CECMP Blog

A message from the California Department of Social Services:

Greetings,
The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Child Care and Development Division (CCDD) has recently posted the following document on its Internet website:  CCB 22-27:  Policy Updates and Amendments to Provisions in Section 11461.6 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) for the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children.

The purpose of this CCB is to notify counties and Child Care and Development Contractors of the implementation of the provisions of Senate Bill 187 (Chapter 50, Statutes of 2022) pertaining to the Emergency Child Care Bridge Program for Foster Children, as well as a new requirement for a process for timely payments of Bridge Program vouchers.

If you have any questions regarding the information in this letter, please contact the ChildCareBridge@dss.ca.gov. Bridge Program fiscal questions can be directed to ChildDevelopmentFiscal@dss.ca.gov.

In partnership,

Lupe Jaime-Mileham, EdD, Deputy Director
Child Care and Development Division
California Department of Social Services

Greetings,

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Child Care and Development Division (CCDD) has recently posted the following document on its Internet website:  CCB 22-25:  Alternative Payment Program Capacity Grants.

The purpose of this CCB is to provide guidance and instruction regarding implementation of the provision of Assembly Bill 178 (Chapter 45, Statutes of 2022) pertaining to capacity grants for Alternative Payment Programs.

If you have any questions or need additional guidance regarding the information in this letter, contact the Child Care Policy and Development Bureau at (916) 657-2144 or at CCPB@dss.ca.gov.

In partnership,

Lupe Jaime-Mileham, EdD, Deputy Director
Child Care and Development Division
California Department of Social Services

Dear Educational Partners,

The California Department of Education (CDE) would like to share that the federal Department of Education announced a major change to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program for a limited time, as result of the COVID-19 national emergency.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in financial hardship for many, including members of the early care and education (ECE) workforce. If an early childhood educator works for a qualified employer, which includes government and nonprofit preschool programs, they may now be eligible for federal student loan forgiveness, even if they were not previously.

Please note that some borrowers may need to consolidate their federal loans and/or submit a PSLF form by October 31, 2022, to take advantage of this opportunity.

For more information and to apply for this opportunity, please visit the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program at https://www.acf.hhs.gov/ecd/public-service-loan-forgiveness-program.

We hope this resource is invaluable to you and to those you work with in the early education workforce.

Sincerely,

CDE Universal PreKindergarten (UPK) and P-3 Team

Desplácese hasta el final para leer en español. 

The Program for Infant and Toddler Care (PITC) Trainer Certification Institute Coming Soon!

Greetings Early Learning Trainers and Coaches, Administrators, and Higher Education Faculty,

The California Department of Social Services, Child Care and Development Division, in partnership with WestEd, is conducting a PITC Trainer Certification Institute beginning October 3, 2022.

Build your capacity to support improving the quality of infant and toddler care in your local programs, communities, and state.  Deepen your understanding of how to enhance the professional development of infant and toddler care teachers.  Join a community of learners and network with peers.

Applications opened April 1, 2022!  Deadline to apply has been extended for California residents to August 25, 2022.  Please visit PITC for more information and to apply.

In partnership,
 
Lupe Jaime-Mileham, EdD, Deputy Director
Child Care and Development Division    
California Department of Social Services  

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El Programa para el Cuidado de Bebés y Niños Pequeños (PITC) Del Instituto de Certificación de Capacitadores

Saludos Entrenadores y Entrenadores de Aprendizaje Temprano, Administradores y Profesores de Educación Superior

El Departamento de Servicios Sociales, División de Cuidado y Desarrollo Infantil, en asociación con WestEd, está llevando a cabo un Instituto de Certificación de Capacitadores PITC a partir del 3 de octubre de 2022.

Desarrolle su capacidad para apoyar la calidad de la atención de bebés y niños pequeños en sus programas locales, comunidades y estado.  Profundice su comprensión de cómo mejorar el desarrollo profesional de los maestros de cuidado de bebés y niños pequeños.  Únase a una comunidad de estudiantes y establezca contactos con sus compañeros.

Las solicitudes se abrieron el 1 de abril de 2022!  La fecha límite sea ampliado para los residentes de California hasta el 25 de agosto de 2022.  Visite PITC para obtener más información y para presentar una solicitud.   

