eight. How can we bring? Groups together to have the conversations about the most effective and seamless Coherent way to serve our children and families Michelle would have to say Echo both of you on making sure that we Look at our system and also the collaboration piece and just highlighting again the importance of the planning councils as that Avenue that has already been established and Funding it fully so that we can have the time and the ability because relationships don't just happen It takes time it takes time to get people to the table and figure out there. Why why do they need to be at the table? so Will you close us off? Yeah, I will So I'm gonna say just a few things the one mantra that I keep saying is the we are one system There is enough work for all of us. So rather than sort of saying I want this piece I want that piece. I want this dollar really coming together and moving from parallel play to cooperative play So here I sit with my blocks Sean has his box family has hers work just in parallel. I might swipe one or two over to me Because I'm a toddler but at the same time if I can actually move to cooperative play we could build a castle together So it's really trying to say let's use our resources and come together in that one system piece and From the state vantage point one of the things that really we hold near and dear is equity So as we look at our children looking at this as a privilege and an opportunity To ensure that our investments and those times that they are spending in programs with those public dollars Really ensures that they have what they need to be successful when they enter K-12 and have that sort of building the bigger brain Have that foundation really set we can't lose that opportunity and As we look at sort of the equity issue across counties We noticed and we know that you feel it as well that some counties have had sort of capacity building across the ages and Some counties have had less of that and so we're really wanting to keep saying we can't just do it for one county because families live All across California So how do we make sure that everybody that we're raising all boats regardless of County? Regardless of the early learning setting that that family is choosing but that we need to make sure that those choices are there And that their quality choices in that they're effective and give our children what they need so Relationships yes the workforce because the part of quality that matters the most are those interactions and ensuring that they are really engaging in receptive reciprocal interactions back and forth and I will continue to add to make sure that we're quality We have to make sure our programs are fully inclusive and to make sure that they can support bilingualism So as we look at California's children and the equity issue We know that 57% of our children under age 5 are in homes that speak a language other than English So that issue of bilingualism is core front and center as we look at supporting quality and effectiveness of our programs and of the workforce So again, we'd like to think learning policy Institute a lot of the challenges And on the ground experiences that you heard from the panelists are in the report And please help me thank our distinguished panelists again for bringing those examples to life We're opening it up for questions of the audience and There's a mic going around It is cool There's a question in the back Thank you Sarah mentioned something just at the end of her remarks that sparked Interest for me around the issue of inclusivity and what are we doing in programs to make sure that our children with special needs are being Served and just be interested to hear of their success stories of programs that are providing inclusive environments Yes, so actually quite a few of our state Contractors some of those agencies are ensuring that children with exceptional needs are fully part of their program So they're doing everything from layering their head start or early head start dollars on there Partnering with part C to actually have an early intervention specialist in the program that can support them or with part B So one of the things that we really want to encourage is to not have standalone classrooms But really move towards all children together as we know everyone learns about our when it's inclusive and diverse You probably know better local models But I have been to several of our programs and then just so happy to see that all children were actively engaged and supported At the local level, you know, we are able to support through our R&R And inclusion specialist programs so kids in typical settings You know, there is someone who could go in and work with provider on how to best Make it work for that kid in that setting. That's a great thing my worry is we solely fund that and first five dollars aren't gonna be around forever and So I think we need to be thinking about how we how we support those kinds of things like also mental health Consultation as well, which are going to be really critical To meet those needs for those or kids with special needs kids experiencing trauma all those kinds of things There's that we need to make sure the system includes the supports for providers working on that And so I don't get in trouble with Cecilia I will make sure that I mentioned we actually through our quality funds invest in several supports around social emotional with stuff all the behavioral Consultation network where you can actually have a someone come out and help with your programs But we also know the demand is far greater than we can fund We have time for one more question if there's any Terrific, there's a comment first, I'd like to thank you all very much for what you've presented and Just suggest that one other resource that may have been part of the thinking that