| Q |
What are CARES Programs? |
| A |
CARES (Comprehensive Approaches to Raising Educational Standards) programs provide rewards and professional/educational supports to members of the child care workforce in 44 counties in California. Go to County Data to find out the eligibility criteria for a specific county and to identify a county contact.
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| Q |
Who administers the CARES program? |
| A |
The CARES program is administered by various county-level agencies. These agencies include: County Offices of Education, Local Planning Councils, Resource and Referrals, First 5 County Commissions, and various nonprofit organizations.
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| Q |
What is the source of funding for CARES programs? |
| A |
There are three main sources of funding for CARES programs. First 5 California, which is funded from State of California tobacco taxes, provides matching funding to counties for CARES programs statewide. Most counties in California (44) expend some of their First 5 funds, which are also derived from state tobacco taxes, on CARES programs. The Department of Education uses state funds earmarked to enhance child care quality to support CARES programs work with state-funded Title 5 programs throughout the state.
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| Q |
What is the AB212 Program? |
| A |
The California Department of Education administers funds to improve the retention of employees of Title V centers and other CDD funded programs. All counties with child development programs funded by CDD receive funding for stipends, training and other approaches to improving staff retentions. Many counties co-administer their CARES and AB212 programs under the title of CARES.
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| Q |
What is the funding level of the CARES program? |
| A |
The First 5 CA Commission has funded CARES programs for approximately $15 million for three years of CARES, from July 1, 2005-June 30 2008. The State Department of Education allocated approximately $15 million for retention of employees of Title V programs for July 1, 2005- June 30, 2007. In June 2007, the State Department of Education made one-time only funds totalling 15 million available to counties effectively doubling the budget for Title V programs. This additional funding is not expected to continue after this period. The standard allocation from the State Department of Education for July 1, 2007-June 30, 2009 is expected to be 15 million. The current county First 5 allocation to CARES is not yet known. Between 2000-2003 county contributions totaled 50 million.
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| Q |
How do I find out more information about the CARES program in my county or a specific county? |
| A |
To find out the name of the CARES contact in your county, go to County Contacts.
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| Q |
I’m a new administrator or I’m launching a new program CARES program in my community. Where do I go to learn more about implementing my CARES program? |
| A |
For general questions, start by contacting staff of the CARES Training and Technical Assistance staff at Working for Quality Child Care at 415-808-7327. The staff will be able to orient you and refer to appropriate resources. You can also listen to an MP3 file of a conference call for new CARES administrators. If you have questions about the Child Development Permit, contact Child Development Training Consortium staff.
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| Q |
My county would like to change our program but we’re not sure that these changes will fulfill First 5 California’s requirements to obtain matching funding. How do I find out if our plan complies with the First 5 California standards? |
| A |
Contact First 5 California staff, Sarah Neville Morgan at 916-263-1050 for more information.
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| Q |
Where can I find CARES/AB212 materials, such as applications, continuing eligibility requirements, appeals policies, etc. developed by other programs? |
| A |
You can see materials developed by other programs by going to the Resource Library. If the material you are looking for is not in the filing cabinet, contact us and we will attempt to locate what you need. You can submit your documents to share with other users of the site.
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| Q |
How do I contact an administrator of another CARES/AB212 program to ask a question or share information about my program? |
| A |
For a list of county administrators, go to County Contacts. If you would like to post a question to all county CARES/AB212 administrators in the state, you can participate in the Discussion. If you do not already have a login account, please Join and then Subscribe to the Discussion. Keep in mind that replies to group messages will be sent to all registered members. For a list of individual members, go to list of registered discussion members.
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| Q |
Where can I go for advice about how to recruit Family Friend and Neighbor Caregivers for Track I? |
| A |
CARES programs are partnering with an allied training program for FFN’s, CCIP (California Child Care Initiative Project), administered by Resource and Referral Agencies in every county in California. For other approaches, go to the Resource Library for handouts from the CARES Conference 2007 session Collaborating with Non-Traditional Partners to Reach Out to FFN Providers (Track I) . Additionally, First 5 California sponsors a website the Family, Friend and Neighbor Caregiver Support project (www.ccfc.ca.gov/ffn/) which offers resources to help you reach out to this community.
