March 29 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. Free Child Care Foundational Training Coming Soon! DCF and our training instructor partners have listened to your requests for accessible and affordable training and support. In response to the workforce shortage in child care, we are pleased to announce free Child Care Foundational Training, specifically for new child care professionals, coming in summer 2022. The Child Care Foundational Training courses covers the following noncredit trainings delivered online and in person: Introduction to the Child Care Profession Fundamentals of Infant and Toddler Care Fundamentals of Family Child Care Skills and Strategies for the Child Care Teacher See DCF's website for additional information and FAQs. More information on these courses and how you can sign up will be available in late spring 2022. ACF/ED Joint Webinar: Public Service Loan Forgiveness for the ECE Workforce Please join this webinar, hosted by the Office of Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families (ACF), and the U.S. Department of Education (ED), which highlights flexibilities offered through the Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver and the ways in which the early care and education (ECE) workforce can take advantage of this time-limited opportunity. More information about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program can be found on this Federal Student Aid webpage. Speakers will provide an overview of the Limited Public Service Loan Forgiveness Waiver and will discuss: Qualifying and applying for loan forgiveness Accessing the resources and technical assistance available Responding to frequently asked questions from the ECE field This webinar benefits anyone in the ECE workforce with Federal student loans and/or administrators who want to support their ECE staff, including those working in Head Start and Early Head Start programs and in other ECE settings. The speakers include: Katie Hamm, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Early Childhood Development, ACF, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Katherine Neas, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, ED Ashley Harrington, Senior Advisor, Office of Federal Student Aid, ED To learn more and register for the webinar, visit the registration link. Free Early Childhood Intervention Resources Available As a child care provider, have you wanted to share information about children in your care with other providers or medical professionals? Do you keep student records on paper and want to start capturing this kind of information electronically? Thanks to grant funding from the Advancing a Healthier Wisconsin (AHW) endowment, child care providers now have access to free tools to support sharing information. These tools include: Parent consent form, which can be used to get the permission from parents/guardians to share information about their child Data-sharing agreements, so that providers can share information about children in their care with other providers or with medical professionals Student record template, a Google sheet where providers can start to record student information electronically These tools/resources are free! To learn more about the grant, please watch this short video. Access the tools and learn more by visiting the ECE Intervention Standards webpage. Reminder: Apply for Project Growth Grant Programs by April 4 Project Growth is helping Wisconsin businesses, communities, and child care partners add services, find solutions, and innovate through two new grant programs: Dream Up! and Partner Up! You can learn more about each grant program by watching on-demand webinars and reviewing the FAQs on the Project Growth website. FAQs Dream Up! FAQs Partner Up! FAQs The deadline to apply for both grant programs is Monday, April 4 at 5 p.m. CST. Questions? Email wipdg@wisconsin.gov. Reminder: Important Background Check Reminders Ensure your center’s background check information is up to date in the Child Care Provider Portal! Family Child Care Programs Do you have household members who are age 10 or older? Everyone residing in your home who is at least 10 years old must be added in the Child Care Provider Portal and have a Background Check Request form submitted. Summer Programs and Day Camps Summertime is almost here. As you plan for your summer hires, be sure to remember background checks. Child care workers must have at least preliminary background check eligibility before they begin working. Be prepared for the summer season by entering all new staff in the Child Care Provider Portal and submitting background check request forms. Employees under age 18 are only required to have name-based background checks. They will need to submit fingerprints when they turn 18. Also, staff who reside in other states are required to have annual fingerprint background checks. They can submit fingerprints in Wisconsin or in their home state at the nearest Fieldprint location. Questions? If you have background check questions, you can: Go online and read the DCF background check web page Call the CBU at 608-422-7400 Email the CBU at DCFPlicBECRCBU@wisconsin.gov Reminder: Spending Deadline Approaching for Spring 2021 Child Care Counts Response and Relief Program Funding Recipients If you received Child Care Counts Spring 2021 Response and Relief Program funding, you must spend those funds by April 1, 2022. Review the Terms and Conditions for this program for complete details. If you have questions, please contact the Child Care Counts Call Center via email at DCFDECECOVID19CCPayments@wisconsin.gov or call and leave your detailed questions at 608-535-3650. The Call Center is open M-F from 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Reminder: Improving Business Practices for Family Child Care Providers The Office of Child Care’s National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance is partnering with Tom Copeland on three upcoming webinars on improving business practices for family child care (FCC) providers. Register for the webinars today! Who Should Attend The webinars are intended for FCC providers, who will learn about marketing, legal and insurance issues, and money management/retirement for their FCC business. Business of Family Child Care: Marketing With Tom CopelandApril 6, 2022, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time [EDT]) FCC providers will acquire the knowledge and confidence to better promote their business and to succeed as a business. The content includes: Identifying the strengths of their program Learning five key marketing strategies Using the Internet to promote their program (e.g., Facebook, Craigslist, child care forums, online classified ads) Competing against child care centers and exempt providers Register for the April 6 webinar. Business of Family Child Care: Legal and Insurance Issues With Tom CopelandApril 20, 2022, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (EDT) FCC providers will learn how to protect the children in their care, their property, and themselves. The content includes: Self-protection checklist to help reduce risks Homeowner and business property insurance Business liability and car insurance Legal issues: Custody disputes, price-fixing, and privacy Register for the April 20 webinar. Business of Family Child Care: Money Management/Retirement With Tom CopelandMay 4, 2022, from 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (EDT) FCC providers will learn how to save more money for retirement and will learn how to invest using the various IRA plans available. The content includes the following: Identify ways to reduce expenses Recognize where to put money to meet short- and long-term goals Learn how to prioritize long-term financial goals Understand the five basic rules of retirement planning Gain knowledge about IRA retirement plans for providers (e.g., traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SIMPLE, SEP) Register for the May 4 webinar. Reminder: Child Care Counts March Application/Update Period Closed The latest payment program application period is closed. Applications for the March Child Care Counts: Stabilization Payment Program are being reviewed. Providers will be notified of their eligibility for funds by April 8, 2022, via a payment letter uploaded to the Child Care Provider Portal. March 27 – April 9 is the April Child Care Counts Count Week. The next application/update period is April 11-15, 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.
