New from CLASP (US-based Center for Law and Social Policy) comes Ten Policies to Improve Access to Quality Child Care for Children in Immigrant Families:
- Create and disseminate information packets for new parents in multiple languages that discuss quality child care and help link parents with information and referral agencies.
- Fund outreach on quality child care and subsidy eligibility targeted to immigrant families, including grants to community-based organizations with expertise in serving immigration populations.
- Use grants, contracts and quality funds to expand the availability of high-quality child care in immigrant communities.
- Expand access to Head Start and Early Head Start in child care settings through grants, contracts and eligibility policies.
- Translate child care subsidy information and materials and provide dedicated funding and translation and interpretation at the local level.
- Increase bilingual staff capacity in subsidy agencies through pay differentials or incentives.
- Pay differential child care subsidy payment rates to centers and family child care homes that serve English Language Learners and/or child care providers with a bilingual endorsement.
- Create community-based support networks for family, friend and neighbor caregivers in immigrant communities that improve quality of care.
- Include measures of cultural and linguistic competence in state quality rating and improvement systems, and provide supports to help programs meet the standards.
- Ensure that child care providers receive training to improve their work with culturally and linguistically diverse children and their families and provide support for cultural competency initiatives.
Read the full report on the CLASP site.
