Child Care Providers in Champaign County – Have you signed up for Bright by Text? Please help us spread the word to the families in your programs. This is a free service that provides information on child development plus local events and resources to parents and caregivers of children prenatal to age 8 in Champaign County. Simply text CCKIDS to 274448. Families that sign up will receive text messages in English or Spanish that are specific to the age of their child and include local community resources targeted to their zip code.
TECHNOLOGY & YOUNG CHILDREN
Avoiding screens is nearly impossible, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Illinois Early Learning has a new podcast, Too Much Tech: Screen Time and Families, in which Dr. Emma Mercier, associate professor of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, shares guidance and tips for families of young children in using technology at home. IEL also offers two graphic tip sheets on this topic, Tech Time for Infants and Toddlers and Tech Time for Young Children, as well as a Q&A, Screen Time and Young Children.
NEW BLOG FOR REFUGEE FAMILIES & HOME VISITS
Many adults and children from other countries enter the United States with the goal of creating their homes here every year. Illinois Early Learning’s new blog, Building Relationships with Refugee Caregivers During Home Visits, written by Dr. Nikki Adams, describes four strategies teachers can use to build partnerships with families. IEL also offers a resource list on Refugee Families. Don’t forget that many of our tip sheets are available in Spanish, Polish, French, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Arabic. These are wonderful resources for refugee families.
PREVENT CHILD ABUSE SURVEY
Prevent Child Abuse Illinois is conducting a statewide survey on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and we need your help! Please take 10 minutes to complete the survey. The information you provide will help guide our future education and public awareness campaigns. But wait… there’s more!! We also need your help to reach as many people as possible. Please forward this email or the survey link to your family, friends, clients, coworkers, dentist, plumber, dog walker, basically everyone! Help us reach people and sectors we can’t reach on our own. PCA Illinois’ goal is to reach at least 5,000 people from across the state. We can only attain that goal with your help!
CLICK HERE TO START THE SURVEY
Thank you for your support and partnership and for believing that all children deserve great childhoods.
For questions about the survey or for more information contact Kelsey Greene, ACEs Project Director at kgreene@pcaillinois.org
Prevent Child Abuse Illinois is working in partnership with the Illinois Department of Public Health-Division of Maternal, Child and Family Health Services and the Health and Medicine Policy Research Group (HMPRG) on the Adverse Childhood Experiences Project.
RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY FOR PARENTS ON WIC
The Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Lab is a research laboratory within the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The BCNN Lab is launching a study called ELIAS (Early Life Influences on Attention Study) and it is focused on the cognitive and nutritional development of infants over time beginning at 12-18 months.
If you choose to participate, you will be asked to come to six in-person visits throughout 12 months time with two visits at the start, two visits six months later, and a final two visits 6 months after that.
More information, eligibility, and scheduling can be done by directly contacting our study at elias.uiuc@gmail.com. You will be asked to come to 6 visits (1.5 hours each) over the course of 12 months and will receive $420 in Amazon e-gift cards. Additional compensation will be provided for those traveling over 30 miles. Contact elias.uiuc@gmail.com if interested.
CHILDCARE WORKFORCE BONUS – DEADLINE EXTENDED
The Child Care Workforce Bonus application deadline has been extended to Friday, April 29, 2022.
The CCWB application is available online at the Registry Director Portal. The first step to a successful application is to check and revise your staff listing with the Gateways Registry Director Portal. If this is not completed first, it will affect your bonus amount and will slow down the processing of your application.
Don’t miss this grant opportunity! Apply today!
ZOOM TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES FOR CHILD CARE PROVIDERS
Below are the trainings that we are offering through Zoom in May and June*:
*The April trainings are already full. Please contact Jenny Garinger if you want to be added to the waiting list.
ECE Credential Level 1 Module 8a: Preschool Social and Emotional Development
Thursday, May 12, from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, 3.0 Training Hours FREE
Presenter: Vicky Foster, ITN Trainer
As children approach preschool age, their needs begin to change. This is the first of four classes designed to better understand children as they approach school-age. You will identify characteristics of social and emotional development and learn techniques for promoting appropriate and effective discipline for preschool children.
ECE Credential Level 1 Module 8b: Preschool Physical Development
Thursday, May 26, from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, 3.0 Training Hours FREE
Presenter: Vicky Foster, ITN Trainer
As toddlers mature, their minds are not the only things growing at an incredible rate. You will understand the special areas of physical development in preschool-aged children. You also will learn about fine motor activities that will help preschoolers grow into their bodies while developing proper coordination and movement.
Understanding ACES: Why the Body Doesn’t Forget
Wednesday, June 1, from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm, 1.5 Training Hours FREE
Presenter: Jill Duden, Prevention Specialist, Prevent Child Abuse Illinois
This training introduces attendees to the Adverse Childhood Experiences study that was done in the late 1990’s. Attendees will learn about how two doctors came to the findings of the study, and what they were able to conclude due to the study. This training will explore a deeper understanding of brain development, and what types of stress impact healthy brain development. Attendees will learn how adverse childhood experiences impact lifelong physical and mental health. The conclusion of this training will focus on resilience, and how building resilience can negate the negative impacts of adverse childhood experiences.
