We Must All Take Part to Arrive at the Best, Possible, Overall, Fee to Providers!
Posted: April 22, 2024 Filed under: Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Mississippi's Child Care Crisis, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, MDHS, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentThe new cost estimation model examines the full cost to the provider delivering services!
The prices that parents pay in many cases do not align with the full cost of delivering child care services, particularly high-quality services, and therefore cost information provides additional facts to inform the setting of payment rates.
Our input is necessary in determining what is needed to provide the child care services needed!
BUT, we must all take part to provide the amount of information our researchers are required to have in order to arrive at the best, possible, overall fee to providers!
Share Your True Cost:
PLEASE CALL TODAY!
662-325-4150
Stick Up for Child Care!
Posted: March 28, 2024 Filed under: Child Care Advisory Council, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Licensing, Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi Health Department, MS Department of Health, MS Department of Human Services, Ole Miss, SECAC Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi, equal access, Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentSTICK UP FOR CHILD CARE!
MONDAY, APRIL 1, 2024
Deadline to order FREE Child Care Aware Stickers for Child Care Awareness Day!
Complete the form below if you would like to take the opportunity to help recognize the importance of early childhood professionals on “Work Together Wednesday” by providing stickers for parents to wear on Wednesday, April 10th as a Child care Awareness Day. Please complete the application linked below and return today!!
TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2024
Stand for HB907 Substitution for Increased Child Care Staff Wages News Conference in Jackson!
If your program is enjoying the MDHS Directive Incentives Bonuses, you will want to participate in this call for political action in the development of a more permanent solution to remedy low child care wages! Join us on April 2nd at 9:30 a.m. as we stand together on the South Capitol Steps at the Mississippi State Capitol.
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2024
“Work Together Wednesday”: Pass out stickers to your clients on the afternoon of the 9th or morning of the 10th and ask them to wear them!
Wearing the sticker is one way to remind the community of the importance of child care in the reality of people going to work every day. Complete the form linked below and return to Gena Puckett at: gpuckett@olemiss/edu
Child Care Awareness Day
Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning
April 10, 2024
I want to participate in the Week of the Young Child by providing stickers to all the parents whose children attend my program and asking them to wear them on April 10, 2024. This is to help raise awareness in the community of the importance of child care workers (directors, teachers, assistants, cooks, bus drivers, and maintenance staff) in their lives and in their ability to work worry-free since you are providing a safe and nurturing program for their children to attend.
If you would like to participate, complete the form, and return to Gena Puckett at gpuckett@olemiss.edu no later than April 1 so the stickers can be mailed in time for you to pass out on the afternoon of the 9th or morning of the 10th. Wearing the sticker is one way to remind the community of the importance of child care in the reality of people going to work every day.
If possible, take a picture of parents proudly wearing their sticker for us to share on our social media and send to Gena Puckett (gpuckett@olemiss/edu). Remember to get their permission for the use of their photo.
Name of Person Completing the Form ________________________________________
Name of Center ___________________________________________________________
E-mail address ___________________________________
Center phone number _______________________________
Mailing Address (include zip code) ___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Number of stickers needed (number limited to 100 stickers per center) ________________
Return this form to Gena Puckett at gpuckett@olemiss.edu by April 1.
Dr. Rhea Bishop of the Kellogg Foundation Lends Support and Encourages A Strong Child Care Provider Network Across the State of Mississippi!
Posted: February 21, 2018 Filed under: "Race to the Top", Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Development Fund, Child Care Mississippi, DECCD-MDHS, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Jackson State University, Kellogg Foundation, Mississippi Legislature, MLICCI, MS Department of Human Services, SECAC Mississippi, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, child care licensing Mississippi, child care Mississippi, DECCD, DECCD-MDHS, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Kellogg Foundation, Market Survey Rates, MDHS, Mississippi CCDF State Plan, SECAC Mississippi Leave a commentDr. Rhea Bishop of the Kellogg Foundation Lends Support and Encourages A Strong Child Care Provider Network Across the State of Mississippi!
