Pima Early Education Program (PEEPs) - Pima County's Investment in our future

WEBVTT
00:00:01.239 --> 00:00:05.419
Good afternoon and welcome to the first edition
00:00:05.419 --> 00:00:09.019
of the Inside Pima County podcast with Pima County
00:00:09.019 --> 00:00:12.060
Supervisor, Rex Scott. I am Pima County Supervisor,
00:00:12.080 --> 00:00:14.779
Rex Scott. And for this first edition, we are
00:00:14.779 --> 00:00:17.679
joined by, no relation, although I do like her
00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:20.760
last name, Nicole Scott, the Director of the
00:00:20.760 --> 00:00:23.120
Pima Early Education Program Scholarships. Nicole,
00:00:23.120 --> 00:00:26.179
welcome. Thank you. Happy to have you with us.
00:00:26.879 --> 00:00:29.140
Absolutely. Absolutely. So we're going to have
00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:33.259
a conversation about Peeps. We love that acronym.
00:00:33.640 --> 00:00:35.479
It makes everybody think of those cute little
00:00:35.479 --> 00:00:39.359
yellow Easter candies. And you have been the
00:00:39.359 --> 00:00:42.039
director of Peeps ever since it started. Why
00:00:42.039 --> 00:00:44.899
don't you start, tell us how Peeps came about
00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:49.159
and how there was an ill -fated city election
00:00:49.450 --> 00:00:52.369
that led to the creation of Peeps? Yeah, absolutely.
00:00:52.609 --> 00:00:54.429
Well, thanks so much for having me on the show.
00:00:54.810 --> 00:00:58.590
I did, I have been with Peep since 2021 when
00:00:58.590 --> 00:01:01.869
this marvelous program was created, but it did
00:01:01.869 --> 00:01:04.010
actually start a little bit before that. So there
00:01:04.010 --> 00:01:06.209
was a ballot initiative and it was called Strong
00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:10.870
Start Tucson and this happened in the 2017 -2018
00:01:10.870 --> 00:01:14.909
election. and it was just for four -year -olds.
00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:17.900
just within the city of Tucson .and so when we
00:01:17.900 --> 00:01:20.019
think about early childhood and all of our kids
00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:22.719
that need care, it's not enough. And so that
00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:25.840
ballot initiative failed at the city level. And
00:01:25.840 --> 00:01:28.620
that group that was Strong Start Tucson, those
00:01:28.620 --> 00:01:31.319
advocates, those really great warmhearted people
00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:33.879
were like, okay, we believe in this. We know
00:01:33.879 --> 00:01:36.680
that this is something that we need to have in
00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.000
our region. What can we do? And so they did the
00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.739
very brave thing and went to all those folks
00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:45.549
that voted against it and said, Why'd you vote
00:01:45.549 --> 00:01:48.489
against this? This is for kids. This is something
00:01:48.489 --> 00:01:51.329
we all need. And they created what we now call
00:01:51.329 --> 00:01:54.150
the Preschool Promise. And so we have advocates
00:01:54.150 --> 00:01:56.730
and we have businesses and we have all these
00:01:56.730 --> 00:01:59.849
folks that really believe in high quality for
00:01:59.849 --> 00:02:03.030
kiddos starting to advocate for this program
00:02:03.030 --> 00:02:04.989
after that failed initiative. And then I kind
00:02:04.989 --> 00:02:07.209
of think that you can tell us a little bit about
00:02:07.209 --> 00:02:11.169
how that came into play, right, around 2020 when
00:02:11.169 --> 00:02:15.229
yourself and Adelita Grijalva and Matt Hines
00:02:15.229 --> 00:02:18.310
were starting to come into office. That advocacy
00:02:18.310 --> 00:02:20.969
group really came back to the county administrator
00:02:20.969 --> 00:02:23.610
and to the three of you. And do you want to talk
00:02:23.610 --> 00:02:26.789
a little bit about that? I would love to. And
00:02:26.789 --> 00:02:30.889
something that you mentioned has always really
00:02:30.889 --> 00:02:33.830
inspired me about the composition of Preschool
00:02:33.830 --> 00:02:36.689
Promise, because it's made up, as you said, of
00:02:36.689 --> 00:02:40.039
people who were in favor of the city ballot initiative
00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:42.819
and people who were opposed to it. But the one
00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:45.560
thing that they had in common was that all of
00:02:45.560 --> 00:02:48.039
them believed in the need to reduce barriers
00:02:48.039 --> 00:02:51.120
to access to high quality early childhood education.
