Early Childhood and Family Service System FAQs

Accountability within the new system will be defined through an intensive design process beginning on July 1, 2026. Stakeholders will be engaged in the development of the ECFSS state plan which will include accountability and enforcement. As a part of the state plan development process, a detailed needs assessment will be conducted to identify the needs of children and families and highlight current successes in meeting outcomes. To determine specific local needs, a district assessment will be conducted, and a district plan will be developed in conjunction with district advisory councils.  All funding will be directed to help meet local needs identified through the district assessment and plan process. The development of district assessments and plans will be repeated annually to assure local context remains at the forefront of the ECFSS strategies, tactics, programs, and services. 

Concrete mechanisms include, but are not limited to, formalized employment agreements and procedures, standard contract templates, standard monitoring templates, standard procurement templates, and consistent and regular auditing procedures. In the new system, oversight will be deployed by district to address scale and complexity challenges. 

Funds would be allocated to the new Early Childhood and Family Services System. With the current ECI system there is not a transparent data source for local board use of funds. HHS currently provides an annual report of data collected from the local boards to the best of data provided from local areas. The annual report can be found on the ECI website page.

ECFS system strategies would include 0-5 programming. This strategy would be required in each district. District funding would illustrate the amount dedicated to 0-5 programming in the proposed new system. HHS would produce an annual report that outlines funding by district.

In the new system, Iowa HHS would not take over the management of ECI area boards. Local procurement would no longer take place through ECI area boards; contracts for local programs and services would be determined and issued by Iowa HHS through competitive procurement processes.

There would be $3.8 million cost savings and no additional administrative costs for HHS to procure services. HHS would procure for the provision of core services within each of the seven ECFS districts. The procurement would require Contractors to assure services are provided in each county within an ECFS district. 

Programs reaching youth through age 18 will be incorporated into the Early Childhood and Family Services System along with those serving children 0-5.  ECFSS will continue to prioritize investments in 0-5 programming.

Prioritizing policies and procedures for current responsibilities held within ECI are still important. The full implementation of the new system would not take place until July 1, 2027. Until a new system is implemented, the ECI State Board and ECI local boards are responsible for the use and accountability of state tax dollars. 

There is great variability within the current system. This variability includes:

1. Not all of the ECI areas adhere to open meetings laws (Iowa Code Chapter 21);
2. Invoice documentation to verify local expenditures is not available;
3. Local application and procurement processes are not consistent;
4. Contract language is not consistent or legally binding to protect the area board as they have tort liability;
5. Administrative costs vary per ECI area and there are no consistent policies or procedures in employee handbooks or human resource procedures;
6. Data reporting is unclear and not submitted timely by all;
7. There are still 12 counties in Iowa without evidence-based home visitation services;
8. The service costs for the same services vary per ECI area;
9. Service provision is not the same across ECI areas (For example, in the four county are of Howard, Winneshiek, Allamakee, and Clayton Counties (HAWC ECI Area local board), their board only provides preschool scholarships in Allamakee and Clayton Counties). 

Additional examples of variability across ECI areas can be found in ECI Area Snapshots found on the ECFSS webpage.

In the current system structure, ECI area boards are dependent on one person to fulfill all of Iowa Code Chapter 256I requirements in the ECI area. ECI area boards are made up of volunteers who vary in their level of engagement and ability to implement service procurement, fiduciary responsibilities, community collaboration, needs assessments, and all legal requirements. When the person that an ECI area board relies on to fulfill the requirements outlined in Chapter 256I is not available or is not performing, communities risk losing their funding as public funds, legal expectations, and state law requirements are vast and need to be regularly verified. 

Iowa's Integrated Data System for Decision-Making continues to provide analysis of state administrative data to inform needs assessments. Continued enhancements in understanding local needs and service outcomes are underway with mid-year and annual year data reporting requests from local areas. District advisory councils will inform local needs assessments and contribute to district planning. 

During the transitional year, all ECI-funded contracts would be evaluated according to outcomes. Service contracts that are delivering positive, measurable outcomes will be maintained.  HHS would manage the selection of programs for funding through the amendment of existing contracts and a standard procurement process. Future funding priorities will be connected back to the core strategies that are the foundation for the ECFSS system. 

District assessments and plans will take into consideration the needs of children and families in metropolitan, micropolitan, and rural areas. Procurement processes will be utilized to detail expectations to provide service across populations including service expectations to meet various populations, performance measures, monitoring expectations, and associated budgets to provide consistency. 

The changes to Decat and CPPC would take effect July 1, 2026. Some programs/investments would be maintained due to their fit into key prevention strategies. Others will be assessed for an appropriate run out of contracts and then replaced with programs/investments. 

There would be no immediate impacts to ICAPP contracts; current contract directives would apply if changes are anticipated. CPPC contracts and funding will be directed toward needs identified in the statewide plan and local needs assessments and district plans. 

