The Quality Care Connections Quarterly
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Professional Development Services for Lane County's Early Learning Workforce
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QCC Updates, Information, and Reminders
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Hello, Lane County child care providers and partners! Welcome to our Summer Quarterly Newsletter. We hope you enjoy the content and find the information helpful. We imagine all of you are very busy with your summer programs. We hope your next few months are full of sun and fun! Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need supports. We are here for YOU!
For the summer, our office will be open Monday-Thursday, from 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. And, we are currently now open on Tuesdays and Thursdays until 6:00 p.m. Please note that we are a small office, with just seven employees. We are often on the phone or out visiting programs (our favorite part of the job!) so we are not always able to answer the phone right away. Please be assured that if you leave a voicemail, it is always our goal to return your call within one business day. When you leave a message, please speak clearly and slowly, and leave your full name, phone number, the reason for your call, and the best time to reach you. Thanks for helping us stay in touch with you!
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Quick Look: Summer 2019 Trainings
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Registration begins Monday, June 24 at 8 a.m.
Don't delay as many of our classes fill up quickly!
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General Professional Development Trainings
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July Classes
Thursday, July 18
Using Positive Interventions to Support Children with Challenging Behaviors
Wednesday, July 24
Language Development and Delay - Strategies for Promoting Communication Skills in Early Childhood
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August Classes
Tuesday, August 13
Working Better Together
Saturday, August 17
Training Techniques for Active Learning
Thursday, August 22
Creating Young Nature Explorers
Tuesday, August 27
Digging Deeper - An In-depth Exploration of Magda Gerber’s Educaring Approach
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September Classes
Thursday, September 12
Adventures in Art: Developing and Implementing Joyful Art Experiences that Focus on the Process, Not the Product
Tuesday, September 17
CPS- Collaborative Problem Solving
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Safety Set and Core Classes
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CPR/First Aid
Our five-hour Pediatric CPR/First Aid classes take place on the Saturdays below, 9:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m.
Saturday, July 13, 27
Saturday, August 10, 24
Saturday, September 7
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CPR/First Aid-Challenge Course
This CPR/First Aid course is only for those who have a CURRENT First Aid/CPR card that they are able to bring to the training to show the instructor. Be sure to sign up well BEFORE your card expires to take advantage of this class.
Tuesday, August 6; 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, September 11; 6:30-8:30 p.m.
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Family Child Care Overview
This course is required for those interested in becoming a Registered Family Child Care Provider.
Wednesday, July 24; 16; 1:00-4:00 p.m.
Wednesday, September 25; 6:00-9:00 p.m.
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Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect (RRCAN)
We will not be providing an in-person RRCAN class this summer. Click
here
to take the free, online version.
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Introduction to Child Care Health and Safety (ICCHS)
We will not be providing an in-person ICCHS training this summer. Click
here to take the free, online version.
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DHS Child Care Orientation
This class is mandatory for providers interested in offering DHS subsidized child care.
Tuesday, July 16; 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, August 15; 6:30-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, September 10; 10:00 a.m.-12 p.m.
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Class Policies, Tips, and Reminders
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Policies
Registration closes at 1:00 p.m. on the day of class. For Saturday classes, registration closes at 1:00 pm on the Friday before class.
If you show up to class without prior registration, you will not be admitted.
Cancellations must be received at least 24 hours before the start of class to receive a credit on your account.
Class fees are not refundable.
No children are allowed in class, with the exception of breastfeeding infants.
For weather conditions, follow procedures found on LCC's website at
www.lanecc.edu, or listen to KLCC, FM 89.7.
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Tips
Instructors do not have access to climate control in the classroom. We recommend that you dress in layers to ensure your comfort.
Reminders:
First Aid/CPR certifications are good for two years. Classes fill up quickly, so plan ahead and register today!
The First Aid/CPR
Challenge Course
is only available to those possessing a current, valid infant and child CPR and first aid card.
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Infant/Toddler Focused Network
(Coming This Fall!)
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Do you currently care for infants and toddlers and would love to increase the quality of your program to best meet the needs of this unique age group? Or, are you considering expanding or opening a new program just for infants and toddlers? If you have answered yes to either of these questions, then the Infant/Toddler Focused Network is for YOU!
The purpose of a Focused Child Care Network is to gather a cohort of early educators to meet frequently with a Quality Improvement Specialist to discuss best practices, access and share resources, and receive training as they work on increasing the quality of their programs. Network participants receive incentives, such as free trainings, equipment, and supplies. There is no cost to providers to be part of a Focused Network.