00:02:51.479 --> 00:02:55.840
And I was especially pleased to see the wholesale
00:02:55.840 --> 00:02:58.139
involvement of the Southern Arizona Leadership
00:02:58.139 --> 00:03:00.699
Council, which is one of our biggest business
00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:03.979
advocacy groups in the area. So you had this
00:03:03.979 --> 00:03:09.169
consortium of business people and early childhood
00:03:09.169 --> 00:03:11.610
advocates coming together on something that they
00:03:11.610 --> 00:03:14.229
all felt strongly about. And you're right, in
00:03:14.229 --> 00:03:16.990
the 2020 election, I was elected in District
00:03:16.990 --> 00:03:20.490
1, Matt Hines was elected in District 2, and
00:03:20.490 --> 00:03:24.120
Adelita Grijalva was elected in District 5. Prior
00:03:24.120 --> 00:03:27.659
to our election, there was really only one supervisor
00:03:27.659 --> 00:03:30.819
who had been an advocate for the county to be
00:03:30.819 --> 00:03:33.639
a leader in reducing those barriers to access
00:03:33.639 --> 00:03:36.500
to early childhood education. And that was the
00:03:36.500 --> 00:03:39.400
late supervisor, Richard Elias. And as I say
00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:43.000
to many gatherings, I cannot go into a preschool
00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:45.460
in this county without thinking of Richard. He
00:03:45.460 --> 00:03:49.419
was a lone warrior on the previous board for
00:03:49.419 --> 00:03:53.139
this cause. and he is smiling down on us in terms
00:03:53.139 --> 00:03:56.979
of what we were able to achieve. And when Supervisors
00:03:56.979 --> 00:04:00.240
Grijalva and Hines and I were elected, we became
00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:04.879
a majority in favor of the county taking on this
00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:07.939
role. And we were approached by the people from
00:04:07.939 --> 00:04:12.319
Preschool Promise, and they asked us if we would
00:04:12.319 --> 00:04:16.889
commit... to putting forth $10 million in general
00:04:16.889 --> 00:04:20.850
fund dollars to fund scholarships for low income
00:04:20.850 --> 00:04:23.230
children. Because the average cost of preschool
00:04:23.230 --> 00:04:27.569
in Pima County is $800 a month per child. And
00:04:27.569 --> 00:04:29.790
if you're a family that's struggling to pay their
00:04:29.790 --> 00:04:32.089
bills, keep food in their kitchen, gas in their
00:04:32.089 --> 00:04:34.720
car. You may not be able to send your child to
00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.199
preschool and then your child is at a disadvantage.
00:04:37.360 --> 00:04:40.620
So we worked with Preschool Promise to put together
00:04:40.620 --> 00:04:44.319
a package. The previous county administrator,
00:04:44.800 --> 00:04:47.660
Chuck Huckelberry, went to the federal government
00:04:47.660 --> 00:04:51.740
and asked if, as the program was kicking off,
00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:54.480
once it was supported by a majority of the board,
00:04:54.819 --> 00:04:59.139
he asked, could we use federal pandemic relief
00:04:59.139 --> 00:05:02.720
funds for this purpose and the federal government
00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:05.800
said, yes, we can. And so the program, I believe,
00:05:05.939 --> 00:05:07.959
you'll correct me if I'm wrong, first four and
00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:10.959
a half years was funded by those pandemic relief
00:05:10.959 --> 00:05:14.139
funds. And then the Southern Arizona Leadership
00:05:14.139 --> 00:05:16.600
Council and the other folks in Preschool Promise
00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:20.759
had gone to the state legislature back in 2019
00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:25.720
and got permission from a huge bipartisan majority
00:05:25.720 --> 00:05:28.959
of the legislature. and the then Governor Doug
00:05:28.959 --> 00:05:32.220
Ducey to allow counties to use a small portion
00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:34.759
of the secondary property tax that funds the
00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:38.060
library district to pay for early childhood scholarships
00:05:38.060 --> 00:05:41.199
moving forward. So any county in the state could
00:05:41.199 --> 00:05:44.870
do what Pima County is doing and I've had interest
00:05:44.870 --> 00:05:47.310
expressed in that from some of my colleagues
00:05:47.310 --> 00:05:50.230
in the other 14 counties. Yeah, absolutely. And
00:05:50.230 --> 00:05:52.449
I think to go off of a couple of things that
00:05:52.449 --> 00:05:55.170
you had said, when the three of you came in and
00:05:55.170 --> 00:05:57.810
really championed this, because it is a need
00:05:57.810 --> 00:06:00.930
and you recognize that need, it didn't pass three
00:06:00.930 --> 00:06:04.449
to two, it passed four to one. Well, actually,
00:06:05.149 --> 00:06:07.149
I don't want to correct you, but it did only
00:06:07.149 --> 00:06:10.860
pass three to two the first time. Currently,
00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:13.740
on the board that is seated right now in 2025,
00:06:14.399 --> 00:06:18.079
we do have four supervisors. Okay, so it's still
00:06:18.079 --> 00:06:20.800
a majority support and it started as a majority
00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:22.500
support. And I think that that's really special.