could have gone into this because of this question about inclusivity is that I Had the honor of working with Dave Gordon and other people as the co-executive director for the statewide special education task force and we put out an Incredibly similar report in March 2015 that has almost all of these recommendations in it and Including especially about inclusivity and so in the big picture about coordination and Advocacy for funding and legislation all of those pieces. I would love to see Fully integrated in its next steps for advocacy and again. Thank you for this Thank you everyone So we'll move right along My name is Marjorie Wexler and I'm the principal research manager at learning policy Institute and I co-lead LPI's early learning childhood to team And I also want to thank you for coming today And I have to say sometimes I get overwhelmed by the work that we have to do But when I look out today and I see so many people who have come here today who have committed their careers To improving the lives of little children. I kind of feel like you know what? Maybe we can do this when I look around and I think of all the efforts and time and Energy that's going into it. So Cheers to all of us for coming together on this really important work I'm going to switch gears and move towards our next panel Which I would like to thank the first panel for great segue because this panel is supposed to focus on quality And they brought us right to that topic and as you know when we talk about quality in ECE we're talking about many factors from class sizes to Educator qualifications as we had the conversation earlier is family engagement curriculum and instruction and we're going to focus specifically on preschool quality and and as you know, so we talked about the need to increase access as we increase access to preschool not You know because it will happen How can we ensure that we are providing children with high quality learning experiences? And you know all the gubernatorial candidates have expressed support for preschool for all as a priority in their campaign in their campaigns But obviously how we do that really matters Because for children to reap all those great benefits of early childhood learning We need we know they need to be in settings that can appropriately Support their physical academic and social emotional learning as we've talked about And as we discussed already we know that there's a lot of Variability in the quality that's out there And so the question is what should we do as a state to ensure that all children are in programs that meet high standards And so that's what we're going to talk about today Challenges to implementing high quality programs consistently what the states and counties are already doing And how those efforts those good efforts that are already out there. How can they be utilized and expanded? In a preschool for all effort So I would like to introduce our panelist Right next to me. I've Wendy Dickens who is the executive director for first five Shasta She obviously brings a rich understanding of the work on the ground in the counties And she's also oversees Shasta as the lead agency in a seven county QRIS consortium We have Aaron Gable the deputy director for external and governmental affairs at first five, California Where she is responsible for the state commission's legislative and public affairs initiatives Next to her we have September Jarrett is the executive director of the San Francisco office of early care and education Which serves over 50,000 children each birth to age five And then we have Samantha Trann sitting next to her who is a senior managing director of Education policy at Children Now where she oversees Children Now's education policy agenda And at the end we have Dean Tagawa who's the executive director for early childhood education division in the Los Angeles Unified school district So we bring both state county and district Perspectives and we're going to start the panel by focusing on the challenges of supporting high-quality Early learning experiences and preschool settings and I want to start by asking Samantha Trann to set the stage with Findings from recent work that Children Now has been engaged in So Samantha if you could please tell us a little bit about your project And what you found in it Sounds good. So this builds on a little bit of what Assemblymember McCarty was talking about You know many of us have been looking at the landscape and seeing growing legislative leadership in this space which has been you know a hard fought and and hard won in terms of Seeing the Senate and the Assembly really prioritizing early learning But also knowing we have this barrier in in the administration with a governor that has not been particularly focused on these issues and Supported supportive of the the direction and so knowing that we're about to have this sea change in California with a new Administration coming on board we thought it was a really important opportunity to take stock both of the policy Infrastructure as well as some of the politics around how we might move forward in California And the the way we thought to best do that was to hear from voices from the field And so we did an interview project where we reached out to actually I'm seeing many of you in the room So hopefully a lot of these themes really resonate You know leaders in the early learning community the K-12 community business leaders researchers So a lot of people who work in and around Sacramento as well as an over sampling in the Bay Area Central Valley and Los Angeles And really we went out with a common protocol And asked some core questions and probably the most fundamental question is what is the state's role in this space? You know we have clarity and we bicker and argue around K-12 But there's a sense of what the state's role