Early Education Newsletter
February 2021
Grant Opportunities
GRANT OPPORTUNITY: Funding Still Available
As an early child care and education provider in Indiana, you may be eligible to apply for a grant through the Indiana CARES About Child Care fund to help with pandemic-related safety expenses or emergency needs.
Indiana CARES About Child Care grants are designed to reimburse Indiana providers for COVID-19 related needs, such as purchasing health- and safety-related materials and supplies, additional staffing costs directly related to COVID responses, cleaning services, additional furniture to support social distancing and more (see the FAQs at https://brighterfuturesindiana.org/programs/indianacares for more information about allowable expenses). Grants are also available for providers dealing with temporary closures due to a positive COVID-19 case. An emergency grant will help cover expenses deemed necessary to reopen.
Grant amounts up to $12,500 based on a provider’s enrollment.
Learn more about the grant fund, eligibility guidelines and allowable expenses, and find the link to start your application at https://brighterfuturesindiana.org/programs/indianacares.
Providers who have closed and need assistance with loss of income should click here.
Come Back Stronger Fund
In the second round of funding, grant amounts will range from $1,800-$27,000 per site with an additional sum available to providers with 25% or more of their enrolled children receiving federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) or On My Way Pre-K assistance from the state of Indiana.
Early Learning Indiana will process applications on a rolling-basis. Providers who received a previous Come Back Stronger Fund award should apply by Feb. 12 to be considered for additional funding. Providers who did not apply for or receive a grant in the first round will be eligible to apply beginning Feb. 15, 2021.
For more information about eligibility, grant amounts, or to apply click here.
I-LEAD
NEED I-LEAD HELP? HAVING TROUBLE ACCEPTING YOUR INVITATION? NEED ASSISTANCE LEARNING TO NAVIGATE I-LEAD?
What Can Educators Do in I-LEAD?
SPARK LEARNING LAB
My SPARK Learning Lab is Now Available!
How Can My SPARK Learning Lab help?
Need a plan for achieving program goals?
- The Indiana Self-Assessment Tool (I-SAT) is your gateway to receiving a customized plan and resources from SPARK Learning Lab to guide you in achieving your program's goals.
Looking for quality resources to support your program?
- Explore more than 150 resources in the My SPARK Learning Lab Knowledge Center or explore featured topics and trending articles.
Need answers to your quality improvement and professional development questions?
- The SPARK Help Desk is here to help by answering your questions on SPARK services, Paths to QUALITY, licensing, Indiana Self-Assessment Tool (I-SAT), statewide resources, and more! In addition to giving them a call at 1-800-299-1627, you can contact the support team by using chat in My SPARK Learning Lab or submitting a support ticket.
RAC Meeting for SDA 4
Your input is vital to ensuring success in our technical assistance approach. Ongoing feedback from individuals like you helps guide the ongoing advancements in elevating the quality of early childhood programs. The purpose of the Regional Advisory Councils (RAC) is for early learning programs and partners to strategically advise and collaborate on the technical assistance support and approaches delivered by SPARK Learning Lab.
Councils provide feedback and recommendations on implementation activities, such as:
- Format and methods of technical assistance support
- Module content
- Soliciting feedback from other programs in their region
- Program and policy development
Next RAC Meeting for SDA 4 is February 2, 2021
6:00 pm - 8:00 pmVisit indianaspark.com for more information on hour to join.
Professional Development
The Evolution of Child Assessment in ECE: Controversy and Practice Explored
February 10, 2021 | 2 PM Eastern Time
The use of child assessment in early childhood programs can be controversial. Concerns about equitable, linguistic, and cultural implementation, “high stakes” use of data, and emphasis on outcomes for children overshadowing play stir up much debate. Yet, research-backed, authentic assessments are widely used in high-quality play-based programs nationwide with great success. How and why do attitudes and practices around assessment vary so dramatically? And what can we learn from the history of assessment to ensure those administered today are used in the most appropriate ways with young children?
In this webinar, Shannon Lockhart, Senior Manager of Early Childhood Applied Practice at HighScope Educational Research Foundation, and Anna Marrs, Director of COR Advantage School Partnerships, will discuss the rise of authentic assessment in early childhood.
Helping Children Adjust After COVID Closures and Other Disruptions
February 24, 2021
2:00 PM Eastern Time
In this workshop, participants will learn practical strategies to help children readjust to attending early childhood programs due to COVID-19. In this strategy packed webinar, experienced play therapist and child psychologist, Christian Bellissimo will share the importance of structured daily routines to smooth transitions. Christian will also provide some ideas for play-based interaction skills that can empower children with a perceived loss of control that children often experience during major life changes. Click here to register.2021 Indiana Summit on Out-of-School Learning
2020 was defined by its challenges - a global health crisis, social injustice and unrest, and prolonged isolation from one another. As a result, we've all had to shift the way we work, the way we connect, and even the way we think.