ECE Credential Level 1 Module 8c: Preschool Language Development
Thursday, June 9, from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, 3.0 Training Hours FREE
Presenter: Vicky Foster, ITN Trainer
Appropriate speech patterns and language skills are crucial to nurturing effective communications by preschoolers. In this third class on preschool development, you will explore how to use a picture and storybooks to lay the foundation for good reading and proper language use. This class comes complete with discussion on how to help children with special needs.
ECE Credential Level 1 Module 8d: Preschool Cognitive Development
Thursday, June 23, from 6:30 pm – 9:30 pm, 3.0 Training Hours FREE
Presenter: Vicky Foster, ITN Trainer
In this final session on preschool development, you will dive deeper into how preschoolers learn and identify tips for making learning fun. With suggestions for activities that encourage your preschoolers to explore numbers, shapes, colors, and science, this class gives all the information you need to grow and stretch the ability of children to think and understand.
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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.
OUR OFFICE IS STILL CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC
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
PROVIDER PAYMENT PROCESS – HOW IT WORKS
800-804-3833 provides providers with the entry date of their payments the working day after the entry. Providers can hear the approval of their payments on this line the day following the approval.
Payments are generally issued by The Office of the Comptroller 1-2 working days after the payments are approved by DHS. Payments are issued at night. Paper checks go in the mail the next working day. Direct Deposit and Debit Card payments are in accounts two working days after being issued. Debit card payments can reach the accounts at any point on the second working day – early in the morning until later in the day. Weekends and holidays are not working days.
Providers can call the payment update line at (217) 524-9041 for processing updates.
Providers should follow the Comptroller web site to see when their payments are issued in the Comptroller System.
Providers can go to the Comptroller web site to see when their payments are issued and the dollar amounts. For basic payment information, date of issue, and dollar amount, providers should go to the Office of the Comptroller website at: www.illinoiscomptroller.gov
- On main page go to: VENDOR tab
- Click on VENDOR PAYMENTS
- Enter TIN (SSN or FEIN)
- Enter name as it is listed with Office of the Comptroller
- Choose the security image
- Click SUBMIT
- Next page shows the most recent payment at the top.
Providers paid via Direct Deposit can view specific details of their payments in The Office of the Comptroller Enhanced Remittance Section. To sign up for the enhanced screens, providers go to: www.illinoiscomptroller.gov
- On the home page, go to the VENDORS tab
- Click on Vendor Payments
- Go to The Enhanced Vendor Remittance Area
- Click the blue box: “Register”
- Complete the registration page
- Within 24 hours, an e-mail should be sent with instructions on creating a password to view the detail of the payments.
- When password has been created, Provider goes back into: www.illinoiscomptroller.gov
- Click on Vendors
- Click on Vendor Payments
- Go to: Enhanced Vendor Remittance.”
- Enter User ID
- Enter Password
- Click: Login
- Next page click: Payments
- Next page click: Find Warrants (In this area providers can adjust the fiscal year, and/or the beginning and ending date of their search. However, if they don’t make any adjustments, the search will show them the last 30 days of payments.)
- Next page will show the most recent issued payments at the top of the page. Click on one of the Warrant/EFT#’s
- Next page will give a lot of detail on the payment, including the Payment Voucher Description (all the specific case information of the payment)
Providers getting paid through the debit card that 1) have card issues, 2) are seeking detailed information on their payments, or 3) want debit card monthly statements, should call the card company at 866-338-2944. To speak with a customer service representative, do not enter the card number when the message asks for it. When instructed, press the # sign. Then when instructed, press option 4 for lost, stolen, or damaged card. After entering the social security number and zip code, a representative should come on the line.
The debit card company (Conduent) has an app (Way2Go Card) for smart phones. Conduent also has a website at www.goprogram.com. The app and website allow card holders to view purchases made, deposits, and many more helpful areas, including monthly statements. The last page of the monthly statements provides details such as case name, case number, parent name, month of service, dollar amount, date of issue, deductions, add-on’s, and lists each child for whom payment was made and the amount of payment issued for child care services.
1099’s
On January 31, 2022, the Office of the Comptroller mailed out 1099’s to individual providers that earned $600.00 or more in 2021. These providers can also view and print their 1099 on the Office of the Comptroller website at www.illinoiscomptroller.gov.
- Go to the Vendors Tab.
- Click on Vendor 1099.
- Enter Social Security Number, or Sole Proprietor FEIN.
- Select correct security image.
- Click Submit. Next page will show the 1099.
Providers can also write the Office of the Comptroller if they did not receive their 1099. If writing to the Office of the Comptroller, the provider must clearly indicate that they “Need a 1099 Form.” The provider should be sure to include their name, address, Social Security Number, and phone number with area code. They also must sign and date the note, and mail or fax to The Office of the Comptroller. If mailing, send to: Office of the Comptroller, Attn: Vendor Unit (1099 Request), 325 W Adams, Springfield, IL 62704
If faxing the information, fax to (217) 785-7212, attention: Vendor Unit (1099 Request)