Tag Archives: Family Child Care

Welcome to Group Care: Parent Tip Sheets and Cards

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4/2015

Parents need information on group care for their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. These tip sheets and parent cards inform families on what to expect from caregivers of children 2 months through 4 years of age. The tip sheets also include questions parents can ask their health care provider.

This set of eight tip sheets and parent cards were adapted from Bright Futures guidelines. They are divided into developmental stages and designed to help families promote the health and well-being of their children. The resources offer information on what to expect in group care, including topics such as social development, safety, eating, and physical activity.

Source: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, National Center on Health

Available at: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/health/health-literacy-family-engagement/family-education/tip-sheets-cards.html

Child and Adult Care Food Program: National Average Payment Rates, Day Care Home; Food Service Payment Rates, and Administrative Reimbursement Rates for Sponsoring Organizations of Day Care Homes for the Period July 1, 2014 Through June 30, 2015

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7/16/2014

This notice announces the annual adjustments to the national average payment rates for meals and snacks served in child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, at-risk afterschool care centers, and adult day care centers; the food service payment rates for meals and snacks served in day care homes; and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsoring organizations of day care homes, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Further adjustments are made to these rates to reflect the higher costs of providing meals in the States of Alaska and Hawaii. The adjustments contained in this notice are made on an annual basis each July, as required by the laws and regulations governing the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

DATES: These rates are effective from July 1, 2014 through June 30, 2015.

Source: Federal Register, Volume 79 Issue 136

Available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-07-16/html/2014-16718.htm

Changing the Focus: Building the Capabilities of Home-Based Child Care Providers

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3/2014

This Innovation in Action interview is one in an ongoing series of portraits planned by the Center that will highlight the innovative, collaborative work of the members of Frontiers of Innovation. In this interview, FOI member Jessica Sager, the co-founder and executive director of the non-profit organization All Our Kin, discusses its work in New Haven and Bridgeport, Conn., training women in low-income communities who provide care in their homes for infants and toddlers. Additional comments are provided by Kia Levey, project director for the New Haven MOMS Partnership, which is a collaboration of agencies across New Haven, including All Our Kin, that work together to support the mental health and well-being of mothers and families living in the city.

Source: Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University

Available at: http://developingchild.harvard.edu/resources/stories_from_the_field/innovation_in_action/building_the_capabilities_of_providers/

Early Emotional Development, October Newsletter

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In the realm of early childhood education, we often refer to “developmental domains,” the areas of development that occur simultaneously as children mature: physical, cognitive, social, and emotional. The domains are interconnected, meaning that development in one domain impacts the others, so you cannot really say that one domain is “more important” than any other. An effective early childhood curriculum promotes development across all domains.

However, one could argue that the emotional domain has the biggest overall impact on cognitive and social development. Research shows that healthy emotional development directly affects behavior, social relationships, and academic achievement. The connection between emotional and physical development is a little less obvious, but as children age, emotional development can certainly impact dietary and exercise habits, for better or for worse.

Source: Child Care Education Institute

Available at: http://www.cceionline.com/newsletters/October_13_ext.html#continue?utm_source=October+2013+Newsletter%3A+Early+Emotional+Development&utm_campaign=October+2013+Newsletter&utm_medium=email

Child and Adult Care Food Program: National Average Payment Rates, Day Care Home Food Service Payment Rates, and Administrative Reimbursement Rates for Sponsoring Organizations of Day Care Homes for the Period July 1, 2013 Through June 30, 2014

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7/26/2013

This notice announces the annual adjustments to the national average payment rates for meals and snacks served in child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, at-risk after school care centers, and adult day care centers; the food service payment rates for meals and snacks served in day care homes; and the administrative reimbursement rates for sponsoring organizations of day care homes, to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index. Further adjustments are made to these rates to reflect the higher costs of providing meals in the States of Alaska and Hawaii. The adjustments contained in this notice are made on an annual basis each July, as required by the laws and regulations governing the Child and Adult Care Food Program.

Source: Federal Register, Volume 78 Issue 144

Available at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-07-26/html/2013-17991.htm

EHS TA Paper No. 14: Supporting Outdoor Play and Exploration for Infants and Toddlers – Head Start

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2013

TA Paper No. 14 discusses the benefits of outdoor time for infants and toddlers. It offers tips for creating outdoor play spaces, safety considerations, and strategies and policies to support this part of quality programming. Early Head Start and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start professional development staff may use this paper with teachers, family child care providers, and home visitors.

Head Start and Early Head Start (EHS) have long recognized the importance of outdoor play experiences and appropriate, safe outdoor play spaces for young children. Two Head Start Program Performance Standards—1304.21(a)(5)(i) (center-based settings) and 1304.21(a)(6) (home-based settings)—specifically address providing time and opportunities for outdoor active play and guidance in the safe use of equipment and materials. A number of standards focus on the outdoor play space. Still others, although not specific to the outdoors, speak to developmental and learning opportunities for infants and toddlers that could easily take place outdoors, thus taking advantage of the unique qualities that the outdoors offers.