Current ICAPP contracts include language for one year (FY26) with up to two more one-year renewals pending available funds and performance.

CPPC councils will not continue as they are. These individuals and organizations would be redirected to participate in Thrive Alliances, provider networks or district advisory councils.

The changes to Decat and CPPC would take effect July 1, 2026. Some programs/investments would be maintained due to their fit into key prevention strategies. Others will be assessed for an appropriate run out of contracts and then replaced with programs/investments. 

The changes to Decat and CPPC would take effect July 1, 2026. Some programs/investments would be maintained due to their fit into key prevention strategies. Others will be assessed for an appropriate run out of contracts and then replaced with programs/investments. 

District advisory councils would have significant influence in shaping the service delivery system. Iowa HHS would have oversight and authority of the ECFS system. In addition to using the Iowa Council on Health and Human Services for input and feedback, HHS will work with district advisory councils. These councils will provide strategic advice and stakeholder input to the Department on programs and policies that impact child welfare, family well-being, and community-based services. The councils will ensure that recommendations reflect best practices, lived experience, and equity principles.

HHS will make decisions about funding, program prioritization, and performance oversight. 

The state will prioritize evidence-based programs over other credentialed programs due to demonstrated effectiveness, while also allowing the state to maximize federal funding. 

The state will prioritize evidence-based programs over other credentialed programs due to demonstrated effectiveness, while also allowing the state to maximize federal funding. 

The new ECFS system would continue to contract with local providers, ensuring families with young children would continue to be supported without interruption.

It is our shared responsibility to identify the needs of children and families and work together to meet those needs. We are also charged with ensuring that state and federal resources are used effectively and efficiently and disparities are not inadvertently created. A shared structure provides a common direction for a new system, allows for the ability to identify and address unique needs at a district level, puts additional resources at the local level, and ensures consistency across the state so your zip code doesn't impact your ability to be healthy and successful. 

Using HHS districts as the boundaries for assessment, planning, and input/feedback allow for enhanced future collaboration, coordination, and communication with other HHS service systems and corresponding local partners. 

The structure used for the Behavioral Health and Disability Services systems focuses on shared responsibility to serve Iowans. Collectively, HHS and district partners identify strategic direction and priorities for the system. At the state level, HHS determines system expectations, funding, and policies. Assessment and planning to meet statewide and unique local needs of Iowans, and local implementation, takes place at the district level. These systems just began implementation on July 1, 2025; however multiple successes have been observed including governance clarity and communication. 

We will continue to closely follow all aspects of governance clarity, communication, pacing, workforce impact, and community trust activities that were taken in the BH transition, keeping in mind this system and the BH system have important differences. 

The ECI State Board was informed of various oversight challenges with the current structure; none of which were remedied over the past year.  The State Board was notified of the ECFS legislation last month.

Preschool access will be supported in collaboration with the Department of Education and the Child Care Subdivision in FWBP. 

This question can be addressed by utilizing resources available on the Thrive webpage and through engagement with locally funded programs.

Coordinated intake will continue to be an important tactic in the new system. 

HHS intends to continue funding contractors who provide services under ECFS key strategies and associated tactics. There may be changes specific to spending associated with child care and potentially redirection of CPPC and Decat expenditures, with the balance used to augment services to children and families. Contracting will be more direct, but the intent and the investment remain.

One of the main strategies of the proposed Early Childhood and Family Services System would be 0-5 programming. HHS would work closely with district advisory councils and partners to develop statewide, and district plans that focus on the needs of young children and families.

State procurements would be issued to identify contractors able to provide service delivery and continuous quality improvements to meet performance measures to support positive child and family outcomes.

Yes, the districts would become health and human service geographies. 

This information can be found on the Thrive webpage.

There would be advisory councils with ten citizen members to represent each district. 

The seven districts were created in the context of people served by the HHS system. A variety of data was compiled to illustrate need, access, and risk. That data was then used to create balanced districts for collaboration, coordination, and communication. The use of data specific to each system is used to determine funding at the local level. 

We will complete a one-year planning and transition phase where safeguarding services, relationships, and institutional knowledge will guide the process. We do not expect disruption of services for families or the ECI workforce during that time. 

The current timeline proposal for full transition to an ECFS system would be by July 1, 2027. 

HHS does not anticipate additional FTEs for coordination or service provision, but with additional funds, expansion is expected at the provider level. In the new ECFS system, HHS would contract with local organizations to provide services within communities. HHS will provide tailored education and training to local providers to ensure an educated, dedicated workforce for the ECFS system.

HHS does not anticipate additional FTEs for coordination, but with additional funds, expansion is expected at the provider level. In the new ECFS system, HHS would contract with local organizations to provide services within communities.