January 25 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. CCC January Application/Update Period Closed The latest payment program application period is closed. Applications for the January Child Care Counts: Stabilization Payment Program are being reviewed. Providers will be notified of their eligibility for funds by February 11, 2022, via a payment letter uploaded to the Child Care Provider Portal. The next application/update period is February 14-18, 2022. See the Child Care Counts Calendar for future Count and Application Weeks. If you need help or have questions about your Payment Program status, please email DCFDECECOVID19CCPayments@wisconsin.gov or call and leave your detailed questions at 608-535-3650. Check out our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to get answers to your questions. Child Care Counts Información en español. Market Rate Survey Coming Soon DCF is conducting a survey around the costs/expenses of running a child care program. We are gathering this information to better understand the costs associated with providing child care. Watch for this survey coming soon from your local CCR&R. Contact your local CCR&R with questions. Maintaining or Restoring Water Quality in ECE Facilities After Temporary or Prolonged Closures Building closures lasting for weeks or months result in reduced water usage. This reduced usage can lead to stagnant water inside building plumbing and water coolers. Take proactive steps to protect the health of children and staff by flushing water prior to reopening. For more information and steps for maintaining water quality, be sure to review and use the resources below. EPA Resources Maintaining or Restoring Water Quality in Buildings with Low or No Use Restoring Water Quality in Buildings for Reopening Checklist CDC Resources Reopening Buildings After Prolonged Shutdown or Reduced Operation Lead and Copper in Building Systems with Low or No Use Legionella and Other Biofilm-Associated Bacteria 5 Steps to Minimize Mold Risk During and After a Prolonged Shutdown YoungStar Updates Grace Policy to Address Staffing Crisis Based on feedback from providers, DCF recognizes that the staffing crisis has created significant anxiety for YoungStar participating programs with ratings dependent on lead staff education. Even before the pandemic, programs reported difficulty replacing qualified staff within YoungStar’s current 90-day grace period. Effective January 2022, YoungStar is adding a second 90-day grace period for programs to use. For calendar year 2022 only, a program will be allowed TWO 90-day grace periods, which can be used separately or can be combined together. This policy change allows programs more time, with flexible options, to recruit hard-to-find, qualified staff without jeopardizing their Star rating and Child Care Counts tiered funding. This update applies to grace periods that begin between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022. This update does not apply to grace periods that began in 2021. If used separately, each grace period begins when the lower rating is initially calculated and ends 90 calendar days later. If combined together, one longer grace period would begin after the lower rating is initially calculated and end between 91 and 180 calendar days later. Once a program chooses to combine their two grace periods, and extend their first grace period beyond 90 days, the second grace period for the calendar year is applied. This is true even if the combined grace period ends well before 180 days. If, within a grace period, the program has hired a similarly qualified or more-qualified employee, the star rating will stay the same or be increased accordingly. If a program hires a new employee who does not meet the same qualifications or does not hire within the grace period(s), the star rating will decrease on the first of the month following the end of the grace period. More detailed information can be found in the YoungStar Grace Period Policy, or by calling your local YoungStar office.
