A public hearing for proposed changes to the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) took place at the Salt River Schools (SRS) Education Board room on April 17.

The purpose of the hearing was to inform Community member parents, guardians, Community members and Native American families residing in the CCDF service area (Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Scottsdale and Glendale) about the current plan and the proposed changes to the plan, as well as gathering public feedback.

According to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, the CCDF provides funding to state, tribal and territory lead agencies to offer services to families through subsidized childcare, to oversee the regulation of childcare providers, and to implement activities that improve the quality of childcare. The CCDF is administered by the Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care.

At SRS, the Early Childhood Education Center (ECEC) receives federal funding from the development fund, which is used to subsidize the Extended Day program and the Certificate program.

The CCDF team at SRS is comprised of program Manager Pamela Prasher, program liaisons Sarah Talahongva and Tanya Molina, program Enrollment Technician Lisette Rincon, ECEC Billing Accounting Clerk II Jennifer Correa and program Billing Accounting Clerk III Lisa Loya.

ECEC leader Michelle Kuamoo began the hearing by sharing the ECEC services that are currently provided. Kuamoo said that early education and childcare services are funded through two federal grants: Tribal Child Care and Head Start. The Head Start funding at ECEC is only for SRPMIC children, while Tribal Child Care early education services serve children from the SRPMIC as well as SRPMIC-enrolled children residing in surrounding communities.

Three proposed changes were explained by the CCDF team: payments for certificate program, eligibility and expanded services.

One proposed change to payments for the Certificate program is eliminating co-payments.

“Currently, families apply, and they show their income and based on that income and their household size, they are given a copayment that they would then give to their childcare provider. We are looking to eliminate that co-payment for those families,” said Loya.

Another proposed change is to remove per capita as part of the income collected to determine eligibility for the Child Care Development Fund program. The benefit of excluding per capita would benefit families by qualifying them for the lowest co-pay in the program.

As for expanding services, currently the tribal lead agency does not allow children to get services using CCDF funding who are over age 13 but below age 19 who are physically and or mentally incapable of self-care. A proposed change allows a child with a diagnosed disability up to the age of 19 to receive CCDF funding or care.

Following the hearing, the Community was able to give their feedback on the proposed changes.

You can watch the full hearing on the Salt River Schools YouTube page for a more in-depth look at the proposed changes.