is in the early learning space You know it's been an accretion of programs over many decades And there's not as much kind of fundamental clarity about you know whether the state is going to provide universal access to support What you know what we really want to do in California? And so we had that kind of core question and really dug into things like finance governance Workforce and quality was a core theme and our panel is going to talk about a lot of these different pieces So I'm just going to throw out a couple of things as fodder One was we found that there was a kind of core tension in the field and again this will not surprise you as we think about the state's role and essentially there was this Kind of key value that people had that we need to make sure families have options, right? That choice is a is a core thing that we need to provide For families and for kids and and that has been Created through kind of a mixed delivery system and many people talked about that mixed delivery system at the same time When you think about the state's role, it is about ensuring quality, right? And unfortunately kind of historically in the political debates these two value sets get positioned against each other instead of actually thought about together Right, so we you know when we think about quality improvement initiatives Sometimes that's easier to do in certain settings than other settings You know we have different as the LPI report lays out different statutory requirements around around quality and and You know requirements for licensing requirements for staffing and so that often in the political dialogue It's as these two things get it kind of pushed up against each other or thought about as one or the other And so I think one of the key findings that we found in the report is is there a way to think about Quality in multiple settings and what the state role is and it kind of points to some of the themes that Sarah brought up Around kind of the department thinking more broadly on that front the other Kind of sub theme that came out in in the work is as we talked with people about what is it? What do quality indicators mean? What does that look like? You know many talked about QRIS licensee standards But as you dug a little bit deeper it fundamentally came down to the Relationship between the adult and the child right that this is about those Interactions and those interactions are really hard to quantify They're really hard to to think about how you go to scale in terms of those That interplay but that fundamentally this is a human endeavor And so how do we think about the humans involved and not surprisingly as the prior panel mentioned Workforce is quality right these the teachers the providers. They are the poor Strategy for how we support kids and so again, I'll turn it over to the other panelists who will dig a little bit deeper in terms of These themes, but I think it gave us some interesting fodder as we think about how California moves forward How we think about our investments and and fundamentally what people value in our early learning system All right, thank you. So I'd like to turn to the other panelists and You know hearing her having heard the research Presentation and what Samantha just added, you know, what do you see as the most salient challenges for ensuring high-quality? Pre-school Aaron I see I see you nodding Thank you, I I Think it's this issue that Sam was touching on that we continue to make quality learning environments and either or debate With access to child care and that that is a huge political hurdle that we have to figure out how to overcome And there's an incredible amount of evidence looking at the early brain science in decades and decades of Research around high-quality early education across the nation that every other country in the world looks at when they design their systems And yet we're still having a debate in California right now in that little white building over there about whether or not what limited funds we can put into child care should both be an investment in a working family and an investment in a child's future and how we're going to Recognize a child-centered approach You know thinking and realizing that those building blocks on the floor of whatever that classroom is whether it's a family care provider Or it's in a traditional lea setting those little building blocks are literally the building blocks of their minds And of their futures and how are we thinking about that? But we are having that debate. So how do we how do we bridge? The conversations from this classroom into a much broader conversation in the field that gets heard in the building as we think about the system We want to build I think is a huge huge piece. How are we thinking about that about all settings? And we've heard that a little bit from both panels, and I think you'll hear about it from everyone Because the adult child interactions are the key we have to support the heart of every classroom no matter where that classroom is License exempt providers family care providers our title 22 voucher recipients our title five providers and with 14% Capacity for the quality improvement system that we've just begun to lattice Tells you how much further we have to go in terms of resources to recognize the professionals and what they need to do the jobs they've chosen to do and You know I'm working with them. They want to do exceptionally so I'll turn it over to other folks But I think there's a question of how do we scale? These adult child interaction supports that have to happen to recognize them the LPI report touches on some of those things I'm sure Sarah could write a dissertation and present it all day long But thinking about those key drivers at the state level in terms of the class in terms of measurement in terms of standard And what