June 14 Child Care Provider Updates During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Division of Early Care and Education (DECE) will send updates to everyone who has subscribed to the DCF Child Care listserv. New Monthly Webinar: Tuesday Talks with DECE Beginning, June 21, 2022, at 1:30 p.m., we’d like to invite you to our new monthly webinar series: Tuesday Talks with DECE. This series will provide monthly opportunities to talk with the Division of Early Care and Education (DECE) at DCF on the third Tuesday of every month. These talks will provide information on important topics in child care and Head Start. We also hope these will be an easy and accessible way for you to connect and engage with us. Each talk will begin with a presentation on a pre-determined topic, followed by time for you to ask questions. Next week’s topic is Child Care Counts. No need to register. Just follow the Zoom link posted on our website at the time of the webinar. You can also download the re-occurring calendar invite with the Zoom information in it. Spanish interpretation will be available. View the lineup on our website. Subscribe to our child care listserv to receive updates on upcoming talks. June 20-24 is Child Care Counts Application/Update Week The June application/update week is next week, June 20-24. Prepare to update your staff and child records as needed next week. Do you have changes in children or staff for summer programming? Update your Child Care Counts application next week to reflect those changes so you don’t miss out on any funding. May payments were made available on June 10, via a payment letter uploaded to the Child Care Provider Portal. See the Child Care Counts Calendar for future Count and Application Weeks. Got questions about your Payment Program status? We’re here to help! Please email DCFDECECOVID19CCPayments@wisconsin.gov or call and leave your detailed questions at 608-535-3650. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), too. Child Care Counts Información en español. DHS Offers Free COVID-19 Testing for Recreational, Educational, and Day Camps With summer quickly approaching, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) will continue to support free COVID-19 testing resources for all recreational, educational, and day camps. Participation in this program is voluntary but highly encouraged to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, detect cases rapidly, and prevent outbreaks within a camp. This promotes the well-being of participants and may help calm concerns about camp safety for parents/guardians and staff. All camps can develop a COVID-19 testing plan that works specifically for the needs of their participants. Antigen tests and lab-based molecular tests will be available to order on the DHS COVID-19 testing supplies website. To sign up and participate, please go to the DHS COVID-19 testing supplies webpage. If you have any questions about our available testing resources or other details of the program, please contact us. For more guidance on developing an effective COVID-19 testing plan, camps are encouraged to partner with their local and tribal health department.
