How states are addressing the needs of parents and providers who are limited English proficient

[Harold Schiffman]

New report on state child care subsidy activities

The Child Care Bureau recently released the CCDF Report of State and
Territory Plans FY 2008-2009,  a summary of activities reported in
individual biennial state plans required for the Child Care and
Development Block Grant (CCDBG) program. As in previous years, the
report includes information on a range of state child care policies
related to access to child care assistance and quality initiatives,
such as how states determine provider payment rates, set income
eligibility thresholds, and the types of outreach services offered.

The FY 2008-2009 report differs from prior years as it includes
profiles for each state. In addition, this State Plan report includes
information on how states are addressing the needs of parents and
providers who are limited English proficient. In December, CLASP
released a report on state activities to support LEP and immigrant
parents and providers based on information in states' 2006-2007 state
plans. According to the Child Care Bureau's Report:

37 states have bilingual caseworkers available or other translation
services (such as language lines) for LEP parents.
28 states have information and applications for child care subsidies
available in at least one language besides English.
7 states provide training and technical assistance for providers in a
language other than English.
While more actions are needed to fully meet the needs of
linguistically diverse communities, highlighting states' policies
regarding LEP populations is a positive development in moving towards
child care policies that meet the needs of diverse language groups.

http://childcareandearlyed.clasp.org/2008/08/the-child-care.html



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