for childcare providers overview lending library childcare workshops & training family child care home education network (fcchen)

Attention Providers!
New Sonoma  County Guidance on Group Size

The Sonoma County Health Officer has amended the guidance for children's group sizes to mirror the most recent guidance from Community Care Licensing to allowed group of 16 or fewer INDIVIDUALS. 
 
This means that the COMBINED GROUP SIZE OF CHILDREN AND TEACHERS SHOULD BE NO LARGER THAN 16.
 
The guidance is contained in the FAQs, not in the Amendment to Health Order C19-05 issued September 23.
 
From the FAQ:
Q: Can I get childcare during the stay home order?
Yes. Programs providing care or supervision for children of all ages for less than 24 hours are allowed for stable groups of 16 or fewer individuals (“stable” means that the same individuals are in the same group each day). Click Here to Read More

RCCS Subsidy Programs Contracted Providers, read and download the newest version of the Current Parent and Child Care Provider Program Guide 7-1-2020

• Lending Library
• Childcare Workshops & Training
• Family Child Care Home Education Networks (FCCHEN)

For information on COVID-19 TESTING: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Covid-19-Management-of-Healthcare-Personnel-Updated-Guidance/

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PROVIDERS, here are additional resources, including eight (8) comprehensive 60–80-minute Health and Safety Modules for Child Care, by visiting the California Early Childhood Online website at https://www.caearlychildhoodonline.org/

Contact your local Quality Counts California to participate in professional communities of practice by visiting the Quality Counts California website at https://qualitycountsca.net/quality-partners/

Contact your local Resource and Referral (R&R) agency for professional development opportunities. Resources are also available on the R&R website at https://rrnetwork.org/provider-services/provider-support-resources

View professional development resources at the Head Start Early Childhood Knowledge Center website at https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/professional-development/article/professional-development-go
Access to resources, inclusive practices, training and supports for working with children and families with disabilities by visiting the California Department of Developmental Services website at https://www.dds.ca.gov/services/early-start/

Early learning and care educators play a role in dismantling systemic racism, the following resources may be useful:

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) Anti Bias Resources web page is located at https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/anti-bias

The NAEYC Advancing Equity in Early Childhood Education Position Statement (additional resources in link) web page can be found at https://www.naeyc.org/resources/position-statements/equity

The Center of Excellence for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation Resource Equity web page can be found at https://www.iecmhc.org/resources/equity/

The Southern Poverty Law Center’s Teaching Tolerance Newsletter Classroom Resource web page is located at https://www.tolerance.org/classroom-resources

The Head Start Early Childhood Learning & Knowledge Center (ECLKC) Children’s Responses to Crises and Tragic Events web page can be found at https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/publication/childrens-responses-crises-tragic-events

The Head Start ECLKC Building Resilience to Cope with Stress and Trauma website can be found at https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/mental-health/article/building-resilience-cope-stress-trauma

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Subject: Guidance for the Allocation of Funds for Cleaning and Supplies for Childcare Providers :

CSCP Funds available to child care providers who are open, or opening. Please see self-certification form here:

Providers- Please fill out this form and mail to RCCS at PO Box 16, Guerneville CA 95446 or FAX to 707-869-3613

Background
This apportionment, in the amount of $50 million, is provided by Section 2 of Senate Bill 89 (Chapter 2, Statutes of 2020) to Resource and Referral (R&R) programs to support Cleaning and Supplies for Childcare Providers (CSCP). The R&R programs, in turn, will allocate CSCP funds to open or soon-to-be open providers operating childcare or early learning and care (ELC) programs for children of essential workers, at-risk populations, and children with disabilities or special health care needs where the child’s individualized education plan (IEP) or Individualized family service plan (IFSP) includes ELC services.

The CSCP funding is available for both licensed and license-exempt center and home-based providers who are non-local education agencies (e.g. community-based organizations, city or county, or private) and who provide ELC services to families receiving subsidies or private paying families. Providers who are local education agencies will receive funding through a separate mechanism. This funding is allocated based on:
1. California Department of Social Services (CDSS) data on licensed spaces that are open, or interested in
reopening
2. California Department of Education (CDE) data on the number of children receiving CDE subsidies that are cared for in license-exempt settings R&Rs are responsible for dispersing the CSCP funds to child care providers in their service areas in accordance
with this letter. The funds may only be used for the purposes described below.
Eligible Providers
In order to receive CSCP funding, providers must be currently open or intend to reopen during the COVID-19 emergency. Providers may be either licensed providers, license-exempt center, or home-based providers and are not required to serve children receiving subsidies.

Providers that are currently closed and do not intend to reopen during the period of the COVID-19 emergency to serve children of essential workers, at-risk populations, and children with disabilities are not eligible to receive the CSCP.

R&Rs must determine if the provider is open or will reopen during the period of the emergency. To make this determination, R&Rs must use self certification information from providers:

Providers- Please fill out this form and mail to RCCS at PO Box 16, Guerneville CA 95446 or FAX to 707-869-3613

Any providers that are not open at the time of being awarded CSCP resources must self-certify that they will reopen, and provide the R&R agency with the expected date of reopening. Additionally, providers can receive the CSCP resource through only one R&R and may not access them more than once unless the R&R has additional funding and resources left after the first round and makes the resources available again.

Use of Funds
The CDE recognizes that health and safety supplies, including personal protective equipment (PPE), are in high demand and may be challenging for individual providers to obtain. To meet this demand, R&Rs may give providers the option to purchase supplies, including PPE, directly from the R&R. However, R&Rs must give providers the option to receive their payment directly in order that they purchase directly if they prefer.

Providers may also request to use a combination of the two options.
The CSCP funds must be used to ensure healthy and safe childcare and ELC settings for children. Examples of
allowable expenses include:
· Cleansers and sanitizers;
· Masks, gloves, and other PPE;
· Labor costs associated with additional time for cleaning or cleaning services;
· Supplies including instructional materials necessary to implement social distancing and other reasonable health and safety costs associated with responding to state and local health official COVID-19 guidance.

Providers- Please fill out this form and mail to RCCS at PO Box 16, Guerneville CA 95446 or FAX to 707-869-3613