Atentamente,
 
Lupe Jaime-Mileham, EdD, Directora Adjunta
División de Desarrollo y Cuidado Infantil    

Departamento de Servicios Sociales de California  

The Office of Child Care would like to bring your attention to two opportunities related to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program.

U.S. Department of Education Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that includes a request for public comment on whether and how to include employees of for-profit early childhood settings as a group eligible for the PSLF program. The NPRM can be found via this Web link. Comments are due by August 12, 2022, and must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking Portal at Regulations.gov, preferably in a Word format.

Upcoming PSLF Waiver Deadline (October 31, 2022)
The Administration for Children and Families partnered with ED to host a Joint Webinar on PSLF for the ECE Workforce to raise awareness about flexibilities offered through the limited PSLF  Please share this PDF with your networks to ensure that early educators and caregivers are aware of this opportunity and can submit a PSLF form by October 31, 2022.

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Child Care and Development Fiscal Services has recently posted the following document on its Internet website:  CCB 22-20:  Fiscal Year 2021-2022 Year-End Reporting Reminders.

The purpose of this CCB is to provide reporting information required for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021-22 and provide contractors the due dates and reporting requirements for purposes of completing year-end and audit reports for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2022. Please share this letter with your agency staff.

If you have any questions or need additional guidance regarding the information in this letter, please contact your assigned Fiscal Analyst or contact the Child Development Fiscal Services inbox at ChildDevelopmentFiscal@dss.ca.gov.
  In partnership,

Child Care and Development Fiscal Services
California Department of Social Services  
ChildDevelopmentFiscal@dss.ca.gov

A Message from NAEYC’s Michelle Kang (NAEYC CEO) and Natalie Vega O’Neill (NAEYC Governing Board President)

In a message sent last Friday, NAEYC shared the following along with a call to action.

The Senate unveiled a reconciliation bill on Wednesday that does not include a single dollar for child care.

• Zero Funding for early childhood educators
• Zero Funding for struggling early learning programs
• Zero Funding for parents desperately seeking to afford high-quality care

Here are five steps we must take together:

Step 1: Read Michelle’s response to the reconciliation proposal and be reaffirmed that NAEYC will continue to be the relentless advocate our members and field need us to be

Step 2: Reach out directly to your Member of Congress! Let them know why funding child care is so critical, and why now is the moment for action. Every message counts.

Step 3: Sent an email? Great! Now reinforce your message by making a phone call to your Senator’s office. Here’s a script you can use. Let’s flood their phone lines with our concerns. 

Step 4: Is your child care program struggling with staffing shortages? Has this forced you to serve less children? NAEYC wants Congress to see what will continue to happen without additional funding for child care. Send us photos of empty classes, chairs, cubbies, or corners you’re not able to use because you don’t have enough staff. Include the name, city and state of your program and send the photos to advocacy@naeyc.org or DM us on Instagram or Twitter. Let’s show Congress what the future will look like if they don’t #SolveChildCare! 

Step 5: Many of you have seen the Little Miss and Mr. Men memes on social media. Well, we now have child care themed ones! Share these on social media and tag your Senators. (Find their handles and contact info here.) Your advocacy has been absolutely critical in helping us get to this point, and we remain grateful for everything you do, every single day, on behalf of young children and families.

To support early childhood teachers, the California Early Learning and Development System provides an integrated set of modules based on state-of-the-art information for early learning and development and best practices in early education. CECO provides free access to professional learning in one centralized location to meet the ever-changing needs of the early childhood field.

CA Early Childhood Educator Competencies for Adult Learning and Coaching: A free online course to support coaches and trainers in developing skills and dispositions essential to coaching and training. See above for more information or click HERE to download the flyer.

The California Department of Social Services (CDSS) Child Care and Development Division (CCDD) has recently posted the following document on its Internet website: (CCB) 22-14: Revised Family Fee Schedule for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23.

The purpose of this child care bulletin is to notify counties and child care and development contractors of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–23 Family Fee Schedule that become effective July 1, 2022, and provide guidance on recalculating family fees for currently enrolled families. Further, this CCB serves to notify counties and contractors that subject to finalization in state statute, family fee collection will continue to be waived for all child care and development programs administered by the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) through June 30, 2023.