00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:25.939
And I think also the fact that even though it
00:06:25.939 --> 00:06:28.220
was a majority support with the Board of Supervisors,
00:06:28.300 --> 00:06:30.560
it wasn't just the Board of Supervisors that
00:06:30.560 --> 00:06:32.939
bought into this program, right? We have local
00:06:32.939 --> 00:06:35.420
jurisdictions that came along and said, hey,
00:06:35.519 --> 00:06:37.540
let's also be a part of this program. And I think
00:06:37.540 --> 00:06:40.620
that's really important. It's huge. And also
00:06:40.620 --> 00:06:43.199
something that's super huge is this started as
00:06:43.199 --> 00:06:46.259
general fund dollars. because it was a recognition
00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:49.800
of the importance in investing in our kids, yes,
00:06:50.180 --> 00:06:53.220
so smart to quickly transition to those American
00:06:53.220 --> 00:06:57.160
Rescue Plan federal dollars so that we can build
00:06:57.160 --> 00:07:00.259
this program to what it is today. And then in
00:07:00.259 --> 00:07:03.060
tandem with the support of that business community
00:07:03.060 --> 00:07:05.839
and those leaders making that legislative change,
00:07:05.899 --> 00:07:08.579
now there's this plan of sustainability, right?
00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:11.220
And so I think that that's so important to note
00:07:11.220 --> 00:07:14.620
that it started as general fund because we believe
00:07:14.620 --> 00:07:18.060
so wholeheartedly in this program. And though
00:07:18.060 --> 00:07:20.800
it was funded through those federal relief dollars,
00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:23.300
I think it's always important to note that that
00:07:23.300 --> 00:07:25.980
is that commitment and that investment. And it
00:07:25.980 --> 00:07:28.339
is regionally shared, though Pima County has
00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:32.319
this huge investment in it. We do share it with,
00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:34.480
you know, the town of Mariana and Oro Valley
00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:37.439
and our largest partner city of Tucson and the
00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:40.420
jurisdictions and their support for this program,
00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:43.360
not just financially, right, but allowing us
00:07:43.360 --> 00:07:45.699
to be able to build these classrooms within their
00:07:45.699 --> 00:07:49.160
areas and be a part of it for all of their children
00:07:49.160 --> 00:07:52.240
as well. And I want to say that moving forward,
00:07:52.660 --> 00:07:57.680
we've got a four -person pro -child pro -early
00:07:57.680 --> 00:08:00.180
childhood education majority on the Board of
00:08:00.180 --> 00:08:03.399
Supervisors. Supervisor Grijalva is now Congresswoman
00:08:03.399 --> 00:08:06.500
Grijalva, but her successor, Supervisor Cano,
00:08:06.600 --> 00:08:10.339
is a strong advocate for the Peeps program, as
00:08:10.339 --> 00:08:13.560
is our new colleague from District 3, Supervisor
00:08:13.560 --> 00:08:17.180
Allen. So what was a three -person majority is
00:08:17.180 --> 00:08:19.759
now a four -person majority. So the community
00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:23.540
can know that this program moving forward has
00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:26.360
a sustainable source of funding. and the support
00:08:26.360 --> 00:08:29.639
of four of the five supervisors. I wanted to
00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:34.220
talk about the fact, though, that if we're going
00:08:34.220 --> 00:08:38.700
to find a way to get more kids to go into preschool,
00:08:38.899 --> 00:08:42.299
we gotta have space for them. So talk a little
00:08:42.299 --> 00:08:46.299
bit, if you can, Nicole, not only about how many
00:08:46.299 --> 00:08:49.840
kids have been served by the peeps program since
00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.549
it started, but How are we working with the local
00:08:53.549 --> 00:08:57.710
United Way to ensure that there is capacity for
00:08:57.710 --> 00:09:00.450
taking on all those extra kiddos? Yeah, absolutely.
