Hello Child Care Providers and Early Learning Partners!
We hope you are doing well. In this monthly update, we're sharing some important news and information in early learning, training opportunities and free resources for you and your families.
What can you do when a child is not meeting milestones? Sometimes a formal evaluation is needed to gain more information. After the family agrees, you can refer a child, ages birth through five receiving School Readiness funding, to the FDLRS Child Find by completing the FDLRS/Child Find Referral Form - School Readiness Children form. If the child does not receive School Readiness funding, you can access the FDLRS Child Find site at: www.browardschools.com/esls. Please have a parent or guardian sign a copy of the results letter to document their receipt and keep a copy for your records.
We're here for you. Together, let's continue to make a positive impact on the children and families of Broward County!
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New & Improved ELC Broward Website Coming Soon! |
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GREAT NEWS! We're so excited to announce that we're launching a new website! After several months of hard work and dedication, we're pleased to officially announce our site will be launched in early November.
Our goal with this new website is to provide our visitors an easier way to learn about our services and gain access to trainings, forms and helpful videos. In addition, the site allows the visitor to browse information based on their own choice. The new website is creative, interactive and gives better access to web pages. Our current and prospective clients will find useful information about our services on the homepage of our website.
We will be constantly updating our content with helpful information, articles, newsletters, ELC Broward announcements and success stories in the Blog section. We hope you enjoy our new website with a fresh look with easy to access information. We wish to establish this website as a source of information for all of our Broward County providers and families!
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From the Office of Early Learning: November SR and VPK Payments |
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This is an important update from the Office of Early Learning on your SR and VPK payments for November.
The Florida Department of Education (DOE) and Office of Early Learning (OEL) have worked to find flexible and meaningful ways to help providers meet the financial challenges brought on by the pandemic. From April through September, both SR and VPK providers were reimbursed based on enrollment instead of attendance. For October, SR providers were reimbursed for up to 16 total absences without documentation. VPK providers were reimbursed according to the “80/20 rule” consistent with the VPK contract.
For November:
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Open SR providers will be reimbursed for up to 14 total absences or for 67% of the month without documentation, as this was waived in a DOE executive order. SR providers will continue to be reimbursed for the required parent copayments for all reimbursable days.
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Open VPK providers, will continue to be reimbursed according to the “80/20 rule” consistent with the VPK contract. This means that you will be reimbursed 100% for students who attend at least 80% of the month.
Regarding provider site closures, OEL will continue the standard practice of paying for temporary closures due to COVID or another state of emergency in accordance with rules 6M-4.501 and 6M-8.204(5), F.A.C. Please note that absences are not counted during a temporary closure due to a state of emergency.
Parents will also receive information about waived parent copayments for the month of November shortly.
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Important Information Regarding School Readiness & the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ-3) |
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Your SR agreement requires that you administer the Ages and Stages Questionnaire, 3rd edition (ASQ-3) to all non-school age SR-funded children within 45 days of their enrollment in your program and annually in the month of their birthday, unless the family has declined the screening. Although this requirement was temporarily waived in the spring time, it is now mandatory. It is best practice to have a parent/caregiver complete the ASQ-3 with the child. Please consider sending the printed questionnaire home for the child’s family to complete. However, if the family does not complete the questionnaire as requested, the child’s teacher should complete it. Responses to the ASQ-3 are to be entered in the Blue Jean Portal (also known as the “Legacy Portal”). You should see all SR-funded non-school age children who are enrolled in your program listed in the Blue Jean Portal. If children are missing from your list, please report this to your Provider Relations Specialist. Please note that this information may take 24 hours to show newly enrolled children. Be sure to review this list prior to administering a screening to ensure you do not complete one for a family that has declined; there will be a note indicating if the family declined the screening on this page. Screenings that are past due will appear red and those due soon will appear orange.. Once the responses have been entered, you will see the option to view completed screenings and viewing them will generate a results letter.
If you do not have an ASQ kit or do not have log in information for the Blue Jean Portal, please reach out to your Provider Relations Specialist for instructions on how you can access the screening tool and/or how you will log into the Blue Jean Portal. It is your responsibility to share the screening results with the family. Please have a parent or guardian sign a copy of the results letter to document their receipt and keep a copy in your records. ELC staff may request this document for auditing purposes. The ELC Inclusion team also receives a copy of the results and will reach out to you to discuss strategies for any child whose results require further attention. Thank you for helping to identify developmental concerns in your students.
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It is critical that you make your voice heard by voting! Here's some important information you need to know about voting:
Need to request a vote-by-mail ballot? There's still time. October 24 is the deadline. Click here for more information.
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WSFL-TV's Give a Child a Book Campaign |
We're pleased to announced that WSFL-TV partnered with ELC Broward & Miami-Dade Head Start to put books in the hands of children who need it the most. Debi Palmisano of Greater Horizons Academy was among the the educators interviewed about the importance of literacy for young children. To watch full the interview, click here.
This program is made possible through the Scripps Howard Foundation and employees of the E.W. Scripps Company. In the program’s first four years, they have donated more than 352,000 new books to children facing poverty in their communities. Each Scripps market selects low-income schools and nonprofits in their communities to distribute the books to ensure they go to children who need them most.
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Read for the Record on October 29th!
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Watch the Read for the Record 2020 Video |
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It's that time of year again! Broward Read for the Record is an opportunity for children to read the same book on the same day!
This year's book is Evelyn Del Rey Is Moving Away!
Mark it on your calendar to be a virtual guest reader for Broward: Read for the Record!
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Halloween & COVID-19: Have Fun While Staying Safe |
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Choosing costumes, decorating pumpkins, and getting special treats brings joy to many children at Halloween. Some Halloween traditions may look different this year to keep everyone safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are still plenty of ways families can have fun while avoiding the scare of being exposed to or spreading the virus.
Most importantly, keep doing what you have been doing: avoiding large gatherings, keeping a distance of six feet from others, wearing cloth face coverings (think superhero!), and washing hands often. Click here for some ideas on ways to keep safety steps in place while celebrating. Please share this information with your families.
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Want more ELC Broward Trainings?
All of our trainings can be found on our website calendar, which is updated on a weekly basis.
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What is T.E.A.C.H.? (Teacher Education And Compensation Helps)
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The T.E.A.C.H. Program:
- Links training, compensation, and commitment to improving the quality of early care and education.
- Provides scholarships for early childhood teachers and facility/family home directors to work toward earning an Associate, Bachelor’s, or Master’s degree in early childhood education, a Florida Staff Credential, a Director Credential, a National CDA Assessment, or credential renewals
- Involves a partnership for the sharing of expenses by the scholar, the sponsoring child care program, and the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Program.
If you have any questions, please contact Gordia Ross, Quality and Education Coaching Specialist at Gross@elcbroward.org.
For further information:
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarship Program
Toll Free 877-FL-TEACH (358-3224) | Telephone (850) 487-6302 | Fax (850) 410-0394
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