February 2019 Monthly Minutes
A Message from Child Care Aware of NH
Hello Providers,

We hope that everyone is keeping warm and dry during the winter weather. At Southern New Hampshire Services, Child Care Aware of New Hampshire, we have stayed warm as we keep ourselves busy providing services to families and providers across the State.
Child Care Resource and Referral Outreach Specialists have spent the month of January providing referrals to families, visiting District Offices, working with Workplace Success, and doing community outreach. Our Outreach Specialists did 76 outreach visits in December alone . As January progresses, the Outreach Specialists will continue to work with communities and families to spread the word about our services and to help families find child care.

Our Training and TA Specialists are busy supporting providers through technical assistance, trainings, Leadership Collaboratives, the Progressive Training and TA Program and Cohort groups. Last month, we hosted the Caring for Our Children Conference in Keene on Saturday, January 26, 2019. Moving forward in February, the second session of A ctive C ollaborative T raining (A.C.T.) Series will be held on the 9 th. In March, providers can look forward to the 2019 Spring NH Early Childhood Leadership Summit on the 14 th. Look below for more details about these events.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for everything you do for families and children. We hope that you enjoy this month's edition of Monthly Minutes. 
Our Latest News and Updates
Caring for Our Children Conference in Keene
On Saturday, January 26, 2019, over 100 providers came together for a full day of professional development at the Caring for Our Children Conference in Keene. The day started with an energetic Keynote from Luis Hernandez and continued on with three engaging sessions of trainings. Providers had five choices for each session ranging in topics from mud to Early Learning Standards. Thank you to everyone who came out for the great day of learning and fun.
And the Winners Are...
The following program names were randomly selected from those who completed the  Child Care Aware of NH Annual Program Survey 2018.  Winners received Training Bucks to attend a Child Care Aware of NH Conference. 

Congratulations to:
  • The Children's Learning Center, Keene
  • The Montessori Children's School, Hanover
  • The Learning Path, Derry
  • Barnyard Buddies, Fremont
  • Rochester Child Care Center, Rochester
Southern New Hampshire Services
Will Be Closed

Southern New Hampshire Services, Child Care Aware of NH, will be closed on Monday, February 18, 2019 in observance of President's Day. We will reopen Tuesday, February 19, 2019 with normal business hours.
The 2018-2019 Credentialing Challenge
The Child Care Aware of NH (CCAoNH) and the Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration (BCDHSC) would like to announce this year’s Early Childhood Credential Challenges.

Child Care Aware of New Hampshire is offering to cover the $25 cost of an initial credentialing application fee or the $10 renewal fee for the first 100 credentials to meet the Challenge criteria below and agree to have their credential be awarded during this year’s Annual Celebration of Early Childhood Professionals.

Click here or on the picture below for a printable flyer. Please note that both the individual flyer and the team flyer are part of the same document.
What's New on the Website!
January brought a lot of changes to the website.

  • We updated our pictures on the Staff and Bios page.
  • We removed the Child Care Aware Training Academy links from the website. Our national affiliate, Child Care Aware of America, no longer supports this service. If you have purchased a class though this site in the last year, you will still be able to access the class. You can find the link on the bottom of the Professional Development page.
  • The Annual Training Calendar is now a button on the Home page and all supporting pages. Just look in the top header for the button.
  • You can now access the NonStandard Hours Report from Child Care Aware of America. This link can be found under the Data Reports tab.
Putting Training into Action
The Growing Years created an Emergency Preparedness Go Kit wall display after participating in the Manchester/Concord Emergency Operations Planning in Child Care Cohort. This program went above and beyond by deciding to use a Christmas tree to request supplies to build "Go-Bags" for each classroom. As materials were collected, they distributed equally among the different rooms in the program. Then they posted a comprehensive list of what each classroom was missing to complete kits. Hence, the Emergency Preparedness Go Kits Wall.
Great job in putting ideas from the Cohort into action!
Have you or someone you work with been inspired by a training? Have you implemented an idea, thought or concept you learned in a professional development opportunity? If you answered yes, share your stories with us. We would love to hear how CCAoNH trainings and TA have inspired your work. Send your story to outreach2ccrr@snhs.org and we will share your anecdote in our new Monthly Minute section, Putting Training Into Action.
Training Opportunites and Upcoming Events
2018-2019 Annual Training Calendar
The Annual Training Calendar is a tool to intentionally plan for professional development. It shows all of the trainings that CCAoNH will host from
September 2018 - June 2019.