(MECA Conference)
”Vote. Show up politically and raise some san when it comes to the children and families you serve.” Dr. Rhea Bishop
See video below.
Between the workshops and Conference Ballrooms, the topic most discussed among the more than 300 child care providers attending the MECA Conference was the extended HHS deadlines by SECAC/MDHS and failure to yet release the Child Care Development Fund and the necessary resources to generate just the operating capital needed to maintain the full day, full-year work-force support (low-income child care) system developed and deeply embedded in the private sector.
Proponents of the former QRIS and the Early Learning Collaborative administered by the Department of Education were quick to say, ”We told you that CCDF administration under the leadership and guidance of the State Early Childhood Advisory Council (SECAC) was going to be worse.”
Truthfully, I have not forgotten the leadership promoting a QRIS that continued to use a method of scoring known to have failed even some of the few (10%) centers across the nation worthy of costly accreditation by NAEYC!
When the rest of the country adopted the new and more flexible QRIS scoring method developed after that finding which allowed the award of points for improvements made, Mississippi policy makers did not!
As a result, many providers serving low-income children who were indeed making quality gains in many areas continued to be consistently barred from Early Learning Collaborative Pre-K participation.
I have not forgotten, and never will, the very aggressive and negative lobby they supported and contributed to through the Hechinger Report newspaper series, ”Crises in Child Care” where in every case of noted ”crisis”, there appeared a photograph of a Black owned and operated facility with posed staff and in the one case of a ”good” program, there appeared a photograph of the African-American worker doing as instructed by the white director of the white owned child care facility…institutional racism as I saw it and very unfair to those providers agreeing to be interviewed only later to learn that they had depicted in such a poor light. (Click here.)
The message they hoped to be conveyed to our legislators and all Mississippians was: ”The Low-Income Child Care Industry does not have capacity to prepare little children for school”.
In that way, all the more reason to justify a Pre-K Collaborative policy makers’ wish to propose an Interagency Council which would assume the duties of CCDF administration, licensing, determine how the CCDF quality dollars would be spent and remove child care providers from the policy making table!
Proposed in the Senate by Senator Brice Wiggins, the legislation failed.
So, this past Saturday, I responded that I still believe that the SECAC plan is a better fit for the low-income child care industry and that some very good policies had been adopted as a result.
Adverse child care payment policies began long ago under previous administrations and have progressively become more harsh.
I did concede, however, that we had expected the Governor’s policy makers to follow Administrative Procedures Law.
They did not.
They did not identify the Quality Needs Assessment required by HHS to determine how the quality dollars should be spent. (Click here.)
They have not filed an amended state plan with the Secretary of State which would have outlined NSparc’s role, market rates, and discretionary spending.
There was no public hearing.
They did not and have not provided an Economic Impact Study outlining the impact the SECAC plan will have on small businesses.
The rules of a Standard and Comprehensive Center have not been provided.
They just did not and have not followed the law, including privacy law and HHS guidance on the collection of Social Security numbers in a new system of records…so, yes…bad… alarming… destabilizing…irresponsible…unprofessional and possibly the greatest disparate impact ever for needy parents and disadvantaged small businesses in Mississippi.
Therefore, it should be no surprise to anyone, just as the Pre-K Collaborators had done, the Governor’s SECAC policy advisor recently proposed a Children’s Cabinet – an Interagency Council which would assume the duties of CCDF administration, licensing, determine how the CCDF quality dollars would be spent and remove child care providers from the policy making table.
When Representative Deborah Dixon moved for the House of Representatives to reconsider this legislation which had stalled, the NAYS presented so loudly, the Speaker did not even have to open the voting machine. The proposed legislation died on the calendar.
