Deadline Extended on CCDF Plan Feedback to 5/31
The Office of Early Childhood has released the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) State Plan. Note that CT’s Care 4 Kids child care subsidy program is supported through CCDF funding. The three-year plan must be submitted to the federal Office of Child Care near the end of June 2018. On May 6, the OEC presented on the CCDF State Plan. Here is the PowerPoint presentation. The actual plan can be found HERE. The OEC is asking for feedback and input from families, providers and other stakeholders. The Alliance summarized the plan, which is about 170 pages long. The Alliance has its official comments HERE. The public may submit feedback electronically through an online survey tool.
Online Survey Tool:
Feedback may be submitted electronically through the online survey tool. It is recommended that users review the plan prior to completing the online tool. The online survey tool will be available through May 31, 2018.
Oral Health News: More Children Under 3 Enrolled in HUSKY Getting Dental Care
Good news in oral health for very young children in Connecticut: since 2009, there's been a steady increase in the percentage of children under the age of 3 enrolled in HUSKY getting dental care.
Dental decay is one of the most common chronic conditions of childhood in the United States. In fact, 1 in 3 K-3 children in Connecticut had dental decay according to a 2017 survey conducted by the Connecticut Department of Public Health.
Marty Milkovic, director of the Connecticut Dental Health Partnership, says there are a number of reasons for the rise, but one of most important is that more parents understand that their children should visit the dentist once the first tooth emerges or by the age of 1.
You can help to continue this trend by sharing information about the importance of oral health and visiting the dentist by age 1 with the parents and children in your program. For materials on these topics, email Marty Milkovic at [email protected].
CSCCE Releases Report "At the Wage Floor"
The Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, in collaboration with the Center for Labor Research and Education at UC-Berkeley and COWS at UW-Madison, released a report entitled, "At the Wage Floor: Covering Homecare and Early Care and Education Workers in the New Generation of Minimum Wage Laws." The report focuses on homecare and early care and education providers, and seeks to explain the pressing need to raise these workers' wages and the unique structure of their industries that results in a funding squeeze for wage increases. The research also highlights different strategies local and state governments have taken to raise wages for care workers. The report can be found HERE.
Provider Survey: Early Childhood Developmental and Behavioral Screening
Andrea Goetz, CHDI Project Coordinator, CT Children's Behavioral Health Plan, was the guest speaker at the April 5, 2018 meeting of the Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance. She is interested in learning about what screening tools you use in your program, and how you use them. We have developed a short survey on developmental and behavioral health screening, please click HERE to take the survey. Please take the survey by June 8. Thank you!
What's This About "Fade Out?" and the Benefits of a Diverse Teacher Field
One interesting article and one report have brought up the "fade out" of early education gains and examining diversity in the K-12 and early childhood classrooms. The article, "Pre-K Isn't an Inoculation: What Comes Next Matters," published on New America, discusses a new study out of the University of Virginia that shows not only is the pre-k experience important, but the school program the children matriculate into following their pre-k experience. Pre-K needs to be followed by quality elementary school experiences in order to maintain the effects. The report, "Diversifying the Teaching Profession: How to Recruit and Retain Teachers of Color," points to a number of benefits and positive impacts on students. Some studies have found academic boosts, as well as social and emotional benefits, to a more diverse teaching field.
Strengthening Financial Systems for Family Child Care Providers
The Office of Early Childhood and the Early Childhood Funder Collaborative are developing a training series Strengthening Financial Systems for Family Child Care Providers. Twenty family child care providers are being sought to participate in this pilot and provide feedback to improve the training. In addition to receiving important content on budgets, financial reports and internal controls, participants must provide feedback. There are stipends for participation. Questions may be directed to All Our Kin, 203-772-2294 or [email protected]. The flyer can be found HERE.
The Screening to Succeed Conference
The Screening to Succeed Conference/Call to Action will be held on Tuesday, June 19, in Rocky Hill at the Sheraton Hartford located at 100 Capital Boulevard. The focus of this free day-long event is developmental screening. The June 19 conference is focusing on developmental screenings for 0 to 5 year olds with the ASQ and the M-CHAT. It will offer information, resources and opportunities to network with colleagues in order to follow up with them following the conference. In addition to early care and education providers, the conference may interest health care providers, home visitors, other community-based providers and families at this conference. For more information and access to the registration link, click HERE. To see the flyer, click HERE.
Support for the Alliance comes from of our members and our funders: The William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund, Connecticut Health Foundation, Connecticut Community Foundation, Children's Fund of Connecticut, CT Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, a project of CT Council of Philanthropy; The Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut; Community Foundation of Greater New Britain; Community Foundation of Greater New Haven; and The Fund for Greater Hartford.