The Stewart's Shops Holiday Match is now accepting applications! CCR&Rs in any of Stewart's 18 counties are eligible for a gift from the Holiday Match fund. The online application should take about 15 minutes and the average gift is $500. Deadline: January 31, 2016
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In 2015 we celebrated our 40th Anniversary! Don't miss our special Look Back video now!
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Personal stories from families about the struggle to find affordable or high quality child care in New York can help influence legislators when advocating for better child care policies.
Your voice will make a difference!
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| - NY is the #1 least affordable state for center-based care for 4 year-olds. |
- A single parent in NY can expect to pay over 54% of his or her income for just 1 child in center-based care!
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| - The cost of a year of care in a center for an infant is nearly double (94% greater) the cost of a year of tuition at a public college, the widest gap of any state. |
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Join us in thanking these organizations for supporting New York's kids with their generosity and partnership.
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 Ashley Weaver completed her internship in the Programs and Services department this month. While at ECLC, Ashley worked on the For Our Babies New York campaign, assisted with the Leadership Summit and helped with data entry and analysis.
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New CCR&R Staff
Heather Wayman is the new Child Care Resource and Referral Director for
Schoharie County Community Action Program (SCCAP).
The Child Care Council of Suffolk would like to welcome Ana Maria Escalera, the new director of the Registration & Inspection department and Kelly Brocato, a Parent Counselor in our Resource & Referral department.
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ADVOCACY DAY
APRIL IS THE MONTH OF THE YOUNG CHILD
STATEWIDE INFANT & TODDLER CONFERENCE RECAP
Submissions: Have great news to share? Members can email Ryan Belak with their newsletter and calendar submissions, as well as any corrections that need to be made or ideas for improvement. Photo submissions are always welcome!
Ryan Belak
Community Engagement Coordinator
518.690.4217, x 14
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Shared Source
Shared Source is a one-stop spot for all types of resources and ideas for your CCR&R to use!
It's FREE to all CCR&R members and staff! With a quick
sign in
, Shared Source is available with a click of a button.
Shared Source
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It's the giving season and on December 1st #GivingTuesday was celebrated all across New York! We campaigned throughout November, asking donors to give money to our annual giving campaign, Strong Start NY, and to give time by taking #unselfies and participating in a day of action to call the Governor about the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG). This was also the one-year anniversary of Strong Start NY!
Many Child Care Resource & Referral agencies also participated in #GivingTuesday. C
hild Care Aware of Steuben and Schuyler
did their own Strong Start NY #unselfies (see above!).
The
Child Care Council of Westchester
raised enough money to create at least six new scholarships for Westchester families. The
Capital District Child Care Council
raised money for their
One Play Space at a Time
video series.
Child and Family Resources participated in Rochester's own day of giving,
ROC the Day
. The Center
for Children's Initiatives,
Child Care Resources of Rockland, Family Enrichment Network, and the Child Development Council all sent out appeals through email and Facebook! Thank you to everyone who donated to give children in New York the chance to have a high quality early education.
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Child Care Roundtables
In October 2015, the New York State Assembly Workgroup on Child Care held a series of Roundtable discussions. Topics included the impact pre-kindergarten has had on the child care industry and the families who utilize different day care models, potential implementation and fiscal challenges to New York's child care system envisioned by the reauthorization of CCDBG and the establishment of the market rate in New York State including the rate of subsidy reimbursement necessary to ensure that low-income families have access to child care.
The Early Care & Learning Council, as well as several members of the CCR&R network, participated in the discussion. A compilation of the comments received from the CCR&R network as a whole was given to the legislators and their staff. We look forward to continuing to work with this dedicated group of legislators to resolve these issues. The 2016 Legislative Session begins with the Governor's State of the State on January 6th.
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| Watch a video about the roundtables! |
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Healthy Child Care, Healthy Communities
Healthy child care environments are essential
for development, and
New York
is one of six states that received a
Healthy Child Care, Healthy Communities grant
from
Child Care Aware of America.
Karen Harkness, the Infant Toddler & Technical Assistance Coordinator, has been working
with local partners including the Early Childhood Advisory Council
and Krista Smith from Child Care Aware of America to promote new initiatives in New York.
These include plans for the
development of training for cooks and chefs that work in childcare, and
training for providers, families, health care consultants and infant toddler specialists about the importance of activity and nutrition.
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NAMI Conference
Jessica Klos Shapiro and Helen Benton from the
Policy and Community Education department attended the fall NAMI Conference where they promoted infant toddler mental health.
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 For Our Babies New York
We've been busy working on the
For Our Babies New York (FOBNY) campaign since we became the lead agency for the movement last May.
The Infant Toddler Network has been
out in the field promoting the campaign and getting providers and partners to take the pledge (currently we have over 180!)