The Infant/Toddler Focused Network will begin this fall. Selected providers will be expected to commit to the program for its 18-month duration and to actively participate in all meetings, trainings, site visits. There will also be occasional assignments related to best practice in infant and toddler care.
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Priority will be given to
family child care providers as well as to programs that serve communities furthest from opportunity. Priority may also be given to programs
interested in becoming star-rated in Spark, increasing their current star-rating, and/or to providers looking to increase their steps in the Oregon Registry. Providers that have recently participated in a Focused Network will be considered, but if interest is high, we will place a higher priority on those that have never participated in a Network.
We have not yet begun recruitment for the Infant and Toddler Network. However, we will begin taking names and contact information of interested providers. If you would like to get on this "interested" list, please contact Kristen Helton by phone at 541-463-3308 or by email at
heltonk@lanecc.edu.
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New NAP SAC Cohort Starting Soon!
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NAP SACC is a national obesity prevention program that helps child care facilities improve their plans and policies around nutrition and physical activity. It is free for child care providers to participate, and there are tons of great benefits to you and/or your teachers!
Your participation includes:
- A NAP SACC Consultant who will come to you and provide your program staff with 7.5 hours of free training in Health, Safety, and Nutrition.
- Carefully selected health and physical activity-related classroom items throughout your training process to encourage and motivate you and your team.
- $100 of classroom or playground/classroom items that you can personally select when you complete the training topics.
- Helpful information and handouts for parents.
Your Commitment:
- To participate in NAP SACC, just complete the Program Self Assessments at the beginning of the program, at 3 months, and then at 6 months. The assessment is multiple choice and only takes 20-30 minutes to complete.
- Participation in five Nutrition and Physical Activity trainings
To get signed up, please contact Alex Curtis at any of the options below.
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Office of Child Care Updates
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CPR/First Aid Reimbursement
Don't forget! Aide 1 and Assistant 1 providers (or directors and owners who paid for these providers) can now get reimbursed for their CPR/First Aid certification.
To receive your reimbursement, complete the forms below and send them along with a copy of the completed training certificate
and the original receipt to the address on the request form.
Criminal Background Registry Updates
As you are now well aware, the enrollment period for the CBR is now
five years instead of two (unless you are suspended or removed from enrollment.) Approximately four months before the enrollment expiration date, a renewal notice will be mailed to your address on file with the division.
Also, it is now free for providers and child care staff to compete their criminal background registry and fingerprinting! From what we understand, you no longer send in a payment when apply via mail. When you apply online however, you may be required to enter a credit card number. If so, you will either be reimbursed later or your card will not be charged. We are still waiting for clarification on this detail.
Thank you to the Office of Child Care for making the lives of child care providers easier and helping to reduce the costs of running quality programs!
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Lead Test Reimbursement Due Now!
Licensed providers must get their Lead Testing reimbursement and W-9 forms in TODAY, June 24, to be considered for these funds before they run out. License-exempt providers have a little more time to submit their forms.
To receive your reimbursement, complete the forms below and send them along with a copy of your receipts to the address on the reimbursement form.
DHS Odd Hour Care Incentive
For a limited time, DHS is offering monthly incentive payments to providers who provide odd hour care to DHS families. Incentive payments can be requested for care starting in January 2019.
To be eligible for these payments, you must:
- Receive a Child Care Billing form for each family for whom you are requesting an incentive payment; and
- You must provide care weekdays after 7p.m., weekdays before 6 a.m., or on weekends.
To request an incentive payment:
- Fill out the incentive request form below each month for children in your care that meet the requirements listed above
- Submit the request form to the Direct Pay Unit (DPU). The form must be fully completed and signed to be processed
- Keep attendance logs with check-in and check-out times for at least 12 months.
Please note:
- DHS is backed up with processing these reimbursements. You will need to be patient!
- The funds for this reimbursement are only available for a limited time!
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Environment Rating Scales
As you may have heard, the Environment Rating Scales (ERS) will be an exciting addition to Spark in the future. The ERS will serve as evidence for how some Spark standards are being met, as well as provide valuable information to guide quality improvement efforts. The ERS are well aligned with the overall goals of Spark, as they focus on the foundational needs of children:
protection of health and safety, supporting and guiding social and emotional development and opportunities for intellectual and language stimulation and appropriate learning activities. (Teachers College Press, 2018). Using this assessment tool in the Spark process will enable programs to highlight strengths as well as offer specific information to guide continuous quality improvement efforts.
