Access to Childcare and Early Education

First 5 Yolo allocated $2.5 million from 2003 to 2008 ($500,000 per year) to address early education needs of children ages 0-5. Two agencies currently are funded under this initiative to provide services for childcare providers and families.

City of Davis, Yolo County Childcare Collaborative

The Childcare Collaborative Program provides a county-wide, multi-agency approach to reaching the goals of the initiative. The program provides supportive services, training and resources to childcare providers. By focusing on improving quality through training and capacity building, the overall access to quality childcare will increase throughout Yolo County.

The major components of the program include:

Intensive outreach and support to ESL populations and rural communities to increase licensed childcare
Onsite education, support and resources to private center and family childcare staff
Onsite training, resources and technical assistance to increase capacity for family childcare center staff to care for children with special needs
Provision of funding for substitutes to allow providers to attend offsite trainings
Subcontracts with Warmline, YCOE, UCD and individual consultants with specific child-development expertise

Childcare Collaborative Outcomes FY 05-06

Twelve childcare centers participated in the Quality Enhancement Program.
As a result, 100 percent of the centers (n=12) increased the quality of their programs/facilities by scoring in the acceptable range (greater than three) on the ECERS or FDCRS assessments.
A Childcare Directors Association continued meeting with 24 center directors participating, which is more than 30 percent of the total directors in Yolo County.
One hundred eighty new licensed spaces in rural areas were created through the access component of the initiative.
Additionally, 20 centers and 31 FCC homes participated in special-needs training, resources and support services, which increased the number of special-needs services offered by the centers for their clients.
During the fiscal year, 26 parents of special-needs children accessed special-needs services through their childcare centers, and 577 spaces were better equipped to serve special-needs children as a result of the program.
Finally, 26 children with special needs served through QEP were successfully placed in childcare accommodations that met their needs.

RISE, Inc., Universal Early Learning

The Universal Early Learning Program provides families in Western Yolo County with opportunities for early childhood education. Parents, with their infants, attend workshops titled "Mommy and Me" as well as "Mommy, Daddy and Me." Two-year-olds engage in active learning with parents through workshops titled "Toddler Too." Three- and four-year-olds participate in kinder-readiness preschool programs three times per week. While children learn at the kinder-readiness program, parents meet in an adjacent room to hear information, discuss ideas and support one another. In addition to the year-long workshops, each summer RISE hosts a Kinder Roundup for incoming kindergarteners to ride the bus to the local elementary school, receive a backpack loaded with supplies and spend a day in the kindergarten classroom with their new teacher.

Universal Early Learning Outcomes FY 05-06

Children entering the kinder-readiness program were assessed for basic academic knowledge/skills using the DRDP to determine baseline levels. Children were assessed again at the end of the year to determine growth and acquisition of new skills. All 19 children in the kinder-readiness group showed significant measurable gains, with 12 children moving up one entire performance level on the DRDP assessment.
Twenty-seven children were enrolled in kinder readiness, with a total of 61 sessions held throughout the year.
One hundred thirty-nine uninsured children received outreach, education, enrollment and referral services for health insurance programs, including Healthy Families, Medi-Cal and Healthy Kids.
Over 10,930 hours of co-op childcare hours were provided through the creation of a Parent Leadership Association.
Twenty-five "encircled children" (those who have special needs or are identified by staff as being at risk for a difficult transition from pre-kinder to kindergarten) received intensive, ongoing, managed services during FY 04-05.

Also under the Access to Quality Childcare Initiative, the Yolo Family Resource Center was funded from 2004 to 2005 to create a model for and subsequently implement a parent cooperative childcare center in rural Knights Landing.

Yolo Family Resource Center, Kids are the Key

The Kids are the Key program conducted a feasibility study to determine the fiscal viability and sustainability of a parent cooperative childcare center at Grafton Elementary. The two-year program resulted in the opening of a co-op childcare center in fall 2005. The Yolo Family Resource Center serves as the fiscal agent and works collaboratively with staff and consultants to implement the center.

Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards (CARES)

The CARES program has been administered through the City of Davis, Childcare Services Agency since 2003. This countywide program offers financial stipends to individuals who are working on their degrees in early childhood education (ECE). To become eligible for stipends, participants are required to meet with a CARES advisor and complete a participation plan prior to attending workshops and trainings. The five required tracks for providers going through the CARES program include: Track I - Family, Friend and Neighbor (FFN) Support; Track II - Entry; Track III - Permit; Track IV - Degree; and Track V - Professional.

CARES Outcomes FY 05-06

Two hundred twenty-one childcare stipends were given in FY 05-06 for ECE and training: eight in Track I, 44 in Track II, 131 in Track III, 23 in Track IV and 15 in Track V.

The final project total was $218,734, with $171,704 distributed at centers, $44,050 at family childcare homes and $2,980 to license-exempt providers.

Childcare Mini-grant Program

First 5 Yolo established a mini-grant program for family childcare providers in 2002 and has distributed over $75,000 since that time to providers throughout the county. Licensed or license-exempt providers may apply for up to $1,000 to improve the quality of their home centers. Requested materials are pre-approved by the City of Davis, Childcare Services Agency after the providers are rated on an environmental-quality assessment. All materials purchased directly relate to the scores on the assessment and are used to improve quality in areas where providers score lower than the ideal.