00:09:00.610 --> 00:09:02.950
So the two main goals of PEEPS are to get kids
00:09:02.950 --> 00:09:06.629
into seats, but also to create more seats, but
00:09:06.629 --> 00:09:09.090
high quality seats. And that's really, really
00:09:09.090 --> 00:09:11.309
important for us to make sure that these programs
00:09:11.309 --> 00:09:14.409
are high quality. And who sets those standards
00:09:14.409 --> 00:09:17.309
for quality? Sure. They are state standards through
00:09:17.309 --> 00:09:19.649
our quality first system and our state agency
00:09:19.649 --> 00:09:22.830
first things first. four nationally accredited
00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:25.629
programs that our state agency, Department of
00:09:25.629 --> 00:09:28.769
Economic Security, Child and Family Administration,
00:09:28.809 --> 00:09:32.990
they just changed their names. I'm sure you nailed
00:09:32.990 --> 00:09:37.370
it. Yeah, I hope so. That they recognize as national
00:09:37.370 --> 00:09:39.970
high quality. So we have some national high quality
00:09:39.970 --> 00:09:42.309
programs as well. So both state and nationally
00:09:42.309 --> 00:09:46.259
recognized programs. research -proven programs
00:09:46.259 --> 00:09:48.580
set those standards for high quality. We didn't,
00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:50.779
as Pima County, come and say, these are the standards.
00:09:51.059 --> 00:09:53.620
We went on our research and the data and wrote
00:09:53.620 --> 00:09:57.879
that that was shown. But we quickly realized
00:09:57.879 --> 00:10:00.179
in 2021 when the program was getting off the
00:10:00.179 --> 00:10:02.100
ground, we need help. We need to figure out how
00:10:02.100 --> 00:10:04.399
we can do this. And so through that partnership
00:10:04.399 --> 00:10:07.539
with United Way and their great community convenings
00:10:07.539 --> 00:10:10.980
that they are known for, we built that relationship
00:10:10.980 --> 00:10:14.529
with them very quickly in 2021. And then also
00:10:14.529 --> 00:10:18.450
realize we don't necessarily have a mechanism
00:10:18.450 --> 00:10:22.309
for taking an individual donations that are smaller
00:10:22.309 --> 00:10:26.309
than we would anticipate. And so with United
00:10:26.309 --> 00:10:29.389
Way, it was, well, we can do that. We can help
00:10:29.389 --> 00:10:32.350
support you. and be a partner in this and let's
00:10:32.350 --> 00:10:34.809
build this together as a community because it's
00:10:34.809 --> 00:10:36.809
all hands on deck when you're raising a kid I'm
00:10:36.809 --> 00:10:40.070
sure you know. My wife and I have twins so yes
00:10:40.070 --> 00:10:43.029
we knew that times too at every stage. See there
00:10:43.029 --> 00:10:46.230
you go and so it's all hands on deck and so United
00:10:46.230 --> 00:10:49.269
Way has been this marvelous partner and in tandem
00:10:49.269 --> 00:10:51.769
when Peeps was being created through Pima County
00:10:51.769 --> 00:10:54.129
they created what we're calling the Accelerate
00:10:54.129 --> 00:10:57.450
Quality Program and that program's intention
00:10:57.450 --> 00:11:01.710
is goal two of Peeps is to create more seats
00:11:01.710 --> 00:11:04.809
that are high quality for these kids to go into.
00:11:05.190 --> 00:11:08.970
So they've worked with over 70 providers within
00:11:08.970 --> 00:11:13.889
Pima County to get them up to high quality so
00:11:13.889 --> 00:11:16.909
that they can access these dollars and scholarships
00:11:16.909 --> 00:11:19.330
for their kids and their families. Because like
00:11:19.330 --> 00:11:23.309
you said, it's $800 for a preschooler, and that
00:11:23.309 --> 00:11:26.490
was in 2020. With inflation, we know that that
00:11:26.490 --> 00:11:30.440
is much higher now. And to serve children in
00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:33.379
a high quality environment, it's higher than
00:11:33.379 --> 00:11:36.139
the average child care or preschool that we're
00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:38.419
taking our kids to. So we want to make sure that
00:11:38.419 --> 00:11:42.039
we're providing enough funds for these providers
00:11:42.039 --> 00:11:47.049
to give this opportunity to children at that
00:11:47.049 --> 00:11:49.750
high quality level. And so through Accelerate
00:11:49.750 --> 00:11:52.909
Quality, they're able to take in those donations
00:11:52.909 --> 00:11:55.870
through philanthropic folks, through different
00:11:55.870 --> 00:11:58.210
agencies and organizations that want to be a
00:11:58.210 --> 00:12:01.549
part of this program because it's raising a child
00:12:01.549 --> 00:12:05.500
as a village and helping to create these high
00:12:05.500 --> 00:12:08.440
-quality seats across the region. And with the