Early childhood specialists from The Research Institute at Western Oregon University (TRI/WOU) are currently being trained as Spark ERS Assessors. This rigorous process will enable them to use the ERS tool with a high level of reliability to assess programs and provide detailed feedback to programs to guide quality improvement efforts. Two TRI staff members have recently completed reliability training on the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-3), the scale for center based, preschool programs. Reliability training for the Infant Toddler Environment Rating Scale, 3
rd edition (ITERS-3) will be taking place in May, with training on the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale, 3
rd edition (FCCRS-3) and the School Age Environment Rating Scale, Revised edition (SACERS-R) to follow in the coming year.
To maintain reliability and practice using the tools, our Spark Assessors are looking for programs who would like to volunteer to receive a Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) ERS program assessment. Any program currently participating in Spark at any level is eligible. CQI ERS assessment visits for center based, preschool programs are beginning now, with visits to other types of programs being scheduled as reliability training is completed.
The benefits of volunteering for a CQI ERS Assessment visit:
- A stipend of $150 (Currently participating Spark programs are eligible to receive a training stipend, including publicly funded programs.)
- The opportunity to receive valuable feedback in the form of a “Continuous Quality Improvement ERS Summary Assessment Report” within 2 weeks of the assessment
What will be asked of the volunteer programs:
- Permit TRI staff to conduct a 3-4 hour on site observation with a brief interview before the assessment begins
- Complete a WOU Substitute W-9 form to receive the $150 stipend
- Allow TRI to use summarized data gathered during the assessment for evaluation purposes. (The program will not be identified in the evaluation.)
If you are interested in finding out more about the ERS or participating in a program assessment, please contact Lacey Davis at 503-838-9260 or
davisld@wou.edu
Spark Enrollment Renewal
Programs that currently have a star-rating have recently received an email requesting that you complete a Program Update Report to ensure your information is up to date and to share additional information about your continued participation in Spark. Completing this report is one of the components needed to stay in good standing with Spark, which is required for future Spark opportunities, such as additional funding.
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The Spark Program Update Report will collect information on:
- Your program and children served in your program
- Continuous Quality Improvement
- Commitment to maintain quality standards
The Update Report also provides you an opportunity to:
- Reflect on quality improvement goals achieved
- Identify activities to achieve goals
- Share your intent to advance to a higher rating
Thank you for taking the time to complete this report!
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Become a Certified Trainer with Oregon Registry
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The Oregon Registry Trainer Program offers voluntary certification for trainers and adult educators in Oregon’s childhood care and education profession.
Becoming certified is voluntary. You may apply to be a Community Trainer, Specialty Community Trainer, Master Trainer, or Specialty Master Trainer at any time by completing the appropriate trainer application. We review the trainer applications monthly.
There are many benefits to becoming an certified Oregon Registry Trainer:
- Ensures your training meets Oregon's Core Knowledge Categories standards for the childhood care and education profession and is connected to the Oregon Registry Steps.
- Allows you to use the Sets of knowledge terminology and have it recognized for professionals who attend the trainings.
- Provides you assistance with training techniques, session development and marketing.
- Your certified trainings will be accepted by the Oregon Registry, which means it also satisfies Office of Child Care licensing requirements. Participants who attend your training can be assured it meets statewide standards and involves sound adult education practices.
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Training requirements for becoming a certified trainer vary depending on the type of trainer you wish to become. However, all trainers are required to have a minimum of 20 hours of training in Adult Education and/or Development. Quality Care Connections will be offering a six-hour training this summer that will meet a portion of this requirement. More details below.
Training Techniques for Active Learning
Sonia Thomas; Training Specialist, OCCD
Saturday, August 17; 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
Set 2 in PPLD; $60
Make your training memorable by building active learning into your agenda. Cut out the boring and insert fun, engaging, and easy activities that keep energy high and learning moving forward. Join fellow trainers as we practice techniques you can use immediately in your next presentation.
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Provider Resources, Tips, and Activities
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Sunscreen Requirements
It's time for sunscreen again! Let's keep our kiddos safe by following all applicable child care rules and regulations. The rules below apply to all certified child care centers and certified and registered family child care providers.
Sunscreen is considered a nonprescription medication and may be used for child care children under the following conditions:
- If sunscreen is supplied for an individual child care child, the sunscreen must be labeled with the child's first and last name and may only be used for that child.
