Important Message from the
Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County

Important Update for School Readiness
& VPK Providers

Dear Early Learning Providers,

There is an important call to action for School Readiness and VPK Providers that temporarily closed during April or May.

Tonight, the Office of Early Learning is slated to post an online questionnaire that is required for all School Readiness or VPK providers that temporarily closed for any time during April and May.

As stated by the Office of Early Learning in the email below, for payment of the May Service Period, you are required to complete an online questionnaire.

  • The online questionnaire is scheduled to post tonight on the Provider Portal home page in the Common Tasks Panel.
  • The questionnaire is required to be completed by May 18th.
  • There will be a subsequent questionnaire for the June service period.

It is imperative that every School Readiness & VPK provider that was "closed for any portion of time" during the months of April and/or May complete this online questionnaire. It is your participation in the questionnaire that is critical, not your answers to the questions.
Thank you,

Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County


May 11, 2020
 

Dear SR and VPK Providers:
 
We wanted to clarify information on the reimbursements for the service periods from March through June 2020, for both SR and VPK providers.
 
SR and VPK Providers Open as of May 4 (with no closures in April, May or June)

  • 1). For April – June Service Periods, 2020, you will continue to be reimbursed based on enrollment rather than attendance and for the SR required parent co-payments. This is an effort to help financially support your day-to-day operations, including paying teachers’ wages or incentives to retain your work force. Based on your current School Readiness and VPK enrollments (through the end of the program year), we understand that these funds alone may not be sufficient to cover all of your payroll expenses, but are expecting that these funds, in part, be allocated to wages or bonuses to retain your staff.

  • 2). For April – June Service Periods, SR providers continue to be eligible for the bonus for serving first responders. More information about that program is here.
 
SR and VPK Providers with Any Closures in April, May or June

  • 1.      For March – April Service Periods, you were reimbursed based on enrollment rather than attendance. For the April Service Period, you were also reimbursed for the SR required parent co-payments. This was an effort to help financially support your day-to-day operations, including paying teachers’ wages or incentives to retain your work force. Based on your current School Readiness and VPK enrollments, we understand that these funds alone may not be sufficient to cover all of your expenses. If you were closed during a portion of April, but are now open in May, you will have an opportunity to indicate that on the questionnaire.

  • 2.      For payment of the May Service Period, you are required to complete an online questionnaire in the provider portal and provide information related to any closure in April and the use or planned use of funds received. The questionnaire link is located on the provider portal homepage in the Common Tasks panel. You will be prompted with a pop-up when you log on to the provider portal. The questionnaire is required to be completed by May 18th.

  • 3.      For payment of the June Service Period, you will also be required to complete an online questionnaire and provide information about your plans to reopen your center/program. Your June service period reimbursement may be adjusted based on whether your center is opened or closed and how you are spending VPK and/or SR funding. 
 
As a reminder - NO parent co-payments should be collected from ANY school readiness family for the service period months of April – June 2020.
 
The Department of Education and the Office of Early Learning remain committed to providing up-to-date information and guidance to our early learning community to address concerns of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). The health and safety of our children, families, and providers’ staff continues to be of utmost importance.
 
We appreciate your commitment to care for all of Florida’s children. If you have questions, you may contact your early learning coalition for more information. 
 
Shan Goff
Executive Director
Office of Early Learning