Now it's up to us to decide how we want to move forward.
In the spring of 2021, the Indiana Afterschool Network will host its 10th annual Indiana Summit on Out-of-School Learning – Indiana's premier conference designed specifically for out-of-school time providers. This year's Summit will be a virtual event. The Summit brings together youth programs, schools, and community partners to connect, explore new ideas, access valuable resources, and transform learning beyond the school day for Indiana's youth. Together, we can navigate this period of uncertainty and take time to recharge, reconnect, and – most importantly – take action.
IYI’s Professional Development Grants
IYI’s Professional Development Grants program offers up to $750 in financial assistance for youth workers to access continuing education that they might not otherwise be able to attend. These funds are available to help promote the healthy development of children and youth by providing access to training and course work that IYI does not or cannot offer. Grants may be used for conferences, training, workshops, or tuition reimbursement intended to improve your ability to do your job and your agency’s ability to serve and support children and youth
Applications are available now and will be accepted beginning January 18 through February 19, 2021. For more information click here.
Resources
The Expressive Art of Caring
Masks can't hide emotional intelligence and our drive to connect
Last summer after stay at home orders were lifted, I returned to my usual routine of Saturday morning grocery shopping. Putting on a mask for the first time, I felt grief and disbelief as I walked towards the store. It was so strange to muzzle my mouth and my smile.
Then a surprising thing happened. As I stepped up to the check-out line I saw my favorite checker, David, whom I hadn’t seen in months. In all my years of shopping at Hannaford’s, we had never talked beyond shallow pleasantries, but now we found ourselves chatting like old friends. The masks didn’t shield our interaction, rather it forced us to connect with conversation, and by what felt like our hearts, in the joy of seeing one another. Read more here.
Your Influence Matters: Advice for Supporting Youth in Tumultuous Times
Overcoming Burnout In Child Care
It is an unfortunate fact that teacher burnout is the norm in child care. Some might even see burnout as an occupational hazard, part and parcel of the job.
The truth is, it doesn’t matter whether you are an in-home provider, a teacher, director or teaching assistant, it takes a special kind of person to pursue a career in early childhood. To be successful, you will need a lot of patience, love, solid communication skills, an organized mind, boundless energy, strength and soul. It’s not easy and it’s not for everyone.
Amidst early education receiving a lot of press and public attention, the field is going through a labor crisis. A lot of teachers are leaving the field because they are burning out. In the 2020-2021 Child Care Benchmark Report, child care business owners identified labor as the #2 organizational risk. This, coupled with the rising demand for child care is creating a tough situation for business owners, teachers, parents and everyone (especially the kiddos) involved.
As attitudes towards the relationship between millennial parents, career and family change, early childhood professionals are positioned to become a key support system for the backbone of our economy. So, let’s tackle this issue of burnout in the field shall we? Read more.
Resources for Parents
CASY Family Newsletter
View our January Family Newsletter and join the Family Newsletter mailing list here: https://www.smore.com/eshcf
Automated Health Systems (AHS) and Maximus Virtual Office Hours FOR PARENTS
In an effort to provide quality customer service and meet the needs of clients, AHS and Maximus will be conducting daily office hours virtually. Virtual Office Hours will give you access to an eligibility specialist to help answer your CCDF questions! Please keep in mind if you need specific case information, assistance can only be provided to the applicant and/or co-applicant.
To attend they will need to click on the link below for the office that serves your county.
AHS – (for clients in Lake, LaPorte, St. Joseph, Elkhart, Allen, Tippecanoe, Delaware, Vigo and Vanderburgh Counties only)
Monday’s and Wednesday’s – 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Tuesday’s and Thursday’s – 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Friday’s – 10:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time
LINK TO JOIN: Click here to join the meeting (same link for every day)
Maximus – (for clients in Marion, Hendricks, Hamilton, Johnson, Grant, Madison, Howard, Clinton, Tipton, Blackford, Boone, Henry, Montgomery, Putnam, Morgan, Shelby and Hancock Counties only)
Monday’s - 1:30 p.m. -4:30 p.m. Eastern Time
Tuesday’s, Wednesday’s, Thursday’s and Friday’s - 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time
LINK TO JOIN: Click here to join the meeting (same link for every day)
(For clients in counties not listed above, click here to find your county's CCDF Intake Office contact information)
Family Webinar: Engaging in Storytelling
February 11th at 2pm
Family Webinar: Car Seat Safety
Join CASY's Certified Car Seat Technicians, Charla Cline and Sara Schultz, as they share car seat safety tips during this special family webinar. Increase your knowledge on how to keep your children safe in car seats and learn how a properly installed car seat can reduce the risk of death by up to 71%.
Stay Connected
Email: help@casyonline.org
Website: www.casyonline.org
Location: 1101 South 13th Street, Terre Haute, IN, USA
Phone: 800-886-3952
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CASY.Inc
Twitter: @CASYTerreHaute