Provider Newsletter | February 7, 2022

Posted on by Kelsie Alyssa Thurman

ENEWS FROM CHILD CARE RESOURCE SERVICE

To subscribe to the provider email newsletter, please fill out this form: https://groups.webservices.illinois.edu/subscribe/136254

OUR OFFICE IS STILL CLOSED

Please note, the CCRS OFFICE IS STILL CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. At this time, only University students and staff are permitted in the building.  Please, do not attempt to enter the building with the expectation of being able to enter our office. This will not happen. We are trying to determine how to open within University guidelines while keeping our visitors and staff safe.  We appreciate your continued patience.

To drop off forms, use the CCRS Drop Box located on the front door of Bevier Hall on Goodwin Avenue. The drop box inside Bevier Hall is closed; only staff and students are allowed inside buildings.

To contact staff, please call 217-333-3252 or 800-325-5516 or submit questions or forms through email at ccrs@illinois.edu or fax at 217-333-2147

WINTER OUTDOOR PLAY AND SAFETY GUIDELINES

The winter season brings snowflakes and ice and a playground full of outside activities like sledding, snowman making, ice-skating, building forts and snowball fights. Families will likely spend time outdoors playing and it is important to keep children safe while having fun. Physical activities can be great stress relievers for children who are cooped up inside at school and home for one too many hours during the cold winter months.

The American Council of Exercise recommends children get approximately 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Play can be broken up into intervals anywhere between 10 to 20 minutes and Boys Town Pediatrics offers winter safety guidelines for your family.

Temperature Guide

When is it too cold for your child to go outside and play? Follow the colored safety zone guide.

  • Green zone. The safest temperature to go outside to play is 30 degrees or higher.
  • Yellow zone. Playing in temperatures between 20 to 30 degrees should be carefully watched by parents as the weather will affect body temperatures to cool quickly.
  • Red zone. Your child should not play outside in temperatures less than 20 degrees. Keep in mind the wind chill factor can cause the actual temperature outside to be much colder, especially if skin is not properly covered.

Bundle Up Properly

  • Dress in layers. Keep the body warm with hats, mittens, scarves, socks, boots and a coat or snowsuit depending on the activity and exposure. Your child may become sweaty from playing outside but with proper layering, some layers may be taken off.
  • Supervise and bring extra clothing. Clothing may become wet from the snow and sometimes children are unaware when they are so caught up in having fun with friends. Be sure to always supervise children playing and bring extra clothing to switch out with wet clothing.
  • Take breaks. Watch for any signs of your child being too cold such as shivering and take quick breaks inside between intervals of around 40 minutes of play to keep body temperatures warm.
  • Hydrate. Be sure your child is hydrating with water in order to help regulate body temperature.

Make Outdoor Playtime Fun

Get creative and join in on the fun with your child. Parents can help build snow forts, protect the forts with a snowball battle, build snowman families or pretend to hike together on an epic journey up Mount Everest! Remember to watch the temperature, bundle up and most importantly have fun with your child this winter season.

Original article appeared at: Winter Outdoor Play Guidelines and Safety (boystownpediatrics.org)

LINK TO UPDATED DCFS COVID-19 DAY CARE GUIDELINES

The updated DCFS COVID-19 Day Care Guidance has been posted and can be found at https://www2.illinois.gov/dcfs/brighterfutures/healthy/Documents/Day_Care_Guidance.pdf

CHANGES IN ATTENDANCE EXEMPTION AND ELIGIBLE DAYS OF CARE

Due to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Illinois driven by the omicron variant and the effect this has had on child care providers and families, the Illinois Department of Human Services’ (IDHS) Division of Early Childhood (DEC) Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) will implement the following changes for CCAP services provided in January and February 2022.

1. Licensed family child care homes may apply for a CCAP Attendance Exemption for days when CCAP  enrollment is below 50%. This policy is already in effect for licensed child care centers. Licensed centers and homes may submit an Attendance Exemption Request (AER) form to DHS.CCAP.POLICY@illinois.gov. Child Care Certificates that are submitted with an approved AER will be paid for all eligible exempted days. Refer to Policy 02.06.01 and the instructions attached to the AER form (IL 444-4338) for more details.

2. Payments for licensed and license-exempt child care centers will be based on eligible days if the total number of days attended for all children at the center location are at least 50% of the eligible days. Payments for licensed and license-exempt child care home providers will be based on eligible days if the total number of days attended for all children in the family are 50% of the family’s eligible days. All other provision of Policy 06.03.01 still apply.