“If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.”
- Henry Ford

Click  here or on the cover to view the 2018-2019 Annual Training Calendar.
Eventbrite Trainings for
January's Monthly Registration Window
Don't miss out on these great trainings! To register, click here or on the "E".

  • Tuesday, February 5, 2019, Sensory Systems That Work, 6:30-8:30 pm, Manchester
  • Tuesday, February 12, 2019, A Sensory Rich Classroom: Fun that Engages and Incorporates the NH Early Learning Standards, 6:30-8:30 pm, Lee 
  • Wednesday, February 27, 2019, Body Language: What Does It Mean?, 6:30-8:30 pm, Claremont
  • Tuesday, March 5, 2019, Get Outside! OFTEN!, 6:30-8:30 pm, Nashua 
A ctive  C ollaborative  T raining (A.C.T.) Series
Registration closes Monday, February 4, 2019 at 4:00 pm!
Saturday, February 9, 2019
8:30 am - 3:30 pm
  
NHTI Concord Community College
31 College Drive
Concord, NH 03301
Grappone Hall Auditorium

Registration through  Eventbrite

Click  here   or on the flyer for more information.

Spring 2019 NH Early Childhood Leadership Summit
Thursday, March 14, 2019
8:30 am-4:00 pm

Executive Court Banquet Facility
1199 S Mammoth Road
Manchester, NH 03109

Registration through  Eventbrite

Click  here  or on the flyer for more information.

Save the Date
Caring for Our Children Conference in Portsmouth
Saturday, April 6, 2019
More details will be available soon!
Leadership Collaboratives
Child Care Aware of NH offers Leadership Collaborative meetings for Directors, Administrators, and other Early Childhood Leaders from September to June each year.

These meetings are designed by each group in the region to reflect area needs and interests. 

Register for a Leadership Collaborative through the NH Professional Registry .
Click   here      to print our Leadership Collaborative Information Sheet to help you remember when and where our Leadership Collaboratives are held!
Register for trainings with no cost on the NH Professional Registry by clicking on the "R" icon. 
Register for trainings with a cost through Eventbrite by clicking on the "E" icon.
Register for Live Webinars by
clicking on the "W" icon. (There are no current webinars this training window.)
Training Registration Policies

Individuals attending trainings offered through Child Care Aware of New Hampshire are expected to adhere to our registration policies. When you register for a training, you agree to follow the policies and procedures listed below, including but not limited to:
  • Registrants are required to arrive prior to the advertised start time of the training.
  • Training registration fees are non-refundable.
  • Training registrations are non-transferable.
  • Pre-registration is required. Participants must be enrolled.
  • A minimum of 10 registrants are required to hold a training.
  • Training registration is the 1st of each month.  
  • Child Care Aware of NH will be adding trainings taken through Eventbrite into the NH Professional Registry
For a complete list of our training and registration policies, please see pages 3-5 in the 2018-2019 Annual Training Calendar. Click here or on the cover to access the Annual Training Calendar.
Monthly Health and Safety Topics
Emergency planning happens year round. NEW this calendar year, we will highlight safety themes each month including resources. The National Safety Council has a list of themes and events:  https://www.nsc.org/events/safety-observance-calendar .
February  2019 is American Heart Month! 

During February, participate in "Living a Long and Healthy Life: Keeping hearts beating gets our hearts pumping". According to the American Heart Association, "They have an unhealthy obsession with your health. They fund science that helps figure out new ways to lower your blood pressure and keep your heart healthy so you can live your best life." Check here to learn more.
Resources to Share with Families
National Homemade Soup Day

Did you know that February 4th is National Soup Day?
Share this with families and your favorite soup recipes.
Weatherization
Federally funded weatherization programs are designed to address health and safety issues and to apply energy conservation measures in order to increase the energy efficiency of the home and reduce household energy costs. Eligibility is determined by income with priority given to the elderly, the disabled, and families with children under six years of age. These programs work in conjunction with various other conservation programs funded by Liberty Utilities, Eversource, Unitil, and NH Electric Co-Op.

