August 20 Child Care Provider Updates Tuesday Talks: Join us Today and Catch up on July’s Talk The next Tuesday Talks with DECE webinar is today, August 20 at 1:30 p.m. and we will be talking about Child Care Counts Updates and Child Care Supply and Demand Survey. Registration is not required for these events. Tuesday Talks with DECE is held the third Tuesday of each month at 1:30 p.m. Visit the DCF Tuesday Talks with DECE webpage to access the Zoom link. Did you miss the July Tuesday Talks with DECE? The recording on Child Care Counts, the Market Rate Survey, and Improvements to Wisconsin Shares is now available. You can watch this on the Tuesday Talks Recordings webpage. Learn more about Tuesday Talks on the DCF website. Información de las charlas del martes en español. Child Care Counts: August Update Week and Increased Payment Amounts The August Child Care Counts Update Week begins Saturday, August 24 – September 1, 2024. Update/Application Week Reminders If you were approved for July: You must update your application each month Be sure to carefully review the child and staff lists for attendance and payroll status during the Count Week and click “submit” once you have completed your application. Review the Updating Your Child Care Counts Information During Update Week videoto learn how to make application modifications during Update Week. If you have not yet applied for Round 5: See the Round 5 Application Guidefor information about submitting your initial application. All providers must upload child and staff records with their initial application. See the Provider Portal Upload Guide for assistance. Round 5 Per-Staff and Per-Child Payment Amounts have increased by 10%. Providers were notified of their eligibility for funds for their July applications on August 16, 2024, via a payment letter uploaded to the Child Care Provider Portal See the How Payments are Determined webpage for July payment amounts. Payments are expected to remain at this amount through Round 5, based on current program participation and remaining funding. While payment amounts are expected to remain at this level, per-staff or per-child payment amounts may have to be adjusted up or down, depending on participation and available funding through the remainder of the program. If you need assistance, please email DCFDECECOVID19CCPayments@wisconsin.gov or call and speak with a Support Center Specialist at 608-535-3650. Child Care Counts Información en español. Encourage Your Families to Request Fall Child Care Authorizations! Do you serve families who are utilizing Wisconsin Shares subsidy? With fall fast approaching, this is a great time to encourage your families to use the Parent Portal to request their fall authorization. Using the MyWIChildCare Parent Portal is a handy way for your families to request authorizations. And Milwaukee County parents can easily schedule an appointment at a time that works best for them and take care of other tasks related to their authorization! Help us to remind your families to use the Parent Portal to simplify and expedite the authorization process. Here are a few things parents can do on the Parent Portal: View child care authorizations Schedule an appointment for an authorization request (Milwaukee County only) Request a new authorization or make changes to a current authorization Check the balance on your MyWIChildCare EBT card and track your payments Sign up to receive a text message alerts on your cell phone when you have a new message in the Parent Portal Track all authorization requests entered in the Parent Portal using the Track My Requests button 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 About Lead in Drinking Water If you have questions, please contact your licensing specialist or certification worker. Upcoming Events and Education/Training Opportunities The below events are hosted by DCF, one of its partners, or is one that may be relevant to the early childhood field. Click/tap on the titles below to learn more about each event. New Opportunity: WEESSN Plus Coaching Did you ever wish you had help with the business side of your child care program? WEESSN Plus Coaching provides a dedicated Business Coach to assist your program over a 12- to 18-month period by working on budgeting, policies, marketing, hiring, taxes, and more! Eligible programs need to meet at least one of these criteria: licensed less than one year, new director less than one year, 2 Star or not participating in YoungStar. Wisconsin Early Childhood Association’s shared services network, WEESSN, is 100% free and available to all regulated programs in Wisconsin. Learn more and fill out the interest form today!