Further clarifications on changes being made for the service months of January and February 2022

– IDHS will approve Attendance Exemption Requests (AERs) if a licensed center or licensed home is closed for the entire month due to health department order or an instance in which staff quarantine and isolation require a licensed center or home to close.– The AER form is being updated to add a formal (“C”) for use when there were no open days in the month.– The documentation requirement for AERs due to health department closure orders remains in place. In the instance in which staff quarantine and isolation require a licensed center or home to close, please provide a written statement as documentation to verify.

All AER forms are available at DHS.CCAP.POLICY@illinois.gov. Please contact this office at 217-333-3252 or email us at ccrs@illinois.edu if you have any questions.

FINANCIAL OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE THROUGH GRANTS

Child Care Restoration Grants (Round 5 Applications will open in February 2022)

Round 5 2022 CCRG Extension – January, February, March, April, May, and June 2022

· Grants will cover expenses from January, February, March, April, May, and June 2022.

· Grant applications and renewal opt-ins will open in February 2022 and will remain open for three weeks.

· Programs found eligible will be paid 30% of the full monthly grant amount.

· The 6 month grant payment will be made in one check.

· Grant funding is based off a program’s capacity on January 1, 2021.

· Programs must have completed and accepted monthly reporting for all previous funded months to be found eligible for CCRG Extension (Round 5) funding.

· Programs must be open and caring for children by February 25, 2022, to apply. · Programs must choose between receiving a CCRG Extension grant and a Strengthen and Grow Child Care Grant.

Programs can apply for either 2022 CCRG Extension or SGCC, but not both.

For more information, go to: https://www.ilgateways.com/financial-opportunities/restoration-grants

Child Care Workforce Bonus (Applications will close on March 11, 2022)

Child Care Workforce Bonuses will be available to all staff in:

· License-exempt relative home providers who were caring for children on the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) in March 2021 and continue to care for children today.

· License-exempt non-relative home providers who were caring for children on CCAP in March 2021, continue to care for children today, and have completed all health and safety orientation requirements (including Mandated Reporter and First Aid/CPR) and reported them in the Gateways Registry.

· License exempt centers who were caring for children on CCAP in March 2021, continue to care for children today, and have 50% of staff who have completed all health and safety orientation requirements (including Mandated Reporter and First Aid/CPR) and reported them in the Gateways Registry. License-exempt centers will need to apply through INCCRRA to receive bonuses for their staff.

· Licensed centers and licensed home providers who were caring for children in March 2021 and continue to care for children today. Licensed centers and licensed homes will need to apply through INCCRRA to receive bonuses for their staff.

For more information, go to: https://www.ilgateways.com/financial-opportunities/child-care-workforce-bonus

 

ZOOM TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILD CARE PROVIDERS

Below are the trainings that we are offering through Zoom in February:

 

Poverty: Cycles of Risk

Thursday, February 10, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, 1.5 Training Hours   FREE

Presenter: Jill Duden, Prevention Specialist, Prevent Child Abuse Illinois

This training session will allow participants to gain a deeper understanding of how poverty often reinforces other issues, such as exposure to violence, complex trauma, homelessness, and substance abuse and how living in poverty can impact the most vulnerable families in communities we serve. Participants will explore their own attitudes and beliefs about poverty and the people who are identified as living in poverty. Participants will explore the underlying conditions of poverty and how that impacts our communities. During the training, participants will take part in a poverty simulation. Finally, participants will learn and discuss strategies to change these underlying conditions within their community.

What is CCAP? for Child Care Centers

Wednesday, February 23, from 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm, 2.0 Training Hours   FREE

Presenter: Chad Slack, CCRS, CCAP Program Manager

The What is CCAP? for Child Care Centers training reviews the Illinois Department of Human Service (IDHS) Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). The IDHS CCAP helps pay for child care expenses for income-eligible families who work or participate in eligible activities. This training describes CCAP eligibility guidelines and application requirements for families and child care centers. Payment determination and options for receiving payment are also explained along with additional information for both CCAP providers and families.

———————

Please install the Zoom app on your device (cell phone, tablet, laptop, desktop) before the day of the training. Go to https://zoom.us/ to sign up. Prior to the meeting date, you will be emailed a link to join the meeting along with a Meeting ID and password. We do encourage you to join the meeting early so the facilitator can help you if you have any technical difficulties. You can also head to the Zoom website at support.zoom.us and watch video tutorials on how the app works.

Contact Jenny Garinger at garinger@illinois.edu or 217-333-7816 to register.

