Hello members! My name is Michelle Bieber, and I am honored to step into the role of President of the Ohio Association of Child Care Providers (OACCP). I look forward to serving the membership through dedication, leadership and advocacy.

I would like to share a few highlights regarding my career in childcare. I have been in the field for no less than 25 years, starting out as a teacher in the mid 90’s at a YMCA in Northwest Ohio. In 1998, I became an Assistant Administrator for Heatherdowns Early Learning Center owned by the Bieber Family. In 2004 we opened Over the Rainbow Early Learning Center, where I became the Administrator. In 2013, my husband and I purchased Over the Rainbow Learning Center, and in 2015, we purchased our second Over the Rainbow Learning Center.

In addition, I have been actively involved in my community by serving as a member since 2009, Board member (2013-2022) and President (2018) of Sylvania Area chamber of Commerce. I have served on the State of Ohio Child Care Advisory Council (CCAC) from 2014-2019. I have been an OACCP member since 2004, served on the board from 2013- and currently as President. Anyone who knows me would say that I am passionate about children, the children of Ohio.

As we move into a new year, I would like to thank the previous President Dave Smith and the Board for their service and dedication to OACCP and the children of Ohio. The Board has worked tirelessly to advocate on its members’ behalf. OACCP has helped me through the years with getting information quickly, advocating for rules and regulations to help my business and with forging relationships with other childcare centers and communities.

The past couple of years have been quite challenging for our members and childcare community. I would like to tell you that your fortitude and resilience has not gone unnoticed. As I look ahead to the upcoming year, we again face many challenges. It is with our membership that we can make changes through our relationships, support and action.

Most importantly, I would like to know from you how we at OACCP can better meet your needs. What are your current challenges? We encourage you to reach out to us so we can target our work toward your needs.

Thank you for taking the time to get to know me. I am thrilled to serve as your President to continue OACCP’s mission of influence, inform and invest. In a few weeks, a SHORT survey monkey will be sent out regarding what is on your mind for membership needs.

Please feel free to reach out to me with an email at any time. My email address is listed below.

Looking forward to working together with you throughout the year!

Sincerely,

Michelle Bieber

OACCP President

michellebieber@gmail.com

Advocacy - All Hands on Deck

´Any policy solution must be built on principles that will ensure it serves the needs of the current and future workforce:

Dear OACCP Members:

On December 14, 2022, the Step Up to Quality Legislative Study Committee submitted its final report to the Senate Finance Committee. OACCP is very fortunate to have had our Advocacy Chair, Karen Lampe, appointed as part of that study committee. Karen played an integral part in supporting the values of SUTQ, representing the voices of providers directly to the legislators on the committee, and in developing this report. We are very grateful to Karen for her year-long effort in this regard. Please use this link to review the final report: https://bit.ly/SUTQ_REPORT

In the very early morning hours of today, the State Legislature allocated the final $499 million of discretionary funding from ARPA dollars. These funds are essential for child care providers in Ohio. Much more information will be coming out in the next few days and weeks regarding the final disbursement of this funding, and we will keep you posted as details are released.

The following changes were made in Step Up to Quality:

1. Step Up to Quality:

1. Exempts child care programs (Centers, Type A, Type B) that provide publicly funded child care to less than twenty-five per cent of the program's license capacity

2. Exempts ALL type A family child care and licensed type B family child care

OACCP leadership will be speaking with ODJFS officials in the next week, and we will keep you posted as further developments become available.

Sincerely,

Mary Ann Rody

OACCP Executive Director

Dear OACCP Members:

You may have heard about the Omnibus Bill going through the final steps of the legislature at the FEDERAL level. Congress expects to pass the spending package by this Friday to avoid a government shutdown. Although this bill is at the FEDERAL LEVEL, we will still need to advocate heavily in Ohio for them to use this money for market rate increases.

The following is a letter we received today from our Federal partners, ECEC, explaining more about the bill that the think will pass. Please review.