00:12:08.440 --> 00:12:10.460
work that they've done, I believe in the programs,
00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:13.360
over those 70 programs, that's over 2 ,000 children
00:12:13.360 --> 00:12:16.580
that are affected. So yes, Peeps is serving 1
00:12:16.580 --> 00:12:19.860
in 500 kids a year. Like, that's our minimum goal,
00:12:19.919 --> 00:12:24.500
right? And 5 ,000 since we started. This is in
00:12:24.500 --> 00:12:26.960
addition to creating more seats so that we can
00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:30.039
serve more kids because we're only serving 41
00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.240
% of our region's need. And in order for us to
00:12:33.240 --> 00:12:36.100
serve more kids and create more quality seats,
00:12:36.340 --> 00:12:38.559
we need that partnership and through Accelerate
00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:41.539
Quality through our United Way program and the
00:12:41.539 --> 00:12:43.519
partnership that we have with them, businesses
00:12:43.519 --> 00:12:46.779
and philanthropic and individuals are able to
00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:49.700
donate to that and further this work along. So
00:12:49.700 --> 00:12:53.419
we have been able to count on support from some
00:12:53.419 --> 00:12:57.539
of the other local jurisdictions, Tucson, Marana,
00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:00.179
Oro Valley. You also mentioned the role of the
00:13:00.179 --> 00:13:02.620
United Way and its Accelerate Quality program
00:13:02.620 --> 00:13:06.080
in terms of expanding preschool capacity. Talk
00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:08.500
to us a little bit about the role of the K -12
00:13:08.500 --> 00:13:12.429
districts and how they have helped. to ensure
00:13:12.429 --> 00:13:15.629
that children in their communities, their parents
00:13:15.629 --> 00:13:17.610
know about these scholarships and know about
00:13:17.610 --> 00:13:20.889
how to access them. Yeah, absolutely. So when
00:13:20.889 --> 00:13:23.629
this program started, we reached out to all of
00:13:23.629 --> 00:13:25.929
our Pima County school districts and said, who
00:13:25.929 --> 00:13:29.990
has capacity and capability to join us on this
00:13:29.990 --> 00:13:33.309
ride so that we can create new preschool classrooms
00:13:33.309 --> 00:13:36.389
for each of the communities with all of the things
00:13:36.389 --> 00:13:38.470
that are going on with the public school system
00:13:38.470 --> 00:13:41.799
and enrollment being down. because of a lot of
00:13:41.799 --> 00:13:45.039
different variables. This was one way for us
00:13:45.039 --> 00:13:47.519
to be able to bring enrollment back up and get
00:13:47.519 --> 00:13:50.039
families back on these public school campuses.
00:13:50.539 --> 00:13:53.100
And so we found a partnership within our Pima
00:13:53.100 --> 00:13:55.279
County school districts and we work with six
00:13:55.279 --> 00:13:59.080
directly to build new classrooms, create new
00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:01.759
jobs because we needed teachers for those classrooms
00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:05.080
and new spaces for kids that are within their
00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:07.799
communities, some within walking distances to
00:14:07.799 --> 00:14:10.220
those campuses. So it's so easy for families
00:14:10.220 --> 00:14:13.379
to get to. And I'm so proud of that piece of
00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:16.299
our programming because we started. with our
00:14:16.299 --> 00:14:19.100
school districts with only nine classes, and
00:14:19.100 --> 00:14:21.679
we have over 30 school district classes now.
00:14:21.899 --> 00:14:24.419
And that's because the school districts invest
00:14:24.419 --> 00:14:27.840
into those programs as well. They provide the
00:14:27.840 --> 00:14:30.399
environments, they keep the lights on, they provide
00:14:30.399 --> 00:14:32.600
the maintenance and the facility and anything
00:14:32.600 --> 00:14:35.879
that those districts... classrooms need. And
00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:38.799
it's been so welcoming. The principals love having
00:14:38.799 --> 00:14:41.220
the kids there. The families love being on the
00:14:41.220 --> 00:14:44.539
campus because if they have older kids, I am
00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:47.700
a mother of four. And so if I had my older kids,
00:14:47.759 --> 00:14:50.480
I want my younger kids to be on that same environment
00:14:50.480 --> 00:14:53.539
and campus. So it makes it so much easier for
00:14:53.539 --> 00:14:56.519
families to keep their kids in that same place.
