Public Notice: Department of Children and Families

Department of Children and Families

Public Hearing on State Plan: Child Care Development Fund

Public Hearing : On Tuesday, January 5, 20 16 , from 1:00 to 4:00 PM, the Wisconsin Departmen t of Children and Families (DCF) will hold a public h earing on Wisconsin ’s plan for providing c h ild care s ervices under the 201 6 -2018 Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) D raft Plan .

The hearing will be hosted at the Pyle Center on the University of Wisconsin – Madison campus. The address is 702 Langdon Street, Madison WI 53706. In addition, DCF will be utilizing WisLine Web services to allow participants to provide public comment remotely across the state. Detailed information regarding locations to provide public comment can be found on the DCF CCDBG dedicated web page: http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/ccdbg

The purpose of the public h earing is to solicit verbal or written comments from the public on Wisconsin’s proposed plan for the use of federal CCDF dollars for the period of 10/01/ 1 6 through 09/30/ 18 .

Opportunity for Public Comment: I nterested parties can access the 2016-2018 CCDF Draft Plan on the Dep artment of Children and Families CCDBG dedicated web page : http://dcf.w i sconsin.gov/childcare/ccdbg .

Individuals who plan to testify about the CCDF Draft Plan on January 5 should submit a copy of the text of their comments to ensure clarity in the recording of comments. Staff will also receive other written comments at the hearing or through the mail for inclusion in the public comment summary document. Written comments will receive equal consideration to the testimony given at the hearing.

Comments can be provided in-person at the Pyle Center and at each remote location; via US Postal mail to the Department of Children and Families, Division of Early Care and Education, PO Box 8916, Madison, WI 53708-8916; and via email to: [e-mail]

Background: In November 2014, the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 was signed into law. The Act fully authorizes the child care program for the first time since 1996. The new law makes significant advancements by defining health and safety requirements for child care providers; outlining family-friendly eligibility policies; and ensuring that parents and the general public have transparent information about the child care choices available to them.

Beginning with the 2016-2018 CCDF Plan , DCF must submit a plan to the Administration for Children and Families every three years for the use of CCDF funds over the next three years.

CCDF funds are an important source of funding for financing child care subsidy in Wisconsin and related programs as well as quality improvement initiative s. Broadly speaking, the purpose of CCDF is to:

• Help low income families through offsetting the costs of child care when the are working or preparing for work;

• Support child care for participants in the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program;

• Support ongoing fraud detection efforts; and,

• Provide support that improves the quality of child care programs and services.

In Wisconsin, the legislative process provides direction and decisions for th e use of this fund, and the DCF is the Lead Agency responsible for its implementation .

At the time of this public hearing notice, Wisconsin’s draft CCDF Plan was developed in response to the current CCDF language proposed by the Administration of Children and Families (ACF).  However, it is anticipated that ACF will make final revisions to the CCDF Plan in the upcoming weeks.  Please monitor the DCF CCDBG webpage ( http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/ccdbg ) for changes made to the CCDF Plan that could affect Wisconsin’s draft response.

Contact Person : Please send any questions about the CCDF Plan or public hearing to DCFCCDB G [e-mail] or send vi a mail to : Division of Early Care and Education, Department of Children and Families, PO Box 8916, Madison, WI 53708-8916. All comments must be received no lat er than January 6, 2016 . If you have s pecific accommodation requests for the p ublic h earing , please contact Rachel Holmaas by December 29, 2015 at 608-422-6138 .