18 Miss. Code. R. 5-1-1.5
Lead Agencies are required to coordinate with other Federal, State, local, Tribal (if applicable) and private agencies providing child care and early childhood development services (§ 98.12, § 98.14(a),(b), § 98.16(d)).
Definition -Coordination involves child care and early childhood and school-age development services efforts to work across multiple entities, both public and private (such as in connection with a State Early Childhood Comprehensive System (SECCS) grant or the State Advisory Council funded under the Head Start Act of 2007). (658D(b)(1)(D), §§ 98.12(a), 98.14(a)(1))
Note: Descriptions of how governments are organized for each State are provided at census.gov.
| Agency/Entity (check all that apply) | Describe how the Lead Agency will coordinate with this Agency/entity in delivering child care and early childhood services | Describe results expected from the coordination Examples might include increased supply of full-day/full-year services, aligned eligibility policies, blended funding, or access to more training and technical assistance resources shared across agencies. | |
| * | Representatives of general purpose local government This may include, but is not limited to: representatives from counties and municipalities, local education representatives, or local public health agencies. | The Lead Agency is the recipient of the Maternal, Infant and Child Health home visiting funds. Through the implementation of this program, coordination with LEAs, county health departments, county DHS offices, local law enforcement and local government representatives will be imperative. | The Lead Agency will coordinate with these entities to increase access to community resources such as TANF, SNAP, WIC, Medicaid, child care subsidy, CHiP, immunizations, child support, GED and alternative education options. |
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for public education (required) This may include, but is not limited to, State/Territory pre-kindergarten programs (if applicable), programs serving school-age children (including 21st Century Community Learning Centers), or higher education; | The Lead Agency funds the Out-of-School Project which works with public and private school age care providers to offer mentoring and quality evaluation. | The Lead Agency's support of this program will result in increased support for and quality of existing school age care services. |
| * | Other Federal, State, local, Tribal (if applicable), and/or private agencies providing early childhood and school-age/youth-serving developmental services (required) | Coordination will be achieved through the Lead Agency's participation in the Mississippi Department of Health's Expanding Opportunities Initiative. | Through participation, the Lead Agency is working to increase the number of quality inclusive learning environments for children with special needs. |
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for public health (required) This may include, but is not limited to, the agency responsible for immunizations and programs that promote children's emotional and mental health | Coordination is achieved through participation on the MS Department of Health, Division of Child Care Licensure Baord and through partnership on the Maternal, Infant, and Child Health Home Visitation Grant. All licensed providers are required by MS Dept. of Health licensure regulations to have copies of immunizations for staff and children. This group monitors the presence of these records for the Lead Agency during onsite visits with these programs. | Through this collaboration, the Lead Agency is working to strengthen the health and safety of home and child care environments for children across the state. |
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for employment services / workforce development (required) | Coordination will include the MSCCR&R's child care provider professional development registry, CDA mentoring and scholarship program, child care director's credentialing program and the Mississippi Longitudinal Data System. Currently, an agreement is in place for students who have earned a CDA that includes an alignment of CDA credentials and requirements for an AA in state community colleges. | The Lead Agency expects to examine data across these programs to determine how assistance in workforce development can be provided. |
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for providing Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) including local human service agencies(required) | Currently, the Lead Agency is coordinating with the MDHS Division of Field Operations (formerly Economic Assistance) on the development of a centralized application for child care subsidy and TANF. Additionally, the Lead Agency has created a data interface with TANF in order to receive referrals and terminations for subsidy on a daily basis. | The Lead Agency expects the use of a centralized application to decrease the enrollment period and allow for expedited service delivery. The Lead Agency has seen reduced wait time for new TANF client in receipt of subsidy services through the implementation of inter-divisional system interfaces. |