00:14:56.830 --> 00:14:59.750
that continuity of care is really important for
00:14:59.750 --> 00:15:02.690
high quality early childhood education and so
00:15:02.690 --> 00:15:05.269
these kids are on these campuses and the school
00:15:05.269 --> 00:15:07.730
districts recognize the importance in this and
00:15:07.730 --> 00:15:10.269
they want to be a part of it and invest in it
00:15:10.269 --> 00:15:13.669
and we're so happy to see that now some of their
00:15:13.669 --> 00:15:15.730
bonds and overrides and things that they're going
00:15:15.730 --> 00:15:18.450
out for are for early childhood improvements
00:15:18.450 --> 00:15:23.789
and for creating new classrooms and really investing
00:15:23.789 --> 00:15:26.679
more into it than what they already do now. So,
00:15:26.779 --> 00:15:30.360
I think that's really special. So, we know that
00:15:30.360 --> 00:15:35.519
the K -12 districts are significant partners
00:15:35.519 --> 00:15:40.539
in this endeavor, but so are the private sector
00:15:40.539 --> 00:15:45.259
early childhood operators. So is, as you said
00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:48.200
earlier, first things first. Talk a little bit
00:15:48.200 --> 00:15:51.960
about those two entities, the private sector
00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:55.309
child care and early childhood education providers
00:15:55.309 --> 00:15:58.289
and first things first. Yeah, absolutely. And
00:15:58.289 --> 00:16:02.230
I have to always, always give credit to our wonderful
00:16:02.230 --> 00:16:05.750
Nicole Fyffe as she helped create the infrastructure
00:16:05.750 --> 00:16:08.990
of this program back in 2021. I know who she
00:16:08.990 --> 00:16:11.490
is, but for our viewers and listeners, who is
00:16:11.490 --> 00:16:15.429
Nicole Fyffe? Nicole Fyffe is one of our amazing
00:16:15.429 --> 00:16:18.480
senior staff. folks at our county administration
00:16:18.480 --> 00:16:21.779
office who works directly with our county administrators
00:16:21.779 --> 00:16:24.720
and all of our departments here in Pima County.
00:16:24.899 --> 00:16:28.840
She's sort of our wonderful behind the scenes.
00:16:28.960 --> 00:16:31.220
I don't know how to really describe her. I think
00:16:31.220 --> 00:16:33.659
you're doing a great job describing her. She's
00:16:33.659 --> 00:16:36.720
so amazing. It has so much experience in the
00:16:36.720 --> 00:16:40.740
county systems and multitudes of experience with
00:16:40.740 --> 00:16:42.779
different departments and working within this
00:16:42.779 --> 00:16:45.740
region that I think she was really a really great
00:16:45.740 --> 00:16:49.480
choice. for Mr. Huckelberry at the time to lay
00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:52.159
this on Nicole and help build this infrastructure.
00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:54.840
Because one thing that she did really well was
00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:57.840
recognize that Arizona is a mixed delivery system
00:16:57.840 --> 00:17:00.080
with early childhood, and we can't just put all
00:17:00.080 --> 00:17:02.600
of our money into the school districts. We had
00:17:02.600 --> 00:17:05.079
to make sure that we were serving different types
00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:07.980
of care for our families. And so contracting
00:17:07.980 --> 00:17:10.920
with First Things First, our state agency, was
00:17:10.920 --> 00:17:14.339
one way for us to be able to reach our quality
00:17:14.339 --> 00:17:17.430
programs. that are through the private sector
00:17:17.430 --> 00:17:20.809
and our nonprofit sector and our family child
00:17:20.809 --> 00:17:23.430
care providers. Because if we tried to do that
00:17:23.430 --> 00:17:25.710
on our own and contract with each one individually,
00:17:26.049 --> 00:17:30.190
that's over 200 contracts. Whoa. Yeah. So we
00:17:30.190 --> 00:17:32.789
wanted to make sure that we were able to, one,
00:17:33.089 --> 00:17:36.369
manage this through the county and, two, reach
00:17:36.369 --> 00:17:39.150
as many providers as possible. So our contract
00:17:39.150 --> 00:17:41.670
with our state agency First Things First allows
00:17:41.670 --> 00:17:44.710
us to do that. So providers that are part of
00:17:44.710 --> 00:17:47.589
the Quality First program and are of high quality,
00:17:47.769 --> 00:17:50.609
so a three, four, five -star program, are able
00:17:50.609 --> 00:17:54.049
to access the scholarships through that portal.
00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.799
So through that, we reach almost 200 providers
00:17:57.799 --> 00:18:00.599
that are in the private sector, that are nonprofit,
00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:03.559
that are home providers, group home providers,
00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:06.000
and they're able to access those scholarships
00:18:06.000 --> 00:18:08.640
without having to learn a new system, without
00:18:08.640 --> 00:18:11.940
having to get a new contract with us. They're
00:18:11.940 --> 00:18:14.519
already in this system. It's something that exists
00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:17.440
and it makes it easy for them to be able to provide
00:18:17.440 --> 00:18:20.259
these for their families. So you'll forgive me
00:18:20.259 --> 00:18:22.259
because I'm a former social studies teacher,
00:18:22.460 --> 00:18:26.089
but it sounds to me. like Nicole Fife, putting
00:18:26.089 --> 00:18:28.549
together the guiding principles for the program.
