Happy July friends, 

One of our favorite things at Rainbow Fleet is adding talented new coworkers to our outstanding team of child care services professionals. That's why we're excited to introduce Jamie England as the new coordinator for the Child and Adult Care Food Program at Rainbow Fleet. 

An Oklahoma native, Jamie lives in Edmond with her husband Chris, and their two children, Emma and Easton. Jamie has a passion for people. Prior to coming to work at Rainbow Fleet, she worked for seven years as a patient advocate at Weightwise Bariatric Center, working closely with dieticians and assisting patients in leading healthy lifestyles. When Jamie is not working, she loves to spend time snow skiing with her family.

Welcome to the team, Jamie!

While we're on the topic, what do you know about the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Child and Adult Care Food Program? 

As a sponsor organization, Rainbow Fleet reimburses child care providers for serving nutritious meals and snacks that meet federal requirements. Reimbursement amounts range from $2.47 for a lunch/dinner to $.20 for a snack. 

All licensed family child care providers are eligible, and the program is free.

We can assist providers with the application process as well as help with program requirements, like creating a menu and the claims submission process. Give Jamie a call at (405) 521-1426 to learn more.

Thanks for reading.

Carrie Williams 

P.S.

We are teaming with the Child Study Center at the OU Health Science Center to offer a developmental and autism screening day on July 29 at Rainbow Fleet. These screenings are designed to provide a general idea of how a child is developing in the areas language/cognitive, gross/fine motor and personal/social skills. Parents can talk with the development specialists about any questions or concerns, as well as learn about available resources. Call (405) 521-1426 to schedule an appointment. A parent or legal guardian must accompany the child during the screening process.

Back to school season is just around the corner! Very soon, the kids in your center will be getting updated shot records and bringing them in. For child care centers, this is a great time to review all the shot records on file to determine what each child is missing and/or ask for an updated copy from the parents. Remind them to bring in updated records each time they get shots! Summer is the ideal time to take children to be vaccinated. By August, most doctors' offices are booked solid and health department wait times climb! Urge parents to avoid the long lines, the inability to get an appointment and overall stress of waiting until the last minute to get shots by going now!

Remember, if children are on an alternative shot schedule, centers must have more than a doctor's note on file. Each child who is delaying or unable to get certain shots must have an official exemption form in their file. Child care centers should distribute these to the parents if needed, and they must be approved by the Oklahoma State Department of Health after being completed. These forms and instructions can be obtained through Immunization Services at 271-4073. 

As always, if you need assistance reading or training staff to read shot records, please call me at 579-2234 and I'd be happy to help!