If you prefer to do trainings on your own schedule, remember the Gateways i-learning website is always available: https://courses.inccrra.org. These trainings are Gateways Registry-approved and cover a variety of child development and early childhood education topics. Trainings automatically appear on your Gateways Registry Professional Development Record (PDR), and they are FREE. Be sure to have your Gateways Registry online username and password to login.

On Monday, September 13, 2021, the Governor announced a Child Care Workforce Bonus program to recognize the efforts of child care staff who served and continue to serve children and families in person during the pandemic. This bonus is funded by federal pandemic relief funds and will be administered through the Illinois Department of Human Services and Illinois Network of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (INCCRRA). The Child Care Workforce bonus will provide bonuses of up to $1,000 for eligible child care providers.  Applications are open in the Registry Director Portal Monday October 25, 2021 – March 11, 2022.   

There is no rush to apply for the Child Care Workforce Bonus.  All programs found eligible between October and March will be paid a bonus.  Programs, especially those with multiple staff will need to consider when is best to apply, we encourage programs to apply when they are closest to fully staffed. Read the   pdffrequently asked questions (420 KB) to prepare for application and to help determine what month is best for your program to apply.

Use the following tip sheets specific to provider type to help you prepare for applying for a bonus:

Child Care Workforce Bonuses will be available to all staff in:

  • License-exempt relative home providers who were caring for children on the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) in March 2021 and who continue to care for children today do not need to apply to receive a bonus. IDHS will issue bonus payments directly to eligible license-exempt relative providers. Providers do NOT need to contact their local CCR&R to determine if they qualify for the bonus. Please send all questions/comments/concerns to DHS.CCAP.Policy@Illinois.gov.
  • License-exempt non-relative home providers do not need to apply to receive bonuses. IDHS will verify Gateways Registry and completion of trainings, prior to sending the bonus payment, between October 2021 through March of 2022. IDHS will issue bonus payments directly to eligible license-exempt non-relative providers. Providers do NOT need to contact their local CCR&R to determine if they qualify for the bonus. Please send all questions/comments/concerns to DHS.CCAP.Policy@Illinois.gov.
  • License exempt centers who were caring for children on CCAP in March 2021, who continue to care for children today, and who have 50% of staff who have completed all health and safety orientation requirements (including Mandated Reporter and First Aid/CPR) and have reported them in the Gateways Registry will need to apply through INCCRRA to receive bonuses for their staff. Total payment will be based on the number of children enrolled in CCAP at the center. Providers have discretion to distribute bonuses to staff in the way that works best for their center. IDHS will verify Gateways Registry and completion of trainings, prior to distribution of funds, between October 2021 through March of 2022. IDHS will issue bonus payments directly to eligible license-exempt centers. Please send all questions/comments/concerns to bonuses@inccrra.org.
  • Licensed centers and licensed home providers who were caring for children in March 2021 and continue to care for children today will need to apply through INCCRRA to receive bonuses for their staff. INCCRRA will issue bonus payments directly to eligible licensed centers and licensed homes. Please send all questions/comments/concerns to bonuses@inccrra.org.

Programs will apply to receive funds for their staff and should expect to receive sufficient funding to administer bonus amounts of approximately $750-$1200 per staff member. Funding will include a percentage for payroll taxes, and non-teaching staff as well.

Programs will be able to apply for this one-time bonus between October 2021 and March 11, 2022.

Licensed Family Child Care, Licensed Centers and License-exempt Centers who care for Children on CCAPThings you can do to prepare for the Child Care Workforce Bonus Application:

  1. The application process will be available through the Gateways Registry Director Portal.  If you do not currently have access to the Director Portal request access today! Simply complete the Access Request Form and upload it as an attachment using the Help Center request form.  It takes 2-3 business days to process an Access Request Form.
  2. Review and update your staff listing in the Director Portal and encourage your staff to update their Gateways Registry information so award amounts can be as accurate as possible.  It is always good to check and update your staff listing at least once a month.  Remove individuals that no longer work at your program, and make sure the current staff are listed in your portal. See this Help Center article for more information.
  3. Read the   pdffrequently asked questions (420 KB) ! This document will help answers many of your questions and prepare you to submit a complete and correct application.
  4. The following items are required to complete a new grant application.

License-Exempt Centers caring for children on CCAP and License-Exempt Non-Relative Homes caring for children on CCAP:

  1. Complete required Health and Safety Training to care for children on the Child Care Assistance Program. Details on the required training can be found here. License-exempt centers and license-exempt homes must have completed this training to be eligible to receive Child Care Workforce Bonuses.