00:18:28.970 --> 00:18:32.089
It's like the James Madison of the Peeps program.
00:18:32.269 --> 00:18:35.210
That would mean that you, Nicole Scott, are the
00:18:35.210 --> 00:18:37.809
George Washington. I love that. Because you're
00:18:37.809 --> 00:18:42.049
the first leader. I love those references. That's
00:18:42.049 --> 00:18:45.349
marvelous. Well, I think they're very apropos.
00:18:45.490 --> 00:18:48.029
But let's go back to a number that you cited
00:18:48.029 --> 00:18:51.789
that both of us would like to see increase. Absolutely.
00:18:52.630 --> 00:18:55.650
We are only serving even given that we've helped
00:18:55.650 --> 00:18:59.069
as you said right around 5 ,000 kids since this
00:18:59.069 --> 00:19:02.430
program started We're only helping we're only
00:19:02.430 --> 00:19:05.410
meeting 41 % of the need in terms of the number
00:19:05.410 --> 00:19:09.569
of kids who could be Taking part in high quality
00:19:09.569 --> 00:19:11.630
early childhood education, but aren't now we
00:19:11.630 --> 00:19:14.829
know some of those some of that remaining 59
00:19:14.829 --> 00:19:17.130
% it's because their parents have chosen to not
00:19:17.130 --> 00:19:20.549
send them to preschool, but for those who Cost
00:19:20.549 --> 00:19:23.380
is still the barrier What are we going to do?
00:19:23.400 --> 00:19:25.400
And let's close on this. What are we going to
00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:29.259
do moving forward to increase that number from
00:19:29.259 --> 00:19:34.099
41 % of meeting the need to hire every year?
00:19:34.559 --> 00:19:37.180
Yeah, absolutely. So we are working on a number
00:19:37.180 --> 00:19:40.950
of different things and I think you having the
00:19:40.950 --> 00:19:44.869
closing statement to react to my next comment
00:19:44.869 --> 00:19:47.849
would be great. Okay, I'll be sure to do that.
00:19:48.089 --> 00:19:50.430
So the really great thing that I've noticed since
00:19:50.430 --> 00:19:55.200
I've come on board in 2021 is that Since then,
00:19:55.339 --> 00:19:58.579
Pima County has found a way to not just invest
00:19:58.579 --> 00:20:01.299
the 10 million into early childhood education,
00:20:01.440 --> 00:20:04.500
but also into policy. If you folks aren't aware,
00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:07.420
the prosperity initiative, which has been passed
00:20:07.420 --> 00:20:09.599
here with Pima County, as well as in the city
00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.240
of Tucson, one of those things of prosperity
00:20:12.240 --> 00:20:15.960
is access to high quality early childhood education.
00:20:16.339 --> 00:20:19.099
So it's not just a dollar investment. This is
00:20:19.099 --> 00:20:21.759
a policy investment because we recognize the
00:20:21.759 --> 00:20:26.259
importance of extended lifetime opportunities
00:20:26.259 --> 00:20:29.319
that this brings of early childhood education
00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:32.099
and the high quality piece of it. Having access
00:20:32.099 --> 00:20:34.640
to that creates a multitude of opportunities
00:20:34.640 --> 00:20:38.559
for our children, our economy, and our community's
00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:40.779
wealth, right? And so I think that that's really
00:20:40.779 --> 00:20:44.200
important. So we have to not only make that financial
00:20:44.200 --> 00:20:48.170
investment, but also that mind shift that Children
00:20:48.170 --> 00:20:50.829
are the things that we need to be investing in
00:20:50.829 --> 00:20:53.309
and child care and high quality child care is
00:20:53.309 --> 00:20:55.730
a really great place for us to do that. So we
00:20:55.730 --> 00:20:58.650
are looking at Pima County as an employer. What
00:20:58.650 --> 00:21:01.450
are we doing? We're looking at Pima County as
00:21:01.450 --> 00:21:05.089
a region. How can we do this? And we are this
00:21:05.089 --> 00:21:08.450
year looking at creating a roundtable to bring
00:21:08.450 --> 00:21:11.599
together local leaders within our region. so
00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:14.980
that we can introduce them to this idea of all
00:21:14.980 --> 00:21:17.960
hands on deck and how can we do this. If you
00:21:17.960 --> 00:21:20.839
can't invest in the financial piece, what else
00:21:20.839 --> 00:21:23.200
can you invest in? Do you have an empty building
00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:27.099
that we can use? Do you have opportunities to
00:21:27.099 --> 00:21:30.480