“All,

Earlier this morning, lawmakers on the House and Senate appropriations committees released the attached text for the federal government’s proposed fiscal 2023 budget. The proposal includes a 30% increase, or $1.85 billion, over FY 2022 to the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). The increase brings the total funding for CCDBG to $8.02 billion. The bill also includes $11.99 billion (an 8.6% increase) for Head Start. Congress expects to pass the spending package by this Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

A few things worth noting:

1. Final number was greater than our “ask”: ECEC was advocating for a doubling of CCDBG over 5 years, which was the high watermark set by Republicans in their appropriations letter earlier this year. Democrats had proposed a $1 billion increase. The $1.85 billion increase for CCDBG is larger than what we were asking for (see table below for schedule of how doubling of CCDBG over give years would work). We are very pleased with the funding increase included.

Year Funding Increase

1 $6.165 billion

2 $7.706 billion (1.541)

3 $9.247 billion

4 $10.788 billion

5 $12.33 billion

2. Policy changes: We were also simultaneously pursuing updates and policy changes to CCDBG—these were not included in the bill. Democrats ultimately felt like the funding increase was insufficient to cover those changes. However, a 30% increase to CCDBG is a major statement and affirmation from members of both sides of the aisle in the program. It is a recognition that this is the right

architecture for delivering child care assistance. It also helps us reunite the child care advocacy community behind CCDBG.

3. Our advocacy: The fact that GOP lawmakers agreed to the monumental increase without policy changes is a testament to your advocacy. Additionally, Democratic lawmakers prioritized child care above other spending programs—this was a significant concession. This is another place where we focused our advocacy efforts.

4. Next steps: Our advocacy work on the federal level is far from over. In order to get future funding increases, we will need to push for sensible policy reforms. Additionally, with the sizeable plus up to CCDBG, there are many actions we can urge states to take using this money. We can also urge HHS to release updated guidance on reimbursement rates. You will see more information from ECEC on this front in the coming days. We will also be putting out a press release later today.

Thank you!”

We at OACCP are encouraged by this update and wanted to share with you to offer more clarity. We will certainly keep you posted on further developments as they happen.

Just a reminder that we need to continue to advocate for market rate increases at the STATE level. We are working hard to make that happen.

We hope that by this time, you are aware of Senate SubHB110 proposed by Sen. Matt Huffman this week to substantially impact our SUTQ system. The changes he is suggesting now will most likely lead to eliminating funding for SUTQ in the future. Plus, the additional language in this bill imposes serious restrictions on the distribution of federal funding coming our way.

You may have already made your voice heard by utilizing some of the tools OACCP has provided, or by using Voter Voice from Groundwork. If so, thank you! If not, please do so today!

We are resending our entire SUTQ Toolkit to you in this mailing, and we have also included one new document which is a letter for you to give your staff or parents to explain what is happening and why we need their help! Everyone who cares about high-quality early care and education for the youngest citizens of Ohio must step up to the plate and advocate at this time.

The SUTQ Toolkit contains ready made tweets and posts for you, your staff, and your parents to post and circulate on their social media pages. We also feature a letter to email to your legislator, and this newest letter to send to staff and families. The more we get the word out the better.  You can find these documents under the Advocacy section on the website.

One of the most concerning parts of this proposed legislation is that our most vulnerable, underserved, low-income children would be impacted the most by the elimination of SUTQ. Those children need every bit of high quality that we can offer, and they often benefit the most. All our children are the future of Ohio, the future of our workforce, and high-quality care in the first five years will make a difference in the next 80 years of their lives. All our children deserve the best!

We have come so far as a state in establishing quality measures in early childhood centers----we cannot go backwards now. Please take some time TODAY to advocate for keeping SUTQ for the sake of our kids!

We will keep you posted as this develops. It is in the Senate now, then it will go to conference committee, and then it goes to the Governor. We are planning another webinar for when we hear the next move. Stay tuned and LET YOUR VOICE BE HEARD!