(1) The State Commission on Children and Families, the Department of Education, the Employment Department and the Department of Human Services shall lead a joint effort with other state and local early childhood partners to establish the policies necessary for a voluntary statewide early childhood system that shall be incorporated into the local coordinated comprehensive plan.
(2) The voluntary statewide early childhood system shall be designed to achieve:
(a) The appropriate early childhood benchmarks jointly identified by the State Commission on Children and Families, the Department of Education, the Employment Department and the Department of Human Services, with input from early childhood partners, as the appropriate benchmarks; and
(b) Any other early childhood benchmark or intermediate outcome jointly identified by the State Commission on Children and Families, the Department of Education, the Employment Department and the Department of Human Services, with input from early childhood partners, as an appropriate benchmark or outcome.
(3) The voluntary statewide early childhood system shall include the following components:
(a) A process to identify as early as possible children and families who would benefit from early childhood services;
(b) A plan to support the identified needs of the child and family that coordinates case management personnel and the delivery of services to the child and family; and
(c) Services to support children who are zero through eight years of age and their families who give their express written consent, including:
(A) Screening, assessment and home visiting services pursuant to ORS 417.795;
(B) Specialized or targeted home visiting services;
(C) Community-based services such as relief nurseries, family support programs and parent education programs;
(D) High quality child care, as defined by the Commission for Child Care;
(E) Preschool and other early education services;
(F) Health services for children and pregnant women;
(G) Mental health services;
(H) Alcohol and drug treatment programs that meet the standards promulgated by the Department of Human Services pursuant to ORS 430.357;
(I) Developmental disability services; and
(J) Other state and local services.
(4) The State Commission on Children and Families, the Department of Education, the Employment Department and the Department of Human Services shall jointly:
(a) Consolidate administrative functions relating to the voluntary statewide early childhood system, to the extent practicable, including but not limited to training and technical assistance, planning and budgeting. This paragraph does not apply to the administrative functions of the Department of Education relating to education programs;
(b) Adopt policies to establish training and technical assistance programs to ensure that personnel have skills in appropriate areas, including screening, family assessment, competency-based home visiting skills, cultural and gender differences and other areas as needed;
(c) Identify research-based age-appropriate and culturally and gender appropriate screening and assessment tools that would be used as appropriate in programs and services of the voluntary statewide early childhood system;
(d) Develop a plan for the implementation of a common data system for voluntary early childhood programs as provided in section 7, chapter 831, Oregon Laws 2001;
(e) Coordinate existing and new early childhood programs to provide a range of community-based supports;
(f) Establish a common set of quality assurance standards to guide local implementation of all elements of the voluntary statewide early childhood system, including voluntary universal screening and assessment, home visiting, staffing, evaluation and community-based services;
(g) Ensure that all plans for voluntary early childhood services are coordinated and consistent with federal and state law, including but not limited to plans for Oregon prekindergarten programs, federal Head Start programs, early childhood special education services, early intervention services and public health services;
(h) Identify how the voluntary statewide early childhood system for children who are zero through eight years of age will link with systems of support for older children and their families;
(i) Contract for an evaluation of the outcomes of the voluntary statewide early childhood system; and
(j) During January of each odd-numbered year, report to the Governor and the Legislative Assembly on the voluntary statewide early childhood system. The report shall include the evaluation described in paragraph (i) of this subsection.
(5) The State Commission on Children and Families, the State Board of Education, the Employment Department and the Department of Human Services when adopting rules to administer voluntary early childhood programs under their individual authority shall adopt rules that are consistent with the requirements of the voluntary statewide early childhood system created under this section.
(6) Information gathered in conjunction with the voluntary comprehensive screening and assessment of children and their families may be used only for the following purposes:
(a) Providing services to children and families who give their express written consent;
(b) Providing statistical data that are not personally identifiable;
(c) Accomplishing other purposes for which the family has given express written consent; and
(d) Meeting the requirements of mandatory state and federal disclosure laws. [Formerly 417.748; 2003 c.293 §2; 2005 c.271 §2]
(State Commission)
Section: Previous 417.707 417.708 417.710 417.715 417.720 417.725 417.727 417.728 417.730 417.733 417.735 417.740 417.745 417.747 417.748 NextLast modified: August 7, 2008