do maybe a preschool supply drive? Things like
00:21:30.480 --> 00:21:33.880
that. And then also engaging more with our business
00:21:33.880 --> 00:21:37.519
community. We had great leadership with the Southern
00:21:37.519 --> 00:21:40.519
Arizona Leadership Council not had continue to
00:21:40.519 --> 00:21:43.759
have their Continuously marvelous partners and
00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.220
engaging with them. Do you know all the ins and
00:21:46.220 --> 00:21:48.359
outs of peeps? and what can we do to get you
00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:51.660
on board and truly make this a true regional
00:21:51.660 --> 00:21:55.380
effort that adheres to our policy and adheres
00:21:55.380 --> 00:21:58.019
to the investment investing in our youngest learners
00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:01.509
here, but I do I think Prosperity is something
00:22:01.509 --> 00:22:03.869
that's really amazing. And I think I would love
00:22:03.869 --> 00:22:06.970
to have your last word on that. Well, as you
00:22:06.970 --> 00:22:11.150
indicated, our experience with the success of
00:22:11.150 --> 00:22:15.349
the Peeps program was a major impetus in the
00:22:15.349 --> 00:22:17.730
creation of the Prosperity Initiative. That's
00:22:17.730 --> 00:22:20.670
a policy framework that was worked on by all
00:22:20.670 --> 00:22:24.410
of the jurisdictions within Pima County, the
00:22:24.410 --> 00:22:28.289
five cities and towns, the county, the tribe,
00:22:28.369 --> 00:22:31.440
the nation. And it's a policy framework that
00:22:31.440 --> 00:22:37.819
really has the daunting task of taking on intergenerational
00:22:37.819 --> 00:22:41.579
poverty. And you can't hope to help children
00:22:41.579 --> 00:22:44.000
unless you're also helping their parents. And
00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.900
that's also a big reason why the early childhood
00:22:48.900 --> 00:22:51.640
scholarships have had such support from our business
00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:55.480
community, not just SALC, but the chamber
00:22:55.480 --> 00:22:58.720
of Southern Arizona and all of the jurisdictional
00:22:58.720 --> 00:23:01.819
chambers, the Hispanic chamber, the LGBTQ chamber,
00:23:02.259 --> 00:23:06.359
because you can't expect workers and students
00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:10.500
to be able to go on with their day unless they
00:23:10.500 --> 00:23:13.519
know where their child is going to be. speaks
00:23:13.519 --> 00:23:15.859
to a need for an investment, not just in early
00:23:15.859 --> 00:23:19.460
childhood education, but in childcare. And one
00:23:19.460 --> 00:23:21.720
of the reasons that we've had to step up as a
00:23:21.720 --> 00:23:24.420
county is because the state of Arizona has never
00:23:24.420 --> 00:23:27.759
returned to pre -recession funding levels for
00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:30.980
either early childhood education or childcare.
00:23:31.480 --> 00:23:34.180
So, the Prosperity Initiative, again, this policy
00:23:34.180 --> 00:23:37.680
framework that we have had in place is supposed
00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:40.670
to... guide our budgetary decisions with the
00:23:40.670 --> 00:23:43.490
goal of taking on intergenerational poverty and
00:23:43.490 --> 00:23:46.490
the success of the peeps program through your
00:23:46.490 --> 00:23:49.529
leadership and the leadership of everybody else
00:23:49.529 --> 00:23:53.289
who's working on its behalf is a big driver in
00:23:53.289 --> 00:23:55.289
creating that initiative. Was that the answer
00:23:55.289 --> 00:23:58.349
that you were hoping for? Yes. Okay. All right.
00:23:59.190 --> 00:24:01.390
We did not plan this. All right. Well, Nicole
00:24:01.390 --> 00:24:05.029
Scott, thank you for helping us to kick off.
00:24:05.210 --> 00:24:08.009
this podcast series, we will be coming to you
00:24:08.009 --> 00:24:10.950
with other department and program directors from
00:24:10.950 --> 00:24:13.849
Pima County because just like with our District
00:24:13.849 --> 00:24:16.910
1 newsletters, we want to use these podcasts
00:24:16.910 --> 00:24:21.150
to help inform our public more about the work
00:24:21.150 --> 00:24:24.109
that's happening in Pima County in terms of everything
00:24:24.109 --> 00:24:27.410
our 7 ,000 employees are doing to deliver services
00:24:27.410 --> 00:24:30.009
and supports to all of you. So thank you very
00:24:30.009 --> 00:24:30.309
much.