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| Q |
I'd like to learn more about the Child Development Permit and how it can be a professional development tool for Track III. What kind of technical assistance and/or training is available? |
| A |
The Child Development Training Consortium (CDTC) offers an array of programs and trainings to CARES/AB212 programs regarding the Child Development Permit. In addition, the CDTC will pay permit application processing fees for eligible permit applicants. Contact CDTC for more information at www.childdevelopment.org.
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| Q |
Where can I find ideas about how to administer the Professional Track V? |
| A |
Counties currently are offering the Professional Track, which is an optional track according to First 5 California guidelines. Counties are experimenting with different activities for participants, ranging from preparing participants to be advisors to newer teachers and providers in CARES (Butte County) to guiding participants in implementing leadership projects (Humboldt). The California Early Childhood Mentor Program is a partner in this effort, and Glenn County’s work with their local Mentor Program was highlighted at the 2007 CARES Conference. Butte County administrators described their program in a conference call and their materials are available in the Resource Library. Handouts from the Glenn County session are available in the Resource Library.
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| Q |
How can I tell if my program's stipends and initial and ongoing eligibility requirements are on par with those of other CARES/AB212 programs? |
| A |
You can review a profile of each counties' CARES/AB212 program, including their stipends, eligibility criteria, and funding levels and sources by going to the map in County Data.
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| Q |
Who do I contact at First 5 California regarding our reporting requirements? |
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Contact Erik Miyao at emiyao@ccfc.ca.gov.
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| Q |
When will we learn if First 5 California will be offering another round of matching dollars for county CARES programs? |
| A |
First 5 California is currently involved in strategic planning which will, among other things, affect its funding decisions for FY 08-09. The strategic plan will be discussed at the July 2007 meeting in Sacramento and presented at the September 2007 First 5 California Commission Meeting. The Commission will vote on the strategic plan in the fall/winter of 2007. All meetings are public. Go to the First 5 California Commission website for more information about the dates and locations of the meeting.
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| Q |
What other funding sources have programs used in addition to county and state First 5 and/or AB212 dollars to fund their CARES programs? |
| A |
Department of Children Youth and Families, City of San Francisco, San Francisco
Early Learning Opportunity Act, US Department of Health and Human Services, San Mateo and Contra Costa
Humboldt Association for the Education of Young Children, Humboldt
Private Philanthropies, Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, San Mateo
Contact the CARES administrator from these counties for more information about this funding source.
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| Q |
How can I learn about individual county evaluation results? |
| A |
Several county-level evaluation reports are available in the Resource Library. Contact county administrators to receive copies of their evaluations. A summary of county evaluation results by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, UC Berkeley is available at www.iir.berkeley.edu/cscce/archives.html.
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| Q |
How can I learn about trends among the 44 CARES programs funded by First 5 California? |
| A |
Go to County Reports to view a document summarizing results from progress reports submitted by county CARES programs to First 5 California for the 2005-2006.
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| Q |
Where can I view statewide evaluations conducted by Policy Analysis of California Education (PACE) of the CARES programs? |
| A |
Go to the Resource Library to download the final PACE reports in PDF form.
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| Q |
Our county is talking about/planning for/implementing a universal preschool program. How can CARES/AB212 programs contribute to discussions about universal preschool? |
| A |
A keynote address titled CARES in the Preschool Era delivered by Marcy Whitebook Ph.D. at the Adapting to Change Conference for CARES Programs in 2004 assesses CARES' evolution and its important role. Dr. Whitebook's speech identifies the key questions that should be asked regarding the professional and economic supports required by the early childhood workforce to increase their educational qualifications.
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