Massachusetts State Profile

 

The Family and Social Service Administration, (FSSA), Bureau of Child Care, (BCC) administers the Indiana Child Care Health Consultant Program (ICCHCP).  The ICCHCP collaborates with state and local partners to identify local resources, provides health and safety assessments and information when requested, and offers training. The statewide CCHC program covers all of the state, and each area has its own CCHC.

• Licensing: Massachusetts’ child care regulations require licensed center-based and school age providers to work with child care health consultants (CCHCs). CCHCs are licensed physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, or physician’s assistants with pediatric or family health training.
• Auspices/Funding: From within the Department of Public Health (DPH), the Massachusetts’s Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (MECCS) project supports statewide CCHC training and network activities, building on the prior work of the Healthy Child Care America grant. Additionally, Title V contributed funds to help support training activities, starting in 2005.
• CCHC Role: CCHCs operate independently and are accessed directly by providers on either a fee-for-service or volunteer basis. Beyond the requirements of reviewing the health policy, approving the first aid training curriculum, and being available for consultation as needed, a consultant’s role depends on individual arrangements.
• CCHC Training: Massachusetts has played a coordinating role for a six-state, joint training effort called the Healthy Child Care New England (HCCNE) collaborative, which has trained about 400 professionals across the region over three years. As a result, professionals serving as CCHCs, or those interested in becoming CCHCs, can attend an annual four-day, intensive training to increase their knowledge on health and safety topics in early care and education settings and to enhance consulting skills.  Massachusetts has expanded the training audience to include Mental Health Consultants, Head Start and Early Head Start Health and Mental Health Managers, as well as Early Intervention nurses and mental health specialists.
• Website: HCCNE developed a website for CCHC training and networking purposes. MECCS is in the process of developing a Webpage on health and safety in child care for CCHCs and others interested in these issues.

History and Development

In 2002, Massachusetts’s Healthy Child Care America (HCCA) project, MaxCare, formed HCCNE to advance CCHC infrastructure goals. HCCNE successfully leveraged state resources and utilized new technology to develop regional and state networks of thoroughly trained CCHCs.

In 2003, MaxCare merged with MECCS and hired an early childhood consultant to coordinate the HCCNE regional training collaborative. The consultant adapted the National Training Institute for Child Care Health Consultants (NTI) curriculum for a joint training effort across the New England region. The resulting training series occurs annually over four days across the region. Through the joint training, states promote the Caring for Our Children and Stepping Stones standards and raise awareness of CCHCs’ potential to improve the quality of early care and education settings.

In 2004, the MECCS consultant adapted the HCCNE training for an expanded, multi-disciplinary audience and used multimedia teaching resources including CD-ROM and webcasts. The six participating states link by interactive Web telecasts to host guest speakers and to address regional issues. In Massachusetts, training participants included CCHCs, child care licensors, Head Start health managers, and Early Intervention nurses.

In 2005, the New England Title V Directors agreed to each contribute two thousand dollars to the cost of HCCNE’s annual training. In 2006, MECCS transferred HCCNE coordination to the Connecticut State Nurses Association.

Challenges and Lessons Learned

• Efforts to Build a Multidisciplinary System: MECCS and HCCNE sought to augment and expand the connection between child care health consultation and mental health consultation services by creating a multidisciplinary component to the training series. The creation of a new Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) presents an opportunity to advance mental health consultation.
• The Need to Reinforce Provider/CCHC Connections: Providers and CCHCs report the need for better linkages and communication across their two groups. MECCS/HCCNE seeks to address this divide by heightening awareness of CCHCs’ roles and their potential impact, and by creating opportunities to connect CCHCs to other professional communities serving young children.  As part of the HCCNE consortium, Massachusetts is exploring strategies to strengthen child care health consultation linkages with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ activities statewide and nationally.

Ingredients for Success

• Strategic Priorities Embedded in Training Curriculum: MECCS integrated its ECCS strategic priorities into ongoing HCCA activities by way of the HCCNE regional training curriculum. The training incorporated a focus on social-emotional health of young children through guest speakers, assigned readings, and CD-ROM self-study modules. The training also addressed two other topics important to both HCCA and MECCS—promoting medical homes and increasing access to health insurance in child care settings.
• Maximizing Resources: Massachusetts’ ability to leverage funds and cost-share training expenses has helped extend CCHC training to more health professionals at a critical time of increased demand for trained consultants.
• Timely Emphasis on Professional Development: HCCNE’s focus on supporting the region’s CCHC professional development responds to newly published accreditation criteria from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) which recommends that centers contract with a trained CCHC who conducts regular site visits. The training also addresses newly-drafted child care regulations from the state’s Department of Early Education and Care. When approved, these regulations will mandate development of Individualized Health Care Plans for children with chronic illness, as well as specialized training for all staff who administer medication.

Moving Forward

• Revisiting the Child Care Health Consultant’s Role: MECCS, EEC and the Head Start–State Collaboration Office (HSSCO) are working together to determine how best to use health and mental health consultants in early education and care settings. MECCS hired a contractor to undertake a capacity study of CCHCs and HSSCO is close to finalizing a parallel study of Mental Health Consultants.

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Information as of August 2006

HCCC-NSC is a part of EDC’s Center for Children & Familites.
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This website was developed with funding from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under contract number HHSH240200535013C.