The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014 (CCDBG Act) makes several references to children’s social-emotional and behavioral health. In particular, the CCDBG Actrequires States to provide consumer education information to families; the general public; and where applicable, providers. That information must include their policies regarding the social-emotional and behavioral health of young children, which could include policies on the expulsion of preschool-age children in early childhood programs receiving Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) program assistance. The law also allows States to target CCDF program quality enhancement funds to professional development efforts, including effective behavior management strategies and training that promotes children’s social-emotional development and reduces challenging behavior, including reducing expulsions of preschool-age children for such behaviors.
In addition, in 2014 the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services and Education jointly released a policy statement addressing expulsion and suspension in early learning settings and highlighting the importance of social-emotional and behavioral health. The attached Information Memorandum provides lead agencies with a menu of policy options to consider when developing their CCDF plans and policies to support young children, parents, and the early childhood workforce.
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Office of Child Care
Administration for Children and Families
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Aerospace Building, Fifth Floor East
370 L’Enfant Promenade, S.W.
Washington, DC 20447
General office number: (202) 690-6782
Fax: (202) 690-5600
General e-mail: occ@acf.hhs.gov
Web site: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/occ