we're doing across licensing QIS and other programs So I think just to add a little bit on what Erin was just saying is that there is still this idea that a preschool teacher or child care provider is not a Professional and I think that's where some of the crux of the issue comes is we don't view them as professionals We haven't prioritized them as professionals within our budget systems And so until we start to look at how to really push the issue that they are professionals And they deserve to have the training And support that is required of a professional in any setting We're gonna lack dollars toward that effort And so I think a big piece and a challenge that we've had at a local arena is helping those people Figure out how to be recognized as professionals within the community Because while many of them view themselves as professionals many of them didn't and many of them didn't know how to Verbalize that they're professionals and experts in the child care setting Because it takes people who really understand brain development and how to deal with that Even if you didn't understand the scientific knowledge around those synapses being developed you knew how to handle Helping a child learn how to read and build blocks and what you were doing with your blocks is a mathematical spatial awareness type of Event that gets built upon you know years to come And so I think when we begin to view them as professionals as a community as in a hole in California Then there might be a better segue into at least getting some wages that then they want to stay in that profession Because we all know that the wages are definitely not what people need to live on and then are not going to stay in a profession That isn't viewed as a profession are getting compensation for that Okay, so I was gonna say happy new year everybody And it's hard for me to imagine that we're already in fact we're almost to February So I'm gonna say my greatest challenge is thinking what I rather have an eight-day work week or a 27-hour day To get everything done, but I don't have a good answer for you When it comes to challenges within the early ed setting, I mean there's tons You know one of the challenges that we face in and you talked about quality and multiple settings So within LA Unified we have different programs. We have the state preschool programs We have part day full day. So we have early educated or sent center-based programs And then on top of we have expanded TK and transitional kindergarten So the quality and multiple settings is a big issue and so with my early education folks They tend to get it right away with my elementary folks It's a little bit different because sometimes the closest thing that they have is mini kindergarten So they're going into looking for mini kindergarten So it's actually working with my elementary principles and giving them a different lens Giving them some training giving them, you know a perspective to understand what is developmental? What is appropriate? You know what's wrong with seeing worksheets in the elementary, you know in the early in the preschool programs And if you're seeing them is there a better way, you know ask the teacher Is there a better way to teach this because I guarantee if they're using a worksheet There's a better way to teach it So it's really giving them that different lens and then you know all the other things that are going to be mentioned Parity trauma-informed care networking, you know allowing early educators to have a time to actually network, you know within the district You know so there's a lot of different things but for us I think building that elementary Changing that elementary perspective about what early education is and why it's important So we've done a lot of work around that and we're making a lot of turns So I'm gonna save that response for later, but that's a you know those are some critical issues for us I was actually going to September unless you wanted to address challenges you may but I thought it'd be nice since I think a lot of us know the challenges quite well be nice to Talk about some of the successes and some of the promising practices that we really should look to As a state to replicate and expand and so I was going to ask you September to talk about some of the work that you are Engaged in in San Francisco Sure, it's a pleasure to be here and be inspired by the recommendations and the talent in the room I would say from our perspective in San Francisco We launched an ambitious new initiative on July 1 2017 it's called early learning scholarship and we believe in San Francisco With the resources and leadership in our community about the power of education that we can actually have improved access quality and Compensation for the diverse professionals who do the work in one unified strategy And so what we're doing is we've taken what the best that we've seen it known and tested in our Universal preschool program preschool for all where we tested rates we tested standards We set tested coaching in practice and tried to bring it to scale zero to five Across all settings that San Francisco's youngest children that the city or work touching with County dollars Every setting they're learning in so not one or the other but all And with that we've taken our QRIS standards. We're fortunate to be You know arm-in-arm with our First five which is reading our region in QRIS and we're applying QRIS standards to family child care homes and Centers no matter the subsidy stores Locally funded voucher funded state funded We've increased reimbursement rates based on a comprehensive fiscal analysis to say what if We actually reimburse our program partners. There's family child care homes Those centers at a rate that's reflective of the cost of tier three equality We have programs that are offering hire, but we want