For more information about weatherization click here . If you live in Rockingham or Hillsborough county, our Community Action Program, Southern New Hampshire Services, does the Weatherization Program for this part of the State. Click here for more details.
A Message from the Child Care Licensing Unit
We are excited to collaborate with Child Care Aware of NH to bring news from the Child Care Licensing Unit to the child care community on a regular basis through their e-newsletter, Monthly Minutes. Every month, we will strive to bring you information to increase your understanding of the NH Child Care Licensing Rules, and to share other resources to assist you in your work with and on behalf of children and their families. We will also use this space to share any important announcements as they relate to Child Care Licensing Unit (CCLU).
Staffing Changes
As some of you may be aware, one of our licensing coordinators, Jodi Turant, left to take another position within the department - we will miss her and we certainly wish her well! As a result, CCLU evaluated its needs, and rather than hiring another licensing coordinator, we have reallocated that position to hire someone who will be completely dedicated to overseeing the background check process. We expect to post for the position soon, so in the next month or two expect to hear an update! The background check process has become much more labor intensive with the addition of the out-of-state requirements, and we tried to absorb that work with existing staff. However, even though our staff are amazing, they cannot create more time in a day to work on background checks and complete all of their other responsibilities. Our goal is to ensure we are meeting our obligations to complete background checks and to get that information back to you as quickly and efficiently as possible. Having a dedicated staff assigned to that process is one way to help us towards that goal. 

Click below to see the full message.
Territory List
Other Early Childhood News & Updates
The Need for Nonstandard Hours of Child Care
"Working families face a huge challenge: finding quality, affordable child care for their children. That struggle is not new, but we’re seeing a societal shift that’s adding to the challenge. Fewer Americans are working standard schedules, the traditional Monday through Friday, 8-hour workday. More people are working nonstandard hours (NSH) —nights, weekends, and irregular hours— and the current child care system fails to accommodate them." Read the full report by clicking here.
Hot Topic Webinars and New Communities of Practice
 
The Office of Child Care and Child Care State Capacity Building Center (SCBC) and the Infant/Toddler Specialist Network (ITSN) are pleased to announce the next series of Infant/Toddler Hot Topic Webinars and three new Infant/Toddler Communities of Practice (CoP) for I/T professionals.
 
For more information on the Infant/Toddler Hot Topic Webinars or Infant/Toddler Communities of Practice contact   Chandra Curtis at chandra.curtis@icf.com .
 
Hot Topic Webinars
These webinars are designed to raise awareness about important topics; provide relevant resources; and inspire continued conversation, topic exploration, and further action toward increasing the supply and quality of I/T care.

Caring for Yourself—Foundational to Caring for Others
Wednesday, February 20, 2019: 1:00 – 2:30 pm (Eastern Time)
Child Care Aware of New Hampshire 
Contact Information
We hope you've enjoyed this edition of "Monthly Minutes". Look for future editions at the beginning of each month! Items for submission for the "Monthly Minutes" must be sent to  outreach2ccrr@snhs.org  before the 25th of each month with the subject line "Monthly Minutes". 

Thank you,
Child Care Aware of NH Team


Need Help? Support? Call our Training and TA Lines
Main Toll Free Line: 1-855-393-1731
Bilingual Support Line: 1-855-393-1731 x 28
Child Care Aware of NH Outreach Offices:
Southern/Main Regional Office
Eastern Regional Office
Concord Regional Office
Western Regional Office
Northern Regional Office
Child Care Aware of NH Training & TA/Help Line:
(603) 578-1386, x 32
(603) 330-0961
(603) 227-6383
(603) 903-0830
(603) 752-1327 or (603) 323-7091
Child Care Aware of NH, a program of Southern NH Services, offers Free & Confidential Child Care Resource & Referral Services to families and early childhood professionals.
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The preparation of this email was financed under a Contract with the State of NH, Department of Health and Human Services,   Division of Economics and Housing Stability, Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration, with funds provided in part by the State of NH and the US Department of Health and Human Services.