MBST Solutions

MBST Solutions is a consulting firm focused on the development of family child care policies. These polices center the strengths of family child care providers, and connect policy and practice.

Mary Beth Salomone Testa brings more than 20 years of experience in team-building, advocacy, and policy development at the federal, state and local level. As a consultant, she offers strategic analysis, technical assistance, expert strengths-based facilitation and mobilization.

State allies can call on MBST to:

Support them in the assessment of existing policies for home-based providers.

In particular, MBST has extensive expertise on child care licensing policy and practice, the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) at the federal and state level, and opportunities of the flexibilities of CCDBG and the CCDF State Plans.

Help them shape policies that support home-based ECE providers.

This includes consultation on strategies to ensure the ongoing effectiveness and viability of the sector. The work of systems change includes exploring policy change and behavior change. It also includes understanding how investments and smart policies can be coupled with focusing on approaches that center strengths and relationships based on mutual respect when implementing program and policy change.

Facilitate engagement with state-based family child care provider groups.

Effective family child care engagement must be rooted in strategy and respect, and MBST can help Alliance state allies engage with equity and effectiveness.

On the Ground:

In Arkansas, MBST has provided extensive support for advocacy for family child care, from facilitating discussions with practitioners on the ground, to helping draw inspiration from what has worked in other states, to guiding them through the process of translating all of the work into a bill.

“Mary Beth Testa has been an invaluable resource to our advocacy work. Our bill honors the unique needs of family child care providers in our state, and we just could not have been more grateful to work with such a brilliant mind. We will continue to lean on her as a resource in the future.”

MBST Solutions

MBST Solutions is a consulting firm focused on the development of family child care policies. These polices center the strengths of family child care providers, and connect policy and practice.

Support them in the assessment of existing policies for home-based providers.

Help them shape policies that support home-based ECE providers.

Facilitate engagement with state-based family child care provider groups.

“Mary Beth Testa has been an invaluable resource to our advocacy work. Our bill honors the unique needs of family child care providers in our state, and we just could not have been more grateful to work with such a brilliant mind. We will continue to lean on her as a resource in the future.”

Olivia Gardner, Education Policy Director, Arkansas Advocates for Children & Families

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