- One container of sunscreen may be used for child care children unless a parent supplies an individual container for their child.
- Shared sunscreen shall be applied in a manner that prevents contaminating the container.
- Parents must be informed of the type of product and the sun protective factor (SPF).
- Parents must be given the opportunity to inspect the product and active ingredients.
- Providers must reapply sunscreen every two hours while the child care children are exposed to the sun.
- Providers shall use a sunscreen with an SPF of 15 or higher and must be labeled as “Broad Spectrum”.
- Providers shall not use aerosol sunscreens on child care children.
- Sunscreen shall not be used on child care children younger than six months.
- Child care children over six years of age may apply sunscreen to themselves under the direct supervision of the provider or staff member.
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For further clarification on the rules and regulations for the use of sunscreen, please click on the link to the right, which will take you to the Early Learning Division Website. Then select the appropriate rule book for your program type.
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Sun Safety
Babies and young children are more susceptible to sunburn because their skin contains less melanin (dark brown/ black pigment). Just one blistering sunburn as a child or more than five serious sunburns in a person’s lifetime can more than double the risk of developing skin cancer. The guidelines at the link below provide ways to reduce children’s exposure to harmful sun exposure and outline the age-appropriate use of sunscreen.
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Chalk Paint
This a great activity both of my kids love. By smashing chalk and adding water, you can make vivid, bright chalk paint!
- Take one piece of sidewalk chalk and place it in a freezer Ziploc baggy.
- Using a rubber mallet or small hammer, smash the chalk to bits.Try to make a fine powder if you can.
- Pour the chalk powder into a container. Mix with a small amount of water to create paint.
- Make several more containers of chalk paint using various colors of chalk.
- Use thick, chubby paintbrushes to paint the mixture onto the sidewalk.
- Watch your paintings as they dry and turn super colorful!
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Upcoming Local, Regional, and State-Wide Professional Development Opportunities
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For a more complete list of 2019 early education and child care professional development opportunities in and around Oregon and the United States, click
here
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WOU Inclusion Conference
August 7-9, 2019; Monmouth, OR
2019 Whole Child Summit
(COSA-Confederation of Oregon School Administrators)
Oct 11, 2019; Portland, OR
ORAEYC Fall Conference
(Oregon Association for the Education of Young Children)
Oct 11 & 12, 2019; Mt Hood Community College
www.oraeyc.org
2019 Statewide Early Learning Conference
(COSA-Confederation of Oregon School Administrators)
Oct 21-23, 2019; Portland, OR
https://www.cosa.k12.or.us/professional-learning/upcoming
NAEYC Conference
(National Association for the Education of Young Children)
Nov 20-23, 2019; Nashville, TN
www.naeyc.org/events/annual
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Child Care "Classified Ads"
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Tracy Leipold, one of our long-time local child care providers, is transitioning her family child care program to a new location and will now only be offering care to infants and toddlers. As such, she is selling off two storage units of preschool supplies, furnishings, and equipment.
Providers can text Tracy at
541-246-4469 or contact her through Facebook and schedule a time in the evening or anytime on the weekends between now and June 30th. She has also set up a Facebook page called Tracy’s Downsizing and Moving Sale, where you can see pictures and prices. She tries to update it as things are sold. Everything is first come first served, no delivery! She accept cash or PayPal (friends and family only). No trades. Click below to visit her Facebook sale page.
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This is a new feature of our quarterly newsletter. Let us know if you have something to sell or if you are looking for a particular item.
Please email a brief description of the item/s you want or are selling to heltonk@lanecc.edu. The newsletter comers out quarterly; the next release date is September 30. All postings must be received
at least
one week prior to the release date.
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Early Childhood CARES is seeking teaching assistants to support classrooms including children with developmental delays and disabilities. Temporary positions, including substitute work, are available by sending your resume and 3 references (including professional references) to
jetaylor@uoregon.edu or calling Jeanine at
541-735-1766. Permanent benefited positions are posted intermittently on the UO website:
http://careers.uoregon.edu/cw/en-us/listing/.
Pay range is $12.63 to $17.75 based on experience.
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If you have a job to post, please email a brief job announcement in the body of your message or as a PDF to heltonk@lanecc.edu. Please include the name of the employer, the position, pay and benefits,, and how to apply. The newsletter comers out quarterly; the next release date is September 30. All postings must be received
at least
one week prior to the release date.
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