CNMI Receives Local Funding for the First Time
For the first time since the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) was established, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ (CNMI) Department of Community and Cultural Affairs received a local investment in CCDF. Together, the governor and the legislature appropriated $420,000 to CCDF, a major win for children and families in this territory of 55,000 residents. Part of what laid the foundation for this advance was data collection and analysis of early childhood teachers’ salaries and turnover.

This accomplishment has been supported by technical assistance (TA) from the Child Care State Capacity Building Center’s (SCBC) Impact Project. The Impact Project provides intensive consultation and TA to states and territories as they develop and expand their systemic capacity in planning and implementing their early childhood priorities. A senior consultant helped CNMI identify a high-priority goal for its CCDF program and an action plan to help make progress toward achieving the goal. The senior consultant continues to support CNMI through regular monthly meetings, onsite visits to facilitate CNMI’s data collection and analysis, and the preparation of briefing materials. CNMI’s Impact Project used the meetings to identify what data were needed and then to create and implement strategies to address the workforce challenges. The briefing materials were prepared to help the CCDF Administrator elevate the workforce issues to those outside of CCDF. SCBC’s Impact Project will continue to provide CNMI with intensive consultation as additional strategies are developed to address the quality of services along with critical issues for child care teachers, including compensation and turnover in early childhood.