to disrupt the cycle of asking for this and That the gap right the structural gap And that really results by doing that by bringing a standard in place putting resourcing the supports for our programs to meet those standards in place But reimbursing at a rate would do that give our program partners that FCC owner the resources to pay a fair wage to that assistant or The center to begin to have a wage letter that begins to make sense But the most important thing we're doing and I think this is something I didn't see lifted up in the briefs That I'd like to put on the table is offering continuity of care From when a parent makes a choice to inform that choice to be a quality setting and Sustain that choice if it's a quality setting Irrespective of changes in family circumstances So let me unpack what early learning scholarship means in San Francisco and I'll wrap up So Jennifer was a coworks mom example an inspiring example for all of us, right? success story that lpi put up on the brief Beautiful story of a mom who was on welfare cache aid and early education made a difference in disrupting the cycle of poverty for her family for kids connected to education So business as usual in San Francisco before early learning scholarship was our coworks parents our coworks moms Primarily and moms of color. Let's call it what it is We're seeing seven care arrangements typically between zero and three So if that kid got to our universal preschool program at four, that's great But it's insufficient and unjust and those care changes between zero to three that may or may have not been in quality But we're not the kind of depth and duration of quality Relationship that we know is the best for our kids and every kid and each and every kid we weren't delivering So now That coworks mom as of July 1st in San Francisco has a different experience, right? Because coworks business as usual is my activity as a mom My child care early education support is just tied to what I'm doing or not doing That's real Early learning is self-sufficiency, but it's also child development And we were paying a lot in our system when we looked at the money for the cost in human dollars and financial dollars In that churn among the kids who had the most to benefit from quality and continuity So with early learning scholarship We're fortunate to have local dollars and we're trying to actually close the gap to tier three cost of quality at a fair rate Whether it's a title five SRR or a coworks voucher rate the gap doesn't exist in preschool in our numbers anymore We actually think it exists, but for infants and toddlers It's quite significant so that our program partners can deliver that quality standard. We're asking for and We use local dollars if you hit that childcare cliff You have a change in eligibility that job that low-wage job doesn't pan out I don't know about you, but my life course wasn't a straight line of mobility It was a little bit like this Right, but those kids that are connected to a quality setting stay in that learning environment and have that long-term relationship with their peers and their educators and If I'm successful and I hit the childcare cliff We use local dollars to do the sliding scale example and stay with families What is up to a hundred and ten percent of area median income? What is that in San Francisco? financial participation up to almost I Don't know eighty four thousand dollars a year for a family of three So we don't pull the rug of early education Learning for that child or economic mobility Out from under that parent at the moment they've been successful. So that's our example. Thank you Things that you're doing in your communities So I'm gonna say, you know Successes there's been a lot of successes within and I'm gonna speak directly And I call them successes because I think they're different things that have happened within LA Unified that would not have happened years ago And so some of those successes, you know We were able to get a lot of funding from the district to do training for our teachers and a big piece of this was if you For us it was if you came into early education Before 2010 your your college program some of the training you had didn't include The preschool learning foundations because they didn't come out until 2010 So a big piece of it was to get training around the preschool learning foundations for the teachers So within one year we did a hundred and sixty three trainings for our teachers to get them all caught up And at the same baseline and talk about why it's important. It took a lot of partnering I mean we worked with LECO. We worked with multiple agencies to do this But it was critical to get the teachers at that place I think the other big thing is when we started transitional kindergarten And I was part of a pilot school my elementary that did transitional kindergarten and when it first came out We were able to do it well because there was a lot of resources put behind it Fast forward a few years all of a sudden you just took the 24 youngest kids in your school put them in all one class with one teacher who All the other kindergarten teachers were ecstatic because you took all of the little kids out of their room that had some You know challenging behaviors or you know, we're a little less mature and put them in one teacher's room But it was really left to the principal at that school site to determine what kind of support they were going to give so It's one of those things where a lot of times we're really good at doing a pilot But as we scale up what kind of additional supports are we putting behind it? So one of the things that I'm actually very proud of within Elliott fine when we did the expanded transitional kindergarten is to say Let's do this so it looks like a preschool program. Let's make sure that this is developmentally