. In November, Karen Harkness attended the
Southern Adirondack Conference in Lake George to discuss FOBNY with child care providers. Coming up in 2016, look out for a new FOBNY
newsletter--
sign-up now!
Follow FOBNY
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New York State Participates in BUILD's Equity Leader Action Network
On November 30, Fannie Glover,
Director of Special Projects (a new position to house business leaders' engagement and equity work), attended
The BUILD Initiative's Equity Leader Action Network (ELAN) Institute in Tampa, Florida. ELAN is a team of 37
national leaders who further work around equity in early childhood education by attending ELAN Institutes, webinars, and conference calls to identify, address, and take action on issues of inequity based on race, ethnicity, language and culture in early childhood state systems.
The ELAN Institute convened to question personal assumptions, institutional and structural policies and practices, and to develop a blueprint to promote early childhood systems that are explicitly and measurably equitable for all children. "We were given tools to bring back to critically examine with a racial equity lens, institutional and structural policies and practices in the distribution of state and federal resources," said Fannie. For more information about the ELAN Initiative, please contact Fannie Glover, 518-690-4217 ext. 18.
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Make a Difference: One Play Space at a Time
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What happens when you makeover a family home child care center? Watch in
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The
Child Care Council, Inc.
held its Start Bright Gala on October 21st where Nancy Kaplan, coordinator of Rochester's Child, a Rochester Area Community Foundation initiative, received the 2015 Child Care Champion Award.
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The Center for Children's Initiatives held its annual Champions for Children Awards Luncheon where they recognized the significant achievements of individuals, organizations and corporations dedicated to quality early care and education for New York City's children. |
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The Child Care Council of Suffolk hosted their 30th Anniversary Champions of Children Luncheon on October 2. The honorees for the successful fundraiser event included Patrick McCarthy from the Michael W. McCarthy Foundation and Dr. Frances L. Brisbane, Dean and Professor of the School of Social Welfare at Stony Brook University.
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Congratulations!
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The Capital District Child Care Council
was recognized by The Tech Valley Nonprofit Business Council at the 2015 Nonprofit Awards Luncheon on November 20. Executive Director Abbe Kovacik accepted the award.
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Teresa Deacon, a
t Child and Family Resources, received
the ATHENA Young Professional Leader
ship Award at the
Canandaigua Athena Awards dinner
. Teresa is a
family assessment and support worker.
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Fall Training
The
Child Care Council of Westchester, Inc.
welcomed 275 attendees to the 2015 Social Emotional Wellness Conference on Friday, November 20th where they heard a keynote from Dr. Rebecca Shahmoon-Shanok, Director of the Institute for Infants, Children and Families, the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services. Attendees also enjoyed a variety of workshops all tied to the theme "Care and Connect: The Importance of Relationships in Early Childhood".
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On October 22, 2015, the Child Care Council of Nassau teamed up with the Port Washington Early Education Partnership to present a "Conversations from Main Street" program featuring Nancy Carlsson-Paige, author of
Taking Back Childhood: A Proven Roadmap for Raising Confident, Creative, Compassionate Kids
.
This free program was a part of the series "Conversations from Main Street" held at Landmark on Main Street in Port Washington. Certificates of attendance were provided to early childhood professionals.
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Calendar of Events
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JANUARY
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January 13
10:30 AM - 3:00 PM
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Membership Meeting*
Early Care & Learning Council
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FEBRUARY
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February 5
8:00 - 10:00 AM
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Children's Legislative Forum
Hosted by Child Care Resources of Rockland
Location: Rockland Community College, Technology Center, Ellipse Room
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February 8
3:00 - 6:00 PM
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Board Meeting*
Early Care & Learning Council
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| February 9
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
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Winning Beginning NY Advocacy Day
NYS Capitol
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MARCH
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March 9
10:30 AM - 3:00 PM
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Membership Meeting*
Early Care & Learning Council
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March 19
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Early Childhood Educators Spring Conference
Oneida, NY
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APRIL
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April 4-6
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Child Care Aware of America Symposium 2016
Washington, DC
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April 7 - 9
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NYSAEYC Annual Conference
Hilton Westchester , Rye Brook, New York
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April 12
12:00 - 3:00 PM
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Board Meeting*
Early Care & Learning Council
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| April 13 -16 |
2015 Young Child Expo & Conference
New York City
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MAY
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May 11
10:30 AM - 3:00 PM |
Membership Meeting*
Early Care & Learning Council
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JUNE
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June 7
3:00 - 6:00 PM |
Board Meeting*
Early Care & Learning Council
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June 8
12:00 - 3:00 PM
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Annual Meeting and Luncheon
Location: TBD
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* Members only.
Calendar subject to change.
ECLC will be closed on:
January 1 & 18, February 15.
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