Source: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center

Available at: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/docs/ehs-ta-paper-14-outdoor-play.pdf

17th Annual Virtual Birth to Three Institute: Nurturing the Foundations for Success with Children and Families

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May 28 – June 27, 2013

Due to overwhelming demand, additional registration slots have been added for the 17th Annual Virtual Birth to Three Institute (vBTT) webinars, Tracks B – E. Please visit this link to register: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/btt/register.html

Registration slots are limited and in high demand, so sign up now.

Content Tracks:

  • Track B: Child Health and Prenatal Services
  • Track C: Family and Community Partnerships
  • Track D: Management and Professional Development
  • Track E: Home Visiting and Family Child Care

Who Should Participate?

The vBTT Institute will benefit an array of audience members, including: Head Start, Early Head Start, Migrant and Seasonal Head Start, and American Indian and Alaska Native Head Start program staff, parents, directors, managers, and administrators; T/TA managers; T/TA providers; federal and Regional Office staff; and State Collaboration Offices.

Space is limited. Register today!
17th Annual Virtual Birth to Three Institute

Early Head Start and Family Child Care

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Successful partnerships between Early Head Start (EHS) grantees and family child care homes promote high-quality care for young children and provide access to comprehensive services and supports that strengthen families in one nurturing home setting by leveraging the resources of both the EHS and Child Care systems, and by better coordinating the delivery of early childhood services in communities. While it may prove challenging to navigate both systems, this strategy holds promise for meeting the needs of our most vulnerable infants and toddlers, and it is worth the effort.

Source: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center

Available at: http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/ehsnrc/Early%20Head%20Start/ehs-fcc

Building Partnerships Between Early Head Start Grantees and Family Child Care Providers: Lessons from the Early Head Start for Family Child Care Project

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12/12/11

In 2010, the Office of Head Start and the Office of Child Care contracted with ZERO TO THREE (ZTT) and its subcontractor, Mathematica Policy Research, to implement and evaluate the Early Head Start for Family Child Care project to develop and pilot strategies for building Early Head Start–family child care partnerships. The project was a joint collaboration between the Offices of Head Start and Child Care, both within the Administration for Child and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), designed to promote seamless service delivery for families served by Early Head Start grantees and in need of full-time child care. By encouraging Early Head Start grantees to partner with family child care providers to deliver community-based services, the federal offices highlighted the need for local agencies to leave behind their silos for a more integrated approach to serving vulnerable families. The project was built on the premise that for these partnerships to be effective, communities had to establish an infrastructure that supports collaboration between Head Start/Early Head Start programs funded by the Office of Head Start and services funded through the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) by the Office of Child Care and state funds. The purpose of the project was to design, implement, and evaluate a replicable framework to support partnerships between Early Head Start and family child care providers and had four overall goals:

1. Higher-quality care for low-income children in family child care homes
2. Coordinated and comprehensive services for families
3. Support to increase the capacity of family child care providers
4. Strong partnerships that support coordinated service delivery in communities

ZTT, with support from Mathematica, developed a framework to guide the project’s implementation (Appendix A). To test the framework’s feasibility, ZTT selected 22 partnership teams to participate in a 10-month demonstration project. The partnership teams had to include an Early Head Start grantee funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5) (ARRA) and a child care partner (such as a child care resource and referral agency [CCR&R]). The partnership teams represented 22 communities across 17 states. A child care partnership coordinator (CCPC), who consulted with the teams for up to 52 hours per month, supported each partnership team.

ZTT partnered with Mathematica to evaluate the Early Head Start for Family Child Care project. The evaluation team used the project framework to guide the evaluation (see Appendix A). The evaluation aimed to (1) document the characteristics of the grantees, their child care partners, the CCPCs, and the communities in which they operate; (2) describe how the grantees and their child care partners implemented the framework at the local and state levels, including how much progress they made toward their targeted outcomes; (3) identify the types of partnerships formed to support collaboration between Early Head Start grantees and family child care providers; (4) assess the sustainability of the partnerships formed through the project; and (5) highlight lessons learned about collaborations designed to create more seamless service delivery for families.

Source: Mathematica Policy Research and ZERO TO THREE

Available at: http://www.mathematica-mpr.com/publications/PDFs/earlychildhood/EHS_FCC_evalrpt.pdf

Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2011 Update

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Parents and the High Cost of Child Care: 2011 Update provides information about the cost of child care from a recent survey of Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) State Networks offices and local agencies. Child care costs were reported for infants, 4-year-olds, and school-age care in centers and family child care homes.

Source: The National Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies

Available at: http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/parents-and-high-cost-of-child-care-2011.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+naccrra%2Ffront_page_news+%28NACCRRA+Front+Page+News%29