appropriate Let's make sure and then the whole idea behind this and and I talked with my staff and my team if we do this well this will affect what we're doing in transitional kindergarten and So around that we were able to create a TK report card that is developmentally appropriate that's based on the preschool learning foundations It takes a look at some of the DRDP measures and then now our biggest cry is you know We hear a lot of TK or a lot of kindergarten teachers who are saying well, they get to do this Why don't we get to do this and so that's a you know that's a sign that We're putting our kids first and not an adult agenda and and it's being driven by what's actually good for kids And then our last thing I'm gonna say is you know We've worked hard with our school board and our school board has been very supportive of early education And that makes a huge difference because they do things like you know, they fund things You know, they they create board resolutions that say hey a birth to eight roadmap That's what we need for this district and then they hand it off to you and say we'll go ahead and implement it But at least even the board members are talking about it and and for those of you who follow, you know la school board It's it's not always a pretty picture, you know And a lot of the votes go four to three because depending on what side of the fence you're on That's the way the vote goes with early ed though, you know, we got a birth to eight resolution pass We got a dual language resolution pass and all of them passed unanimously and in addition to that We've had other board members who want to sign on so Creating that momentum around early ed and doing what's right for kids, you know in multiple settings is Really critical for the work and so I think within LA Unified I'm really proud that we're heading in this direction and we're even included in the district strategic plan And it's one of the superintendent's objectives, which is build a strong foundation for early learners So I think all of those things speak to the fact that When you educate when you share and you put some teeth behind things it can really move so yeah, thank you so much similarly The North State Consortium, which is a seven-county consortium It works really closely with first five Shasta's the lead agency and Shasta County Office of Education on the CDE portion and we try and make this run seamlessly for all of those counties and an effort to provide The dollars that they need without them really knowing which source it came from or having to have a headache about that And I think that's been a huge success and what it's brought to us is this ability to move between some really small county lines and Have kind of a cohesive type of structure while each county has a little bit different structure for their, you know Local administration they are receiving the dollars Amongst all of them in a very collaborative way and decision-making isn't well My county can't afford you to do that. We want our dollars this way It's really been a work and it took some time to get here But it really has been a work that's made it possible for us to then look at the relationships we have with our community colleges in all of those counties as well as the California State University of Chico and Oregon State University and forging those relationships so that scholarships are more easily attained for the Providers in a way that they don't have to be a reimbursed. They can actually just go to those Participating colleges and have it paid for right out of our QRS Consortium so I think that's been a huge asset in the Relationships that we've built between the counties and being able to move from county to county and then in the hub The nine-county hub region to that we have that is similarly beginning to happen and and being able to move back and forth between the counties without that kind of A Sarah put it county line that hard line that sometimes counties have and breaking those silos around What you know first fives do and what you know the Department of Education does and what you know The Health Department does has been helpful in all of that so bringing them all to the table in all of those counties At one big table Has been helpful. Thank you. I know we're kind of right up against four o'clock I don't know if you wanted to add anything to that before I turn to the Samantha then I'm gonna turn to the last Question this panel you don't get 30 seconds. You get about 10. Just joking. You can actually complete a sentence But when you you know, I would just like to I mean we've heard a lot in what you've presented so far about Needing a comprehensive strategy How funding to actually make these comprehensive strategies a reality though takes has been taking local funding It's What we're getting from the state is not enough. We've heard a lot about partnering and really breaking down those silos building bridges among organizations between The different levels state County providers So I'm just gonna ask you quickly if there's you know, what would you like to see the state do? So that we can make sure that we implement high quality preschool So I would double down on clarity of vision and you know, I mean I go back to the subway chart from LPI I mean, I think that is it's a very quick way to kind of look at what's happened over the decades And it was a such a strong theme in the interview project that we did we heard from every sector that having the state really own that Responsibility of investing in young children and clarity around how we're going to do that but the good news was that while I think You know, historically we've undercut each other quite a bit in the last several years the field has really come together I think out of necessity But but that that collective action has has