| * | Indian Tribes/Tribal Organizations (required) [] N/A: No such entities exist within the boundaries of the State | Coordination is achieved by working with Tribal Organization representatives serving on the Mississippi Early Childhood Advisory Council and through meetings. | The Lead Agency's goal is to ensure all populations' needs are represented through the work of the Council. |
| For the remaining agencies, check and describe (optional) any with which the Lead Agency has chosen to coordinate early childhood and school-age service delivery | |||
| * | State/Territory agency with the Head Start Collaboration grant | The Lead Agency Coordinates with the Head Start Collaboration Office and the Mississippi Head Start Association. | The Lead Agency's goal is to create a crosswalk comparison of Head Start standards with licensing regulations to identify any differences. The Lead Agency believes this will allow for targeted training and technical assistance and increased participation of HS programs in QRIS. |
| [] | State/Territory agency responsible for Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) * N/A: State/Territory does not participate in RTT-ELC | ||
| [] | State/Territory agency responsible for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) | ||
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for programs for children with special needs This may include, but is not limited to: State/Territory early intervention programs authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (Part C for infants and toddlers and Section 619 for preschool), or other State/Territory agencies that support children with special needs | The Lead Agency Coordinates with the Mississippi Department of Health, Part C Coordinator and funds the Project PREPARE program. | The Lead Agency's goal is to improve the number of and access to appropriate inclusive learning environments for children with special needs. |
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for implementing the Maternal and Early Childhood Home Visitation programs grant | The Lead Agency is the recipient of these funds. | |
| * | State/Territory agency responsible for child welfare | The Lead Agency Coordinates with the MDHS Division of Child and Family Services to serve children in foster/protective/preven tive care. | The Lead Agency's goal is to provide subsidy to all children in protective and preventive care and foster children. |
| [] | State/Territory liaison for military child care programs or other military child care representatives | ||
| [] | Private agencies/entities including national initiatives that the Lead Agency is participating in such as BUILD, Strengthening Families, Mott Statewide After-school Networks, Ready by 21 | ||
| [] | Local community organizations (child care resource and referral, Red Cross) | ||
| [] | Provider groups, associations or labor organizations | ||
| [] | Parent groups or organizations | ||
| [] | Other | ||
Lead Agencies are not required to have an early childhood nor a school-age coordination plan, but the State/Territory may have such plans for other purposes, including fulfilling requirements of other programs.
[] Yes. If yes,
[]Yes
[] No
* No
(658D(b)(1)(D), § 98.14(a)(1))
Check which entity(ies), if any, the State/Territory has chosen to designate.
[] State/Territory-wide early childhood and/or school-age cabinet/advisory council/task force/commission.
If yes, describe entity, age groups and the role of the Lead Agency_____
* State Advisory Council (as described under the Head Start Act of 2007). If yes, describe entity, age groups and the role of the Lead Agency
In 2008, Governor Haley Barbour established the State Early Childhood Advisory Council of Mississippi to develop a strategic plan to coordinate efforts, programs, and resources supporting children birth to five years and to identify opportunities for and barriers to collaboration and coordination among programs and agencies.
The State Child Care Administrator was appointed by former Governor Barbour to serve on this Council. The State Child Care Administrator's appointment was renewed by Governor Phil Bryant, the state's current governor.
[] Local Coordination/Council
If yes, describe entity, age groups and the role of the Lead Agency___
[] Other.
Describe______
[] None
* Yes. If yes, describe these activities or planned activities, including the tangible results expected from the public-private partnership
The Lead Agency plans to continue its non-competitive Child Care Partnership Program. The Child Care Partnership Program is a special initiative developed by DECCD to encourage partnerships in addressing employee/community child care needs. This is a federal matching grant program to encourage local commitment to child care through community-generated financial resources that can be matched with federal funds. Applicants eligible for consideration for a direct subgrant include local or county government, state agencies and municipalities, industries, consortiums and foundations. Some examples of current partnerships include:
* City of Jackson public/public partnerships
* City of Starkville has a public/private partnership
* Hancock County Human Resources Agency public/public partnership
* Hinds Community College public/public partnership
* City of Vicksburg has a public/private partnership
These programs served 736 children last year and projections indicate service to the same number for the upcoming year.
[] No.
18 Miss. Code. R. 5-1-1.5