In April 2024, the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Office of Child Care (OCC) issued a Final Rule with regulatory changes to the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which is the primary federal funding source devoted to supporting child care for families with low incomes and to increasing the quality of child care for all children. The Final Rule amends the CCDF regulations to: (1) lower families' costs for child care, to increase access to child care and improve family well-being; (2) strengthen CCDF payment practices to child care providers, to expand parents' child care options and better support child care operations; and (3) reduce program bureaucracy for families, to make it easier for families to enroll in CCDF programming. (www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-04139/p-60)

The rule requires Lead Agencies to use some grants and contracts for direct child care services to enable CCDF to better address child care supply issues for participating families. The rule specifically requires “Lead Agencies to use some grants and contracts for children in underserved geographic areas, infants and toddlers, and children with disabilities.” (www.federalregister.gov/d/2024-04139/p-101)

Pennsylvania’s Contracted Slots program aims to enhance access to high-quality early childhood education and services for vulnerable populations, including infants, toddlers, and children with differing abilities. This initiative is designed to increase access to early learning and support positive long-term developmental outcomes for children and families. These programs will allow Pennsylvania to comply with the Final Rule regarding grants and contracts for specific populations. The Contracted Slots program will benefit providers, children, and their families.

Contracted Slots payments, managed by ELRC 8, will be based on an annual amount of $17,600.00 per slot. The cost supports a full-day, full-week of traditional child care and is funded through the duration of a fiscal year. This application is limited to Contracted Slots-Infant Toddler (CS-IT) slots ONLY.

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* 1. General Information

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* 2. Provider Type

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* 3. Address of Applicant Agency

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* 4. County of Applicant Agency

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* 5. ELRC Region of Applicant Agency (holds provider agreement)

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* 6. Contact Information: Overall Contact Person for the Application

Grant Structure

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* 7. How many Contracted Slots are requested for the Lead Agency?

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* 8. Total Grant Amount Requested (# slots of slots multiplied by $17,600.00)

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* 9. List all current eligible locations where contracted slots will be served. Please provide location(s) full MPI # and location(s) name.

Child Eligibility Criteria for Contracted Slots
Contracted Slots-Infant Toddler (CS-IT)
  • Family is CCW eligible.
  • Child is between 6 weeks and 36 months of age.
  • Child will attend on a full-day, full-week schedule.

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* 10. Provider Type Verification

Program Description/Work Statement

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* 11. Program History
Discuss the provider’s history of serving infants and toddlers and any other past or current participation in infant/toddler quality initiatives.

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* 12. Partnership and Collaboration: Early Intervention
Describe collaborations with Early Intervention (both infant/toddler and preschool). Detail the provider’s inclusion policies and practices. How will EI and other behavioral and/or mental health agencies be utilized to support inclusion and to reduce or eliminate suspension and expulsion?

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* 13. Partnership and Collaboration: Early Head Start and Head Start
Describe collaborations with Early Head Start, including the strategy for promoting Early Head Start enrollment for children meeting 100% of FPL. If a formal MOU is in place with Early Head Start, please reference it in this application. Describe the planning process with Early Head Start as preparations were made for this application process. If a planning meeting was held, provide the date and the contact.

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* 14. Program Implementation: Continuity of Care
Describe the provider’s approach to assure continuity of care. How will classrooms be structured to ensure that children build positive, long-term relationships with their caregivers and with other children?

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* 15. Program Implementation: Curriculum Model
Describe the provider’s curriculum model. Describe the ways in which the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards will be used. Describe the provider’s approach to engaging infants and toddlers in learning experiences that will focus on the unique developmental needs of this age group.

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* 16. Program Implementation: Family Engagement
Describe the provider’s family engagement approach. In the response, describe connections to each standard of The Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework.

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* 17. Program Implementation: Comprehensive Services
Describe the provider’s approach to assuring the needs of the whole child are addressed in the program model. How will the provider assess the children's needs and follow up on identified needs? What types of comprehensive services does the provider offer? What types of comprehensive services are available through coordination with other agencies?

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* 18. Program Implementation: Transition Planning
Explain the provider’s transition efforts. How will transitions be coordinated for children as they transition between classrooms? How will transitions be coordinated for children/families who enter and exit your program, including those who enter and exit other early learning providers? Detail the approach/coordination with pre-kindergarten to ensure that children enrolled in the CS-IT funding are prioritized for pre-kindergarten funding, including PA Pre-K Counts, Head Start, and CS-D.

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* 19. Program Implementation: Classroom Configurations
Describe the number and configuration of all requested classrooms and indicate which classrooms/spaces would be new ones.

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* 20. Staffing
The Lead Teacher in a CS-IT classroom must hold a minimum of a CDA. Teachers trained in providing high-quality environments for infants and toddlers will receive priority points during the application process for CS-IT slots. Please list the anticipated teaching staff and any qualifications they have related to working with infants and toddlers. Please list other program staff with relevant credentials available to support teaching staff.

Provider Assurances

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* 21. Applicants must provide assurance that they understand and have the capacity to meet the requirements for Contracted Slots by checking each statement below.

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