September 27 Child Care Provider Updates Update Your Child Care Counts Records This Week September 26 – October 5 is the September Update/Application Week. Prepare to update your child attendance and staff records and upload any needed documentation for the Count Weeks of September 11-24 so you don’t miss out on any funding. See the Child Care Counts Calendar for future Count and Application Weeks. Important Reminders If you were approved for August funds, you must update your child and staff information during the next update/application period, September 26 – October 5, 2022. If your August application is on hold (application status is “submitted”), you still must update your child and staff information during the next update/application period, September 26 – October 5, 2022. Watch the How to Apply videos to view step-by-step instructions on how to submit your application. Review the Updating Your Child Care Counts Information During Update Week video to learn how to make application modifications during Update Week. Updated Spending Tools Available An updated Spending Tool Excel Spreadsheet has been uploaded to fix the bug where cells were locked. As a reminder, you can download the Spending Tool Excel Spreadsheet to organize your expenses with built-in calculations. You can download the Spending Tool Word Document to print or use in in a different format. Child Care Counts Información en español. Child Tax Credit Available – Share with Families As part of The American Rescue Plan, nearly every family can get the expanded Child Tax Credit. Each qualifying household is eligible to get up to $3,600 for each child under 6 years old, and $3,000 for each child between 6 and 17 years old. To ensure all eligible families will receive the expanded CTC, providers and agencies can assist families who do not typically file taxes by connecting them to the IRS’s simplified Non-filer portal. The portal is mobile-friendly, available in English and Spanish, requires no tax documents, and can be used as an alternative to the IRS Non-Filer Sign-Up tool. Families can get this money even if they have low income or no income, or have never filed taxes before or have not filed in the last few years. To claim the credit, visit GetCTC.org by November 15, 2022, and follow the steps to complete a simplified tax return. Project Growth Partner Up! Cohort 2 Grant Awardees Announced Last Thursday, DCF announced the second cohort of Partner Up! grant recipients. The Partner Up! grant program was one of two grant programs under Project Growth. The other is the Dream Up! Supply-Building grant program, which was announced earlier this year and will have another round of competitive applications opening in early 2023. This cohort awarded a total of $10 million in Partner Up! grants to 88 businesses statewide. This is in addition to the $10 million awarded in Cohort 1. The Partner Up! grant program, administered by our partner, Supporting Families Together Association (SFTA), focuses on supporting partnerships between businesses and child care providers by offering funding to businesses that purchase slots for employees’ children at existing regulated child care providers. Awarded businesses, ranging from child care and health care to retail and manufacturing, will receive funding based on the true cost of care, number of slots, and age group. To view the full list of Partner Up! grant recipients, visit DCF’s Partner Up! page. You can also read the full press release on the DCF website. Thoughtful Approaches to Exclusion: Should this Child Remain in Care? A common issue faced by early childhood educators is deciding if a mildly ill child should stay in care. How can we think on this broad concept and keep in mind various perspectives involved? Join the Early Childhood Health Consultation in exploring best health and safety practices for early childhood care & education. In this 60-minute webinar, Dr. Dipesh Navsaria will walk-through considerations when addressing inclusion or exclusion due to illness within early childhood education programs. Time will be available following the presentation for question & answer. When: November 3, 2022, 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Central Time Webinar Registration Link See the webinar flyer for more details. After registering, a confirmation email will follow-up with details on joining the webinar. Questions? Reach out to the Early Childhood Health Consultation team at echc@sohe.wisc.edu Wisconsin Shares: Written Payment Agreement Reminder All child care providers who care for families receiving Wisconsin Shares subsidies must have a written payment agreement for each family. You must keep the agreement for at least three (3) years after the child’s last day of attendance at a location where it can be made available to the Department of Children and Families within 24 hours. Providers may use the Provider/Parent Payment Agreement form (DCF-F-5224-E) that is available on the DCF website, or they may create their own agreement in a similar format containing the same information. If you create your own Provider/Parent Agreement form, it must include the following information: Your monthly or weekly child care price Days and hours of operation Deposit policy Any discounts or scholarships that are available to parents Parent’s payment schedule Payment dispute policy Provider’s anticipated closure dates and policy for payments during closures Payment expectations for the child’s anticipated/unanticipated absences Parent procedures for termination of a child’s enrollment Provider procedures for terminating a child’s enrollment For questions about Wisconsin Shares policies, please contact childcare@wisconsin.gov. Reminder: DCF is Hiring The Division of Early Care and Education, Bureau of Operations and Planning, is hiring an IT and QA Section Manager. This position oversees the Division’s information technology support and quality assurance section to ensure compliance with statutory and administrative code requirements for Wisconsin Shares subsidy, child care licensing and regulation, and the YoungStar Quality Improvement System through the use of automated systems. The deadline to apply for this position is September 29. DCF offers flexibility for predominantly remote work, and staff can report to any of the DCF offices. View all open DCF positions at Wisc.Jobs.