resonated that maybe we can do this Maybe we can kind of figure this out together with the next administration and and and fundamentally invest in the system So that's my more than 10 seconds and that in that vision that would be really clear about the state drivers Around quality. So we talked about professional development. We've talked about governance The other big cornerstones we haven't talked about but I know everybody in this room is like, oh, yes Yes, yes, and that's around Adequate per child funding to fund the vision that we want to see that means the compensation for the professionals That's driving their ability to do any of this It's around the standards and the measurement tools around those standards as well as the systems that are helping them Continuously improve and all the money behind that the the mechanisms we have and how messy those are that's I Say for legislative support kind of you know I always think back to educating the workforce and taking care of my teachers and and it's really around I think Opportunities for stipends grants loan repayment, you know as an investment You know these people are investing their lives in early childhood education and so simple things like loan repayment You know grants stipends. I think those are all things that yes They can require money from the state but those long-term investments have already shown that they pay back communities in the state So that's why I would I would just briefly say Let's not back away from standards for all ages It the brain development window from zero three is so critical and it's hard like I'm not saying it's easy But it's let's let's embrace if it's best practice at three It's best practice at two and a half and let's not Silo the zero to five continuum every any further and within that Let's really remember the pathways in the QRIS and really focus the QRIS and on the research and what's sustainable and not forget our FCC educators there's room to focus that pathway We've brought our standards from 20 family child care homes in San Francisco To 240 this year and we have lots of thoughts About how to focus the QRIS and the pathway not to lose the commitment to the standards But really focus on what we think resource and sustainability wise from a local community that'll put our money where our mouth is Might might be scalable. I was just saying to just to add a little bit to that as far as you know Really making sure we're prioritizing the very limited dollars that we have toward some of the most important developmental Milestones that we have for our children and not that there aren't others But we know that these are the foundational years and if we don't start investing them now Then it cost us twice as much three times as much when they're older And so if we would just spend the money now to help them develop an appropriate way We'll spend less later and so making sure we're looking at that as we're prioritizing our dollars at the state level Please join me in thanking our distinguished panel for such You know thoughtful responses And to wrap up the day First I'd like to thank the rest of the LPI team I know you've met a few of us today It actually takes an entire team to do with the research our communications team our policy staff I also want to thank our partners at the advancement project Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and Early-edge and to close out our day I'm going to invite Patricia Lozano up to offer a few closing remarks Patricia is as you know relatively new executive director of early-edge, California Previously she served as senior program officer at the bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and worked on the foundation's National Early Learning Strategy in California. She's worked at UCLA Center for improving Childcare quality first five LA Rand Corporation and her roots are in the classroom So please Patricia Hello, everybody What a fantastic event. I'm so excited and motivated. I want to thank LPI for putting this together For inviting this amazing panelists. I think we are all very inspired and to continue our work together. I Want to thank also assemblyman Kevin McCarthy for also being a great champion and all of you for being here and staying To hear all this good news. I Wanted to also thank our partners advancement project the Lee chamber and out, you know early-edge And you know after well, I was listening. I was very very excited to hear That we are all agreeing on the relevance of our workforce We have to take care of our teachers our childcare providers They need our support. We need to invest in training them compensating them and Recognizing them as professionals. I think with theirs, you know, I heard it Many times which is very encouraging You know, it was also good to hear that we have to Include leadership you have to train them on the relevance of early childhood Find new champions, you know, spread the word. We need we need we're doing it, but we need to do it more work together We need to Bring new people to the table new players and it's not only about only preschool or toddlers or infants Let's let's expand and let's bring more players to coordinate and maximize resources Let's support dual language learners. Yes, let's do it Let's help our teachers to learn how to work and support families and children who don't speak English I think that you know, that's key and I see that that there's momentum for this. I want to also, you know, I Again, thank LPI because it gave us a really really clear picture of what's working. What's not working and you know, it gave us Short-term and long-term ideas of how to work together so thank you again for for this amazing resource and I'm really excited again to keep working together and you know, I think there's there's great opportunities coming So thanks again