Perhaps, the majority of Representatives, like many Mississippians, do not feel any additional layer of costly and overbearing bureaucracy, whether proposed on behalf of the Pre-K Collaborative or those representing the SECAC Plan, is a justifiable expense or truly necessary to best administrate Programs for children.
Apart from that, I believe the SECAC plan, with the right leadership, could be developed as the most inclusive and effective early learning model for child care early learning programs…with a little more work and law-abiding consideration of stakeholder input through proper and transparent APL (Administrative Procedures Law).
The current policy makers, more than 15 months in, appear to be unprepared for the enormity of effort and the time frame required and needed to sufficiently implement the plan.
So, we wait and many have fallen because no industry can be so severely under enrolled and underfunded for such a long period of time without irreversible harm.
Large numbers of child care providers are now needed for proper industry representation on the South Steps of the Capitol, Thursday, February 22, 2018, 10:30 AM, in Jackson. (Please sign in beginning at 10:30 AM and wear purple! RSVP to info@mssecure.org .)
- Tell the Governor low-income parents cannot work or complete job training without child care assistance.
- Tell him barriers and draconian redetermination policy is counter-productive to work force development. It will not Keep Mississippi Working.
- Child Care Keeps Mississippi Working!
- Tell the Governor that on Feb. 10, 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported: Historically low unemployment is forcing headway on an issue that has been around since women entered the workforce: child care. Businesses increasingly see it as an issue vital to their operations and communities, and policy makers from New Hampshire to Michigan to Colorado have identified it as key to freeing up workers to fill stubborn vacancies and building a talent pipeline.
- Tell the governor that in Louisiana, a coalition of corporate and university leaders delivered a blunt assessment in a mid-January op-ed in the Shreveport Times : “One of the fixes to our labor shortage is as obvious as the fact that the snow is frozen: Make it easier for parents to get quality, affordable child care.”
- Tell the Governor that Child Care Aware recommends that legislators at the state and federal level invest in the child care industry’s infrastructure to prevent gaps in supply and demand and the creation of Child Care Deserts.
- Tell the Governor it is not appropriate, in a democracy, for his policy makers to say they have not released CCDF funding because they do not yet know how they wish to spend the money when such expenditures were required to have been outlined in an amended state plan with an Economic Impact Study including the impact to small businesses, filed with the Secretary of State and commented upon in a public hearing. Even the Governor’s policy makers must follow Administrative Procedures.
- Tell the Governor we are losing an experienced and certified work force due to a forced reduction in employee work hours and that cause and effect is exactly opposite the quality building his advisors and policy makers purport.
- Ask the Governor to imagine what would become of his heavily touted Charter School Program, also embedded in the small business private sector, if Charter Schools were expected to receive only a percentage of the per pupil spending set in 2003.
- Ask the Governor what the fate of his heavily touted Charter School Program would be if they did not receive funding for new enrollment for more than four academic years!
- Tell him that we have experienced no new enrollment for low-income children in more than four fiscal years and no market rates increase as were required by the CCDF Reauthorization Act and originally scheduled to have gone into effect more than a year ago.
- Ask the Governor to remove all obstacles today and make all necessary changes needed to bring about the immediate release of the CCDF discretionary funding received months ago.
Dr. Bishop understands how far reaching SECAC/MDHS policy is for families, providers and communities and like most early learning people of goodwill, I think is concerned for inefficiency ($13 million lost due to failure to match in-kind funds) and the many extended HHS deadlines in the administration of Mississippi’s current CCDF.
She lifts us up with the following appreciation of facts:
- Child Care is a work force support system!
- Child Care small business ranks among the top five businesses driving local economies.
- The soft skills (empathy, negotiation, communication, making decisions, skills which characterize one’s ability to build relationships with other people) that we develop in young children go on to drive the national economy through a functional and efficient work force.
- You are needed.
- You are loved.
Listen to her inspiring message below and plan to join us in representing the child care industry at the Capitol on Thursday!
