LIVESTREAM NOW on Cost and Quality of Child Care

NPR is currently livestreaming a panel discussion on cost and quality of child care, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. To watch, click HERE. 

OEC Listening Tours on QIS

Jennifer Johnson, Director of the OEC Quality Improvement Division, is embarking on a listening tour regarding the development of CT’s Quality Recognition and Improvement System (QRIS).  Your input is needed as a Quality Recognition and Improvement System is being developed.  This system will help families and communities recognize quality early learning environments in their local communities. Most importantly they want to know:

1) How do we recognize, understand and promote quality;

2) What aspects of quality are most important to you; and

3) How do we best support early childhood community and family programs to improve quality?

Dates and Locations:

10/27/16  -  5:30 – 7 p.m.   Middletown, 25 Industrial Park Road, Middletown, CT  

11/10/16  -  6 – 7:30 p.m.  Education Connection, 4 Mountainview Terrace, Suite 201, Danbury, CT

12/1/16  -  6 – 7:30 p.m.   Torrington City Hall, 140 Main Street, 2^nd Floor Auditorium, Torrington, CT

12/14/16  6 – 7:30 p.m. – All our Kin, 414A Chapel Street, Suite 100, New Haven, CT

To pre-register, click HERE. 

OEC Creating FAQ on Care4Kids

Do you have burning questions regarding Care4Kids and suspect others might have the same question? The Office of Early Childhood is developing a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to capture questions received during the Care 4 Kids Information Sessions conducted this fall.  The OEC has created an email address for anyone to submit questions for clarification regarding changes to the Care 4 Kids Program. 

The email address is: [email protected]

Questions submitted to the email address will be included in the FAQ and posted on the Care 4 Kids website following the last Care 4 Kids Information Session on October 20th. The FAQ will be updated regularly as new questions are received via the email address.

You can also register for the remaining Care4Kids information sessions on October 13 (New Haven), October 15(Middletown) or October 20 (New London). If you cannot attend the information sessions, you can listen to the recorded PowerPoint presentations in English or Spanish. The most up-to-date Care4Kids information can be found HERE. 

Listen to "Where We Live" Thursday Morning: Child Care Discussion 

Tune into WNPR's "Where We Live" on Thursday morning at 9 a.m. Merrill Gay, CT Early Childhood Alliance Executive Director, will be a guest. The topic will be child care and Merrill will discuss the recently-released New America report, discussing cost, quality and access. If you're not able to listen, we'll make sure to include the link in the next memo.

CCDBG Regulations Released

The Administration for Families and Children recently released the CCDBG regulations. The regulations clarify the goals of the law, improve the health, safety and quality of child care; support the early childhood profession; and make child care assistance more accessible and stable for families. 

Some highlights of the final rule include the following requirements for states to:

• Establish minimum twelve month eligibility periods (which leads to much-needed consistency for children, families and educators).
• Establish a graduated phase-out of subsidies for families who, at eligibility redetermination, exceed initial State income thresholds but still have modest incomes. (This allows families to say yes to a small raise, without worrying that accepting the increase would result in losing their child care because of it).
• Describe policies to prevent suspension and expulsion of children birth to age 5 in child care and other early childhood programs.
• Improve important provider payment practices, including: base payments to providers on child attendance rather than enrollment; take the cost of providing quality child care into account when setting provider subsidy payment rates; show how base payment rates enable providers to meet health, safety, quality, and staffing requirements; and use valid methodologies to update rates at least every three years.

Middlesex Coalition to Host Candidate Forum 

On Thursday, October 13, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., the Middlesex Coalition for Children will host a candidate forum. This is a chance to hear from many of the candidates running for State Senate and State Representative to represent parts of Middlesex County.  Each candidate will have a chance to speak, have time for a Question & Answer session and wrap up with open 'meet & greet' time at the end. Confirmed candidates include: Dante Bartolomeo, ​Paul Doyle (for part), Ted Kennedy, Matt Lesser, Art Linares, Anthony Moran, Earl Roberts, Joe Serra, Len Suzio, and Linda Szynkowicz. More candidates are expected to be confirmed participants before October 13. Vincent Candelora, Noreen Kokoruda, Len Fasano, Devin Carney, Melissa Ziobron, and Emil "Buddy" Altobello are all running unopposed this election year, so it is unnecessary for them to attend the event.