We also welcome the support of our colleagues who do not accept Certificates for this industry-wide, state led market disruption may impact you in time.
Please come and stand with us.
You Can Still Register for the MECA Conference Online!
Posted: February 14, 2018 Filed under: Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), Jackson State University, Kellogg Foundation Leave a commentYou Can Still Register for the MECA Conference Online!
Receive six hours of staff development.
$30.00 includes lunch in the student center where the conference is being held.
To register online, click here .
MECA Conference Registration! Also Available Online!
Posted: January 19, 2018 Filed under: Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Jackson State University, Kellogg Foundation, Uncategorized | Tags: child care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi Leave a commentMECA Conference Registration! Also Available Online!
Click on this link: www.jsums.edu/marketplace
(https://epay.jsums.edu/C20107_ustores/web/classic/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCTID=118)
Mr. Al and Educational Music Conference, June 24th, 5 Hours! FUN!
Posted: May 15, 2017 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, HHS ACF Office of Child Care, School Readiness Mississippi, Uncategorized | Tags: Administration for Children and Families, CCPP-approved Provider, child care Mississippi Leave a commentMr. Al and Educational Music Conference, June 24th, 5 Hours! FUN!
Saturday Fun Day with Mr. Al
http://www.mralmusic.com/
Sponsored by Pine Belt ChildCare Directors Network and Pine Belt ChildCare Givers Network
JUNE 24, 2017
Parkway Heights UMC, Hattiesburg
$15.00
Registration begins at 8:00am
Conference 8:30am – 1:00pm
2 sessions with Mr. Al
2 sessions of Make ‘n Take
With a total of 5 staff development hours
Only 275 spaces available
You must pay when you register to confirm your space.
Spaces will not be held with just a name and center name.
Please indicate the age you work with. I/T, PreK, or SK.
Tie-dye conference shirts will be offered for pre-pay for $10
($2 additional for 2XL-3XL). Shirts will be $12/$14 at conference.
Mr. Al will have merchandise available to purchase at conference.
Send your name, teacher type, t-shirt order, & payment to:
PBCDN
108 Valley Drive
Petal, MS 39465
For more information, call or text:
Kim @ 601.310.5839
kim@playschoolcc.com
Dr. Wright, Dept. of Ed Offers Early Childhood Education “Summer Camp” for Biggest Kids (Adults) – 12 Hours!
Posted: May 10, 2017 Filed under: Administration for Children and Families, Child Care Mississippi, Early Childhood Education Mississippi, Early Learning Guidelines (ELG), HHS ACF Office of Child Care, Mississippi State Board of Education, MS Department of Education, Ole Miss, School Readiness Mississippi, Uncategorized Leave a commentDr. Wright, Dept. of Ed Offers Early Childhood Education “Summer Camp” for Biggest Kids (Adults) – 12 Hours!
All child care providers and caregivers are invited to participate in MDE staff development opportunities as her guests! FREE!
Early Childhood Education Training Program
The deadline to register is June 6, 2017.
The Mississippi Department of Education, in partnership with the North Mississippi Education Consortium and the University of Mississippi Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning, will offer a free two-week summer training opportunity for pre-k teachers, assistant teachers, and administrators. This training opportunity will be offered through distance learning at sites across the state. The training will feature hands-on activities that will be supported by an engaging facilitator. The facilitator will assist the trainers in delivery of the content and will answer participant questions.
June 19th – 23rd and June 25th – 29th (10 days total)
Various sites across the state: Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Jackson, Oxford, and Greenville
Attendance is not necessary for assistant teachers who have:
- Completed any of the approved specialized trainings
- Child Development Associate,
- Director’s Credential,
- Montessori Credential, or the
- MDE’s intensive specialized early childhood training program.
- An associate’s degree in early childhood
- A bachelor’s degree in early childhood
For more information, please contact Dr. Jill Dent at 601.359.2586 or jdent@mdek12.org.
(Click here.)
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