Released in , these guidelines describe behaviors and skills that children may demonstrate birth through grade 3, and how you as a parent or early learning professional can support their healthy development. The Early Learning STEM lessons are designed for educators, teachers, and childcare providers to use with children between the ages of Old Capitol Building P.
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Contact Information Certification office, Standards board, more Helpful Links Clock hours, test information, more An area of focused work in this priority is to create a responsive and inclusive integrated pre-kindergarten Pre-K system. In this, Gov. Inslee has directed DCYF to collaborate with the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction OSPI to identify near-term administrative efficiencies and longer-term strategies to improve the alignment and integration of high-quality early learning programs administered by both agencies.
This advisory committee will work toward the goal of streamlining regulatory functions across various programs. Within the advisory committee, a workgroup was formed to guide recruitment and enrollment practices that will create sustainable practices within communities and build ways to work together to intake families now and in the future to establish pathways for enrollment that supports each and every child.
We honor and recognize the diverse early learning systems that exist within Washington State and will work to ensure engagement opportunities exist to inform recommendations and implementation that supports diverse communities. For FFN Providers. Governor's Proclamations. Child care providers are not under a mandate to stay open or to close. We encourage child care facilities to continue serving their communities and to make their educated decisions based upon what information and recommendations are coming from the Washington State Department of Health DOH.
Because child care providers are independent business owners, decisions such as a voluntary closure during a health outbreak are business decisions each facility makes on their own. The school closures will be most effective in slowing the spread of the virus if the overwhelming majority of children, including children under age 5, stay at home or in very small group settings throughout the closure period.
There are two main reasons child care providers are not included in the closure requirement. First, child care settings are often much smaller in numbers than in K settings.
Children in child care are in smaller groups throughout the day and not often in larger groups. Group sizes remain smaller in classrooms and there are not larger gatherings in hallways, gyms or cafeterias like we see in K schools.
Second, child care is a critical need for our first responders and essential personnel nurses, doctors, law enforcement, firefighters, paramedics, social workers, etc. And, while closing schools statewide helps achieve this goal, it also increases the need for child care for some families.
During this time of crisis, we want to ensure that essential workers have access to safe child care so they can get to work. This the reality we are working in right now — trying to slow the spread of the virus and working to maintain critical services and functions in our communities. The hope is that parents who can keep their children home safely will do so and that those who need child care to get to work will have access to that care without question.
We also anticipate that some parents will need intermittent care, but not necessarily full-time care. To further support the goal of reducing the spread of the virus, parents may want to consider safe alternatives to the group-based child care that they might otherwise arrange when schools are closed, such as:.
At this time, the DOH would support a closure if someone with a novel coronavirus case spent time in child care and had contacts with other individuals in the child care setting while ill.
In this situation, DOH and local public health department will work with child care leadership to consider the duration of the closure and to determine other steps that should be taken to limit spread. Child care providers can remain open and serve any child. If currently enrolled children need care, then you can serve them regardless of their parent's essential worker status.
You can also enroll new children, both subsidy and private pay. DCYF encourages providers to prioritize children of essential workers and uniquely vulnerable children if there are more children than the provider can safely serve. Please continue to provide care to already enrolled families, including families with school-age children. Child care providers and community partners libraries, parks and recreations, community centers that are interested in organizing emergency child care for medical professionals and other priority workforce groups around the state, please contact EmergencyChildcare dcyf.
Medical professionals are one of the priority categories that we must continue to serve and provide child care, especially in the health emergency our state is facing. DCYF is looking for partnerships with hospitals and child care providers who are serving medical professionals. Child care services for less than four hours a day are license exempt. Governor Inslee has designated child care and licensed pre-K as an essential function for essential workers and uniquely vulnerable children.
While parents are encouraged to stay home with their children if they're able to do so, we understand that child care services for our frontline health care workers, first responders and other essential workers is necessary during this pandemic.
You can find the full list of essential workers here. DCYF is working directly with first responder organizations such as hospitals and others that want to provide care on-site to stand up child care sites quickly through an emergency licensing process. If you are interested in this resource, please contact emergencychildcare dcyf. The RCW exemption for seasonal care does not restrict care to only those children of essential workers.
If you are interested in learning more about an emergency licensing process, please call or email: emergencychildcare dcyf. Monday - Friday at ; TTY to see if they qualify for special enrollment or Apple Health which is open year-round. If you have lost your insurance because you have been laid off, had your hours cut back, or are on temporary furlough, you can look to the Washington Health Benefits Exchange to see if you qualify for one of the many tiered health insurance plans available through the state.
The plans are all income based and even though we are outside of the normal enrollment period, the employment changes that are occurring due to COVID count as a change in circumstances and may mean that you are now able to apply even if you did not qualify in the past.
For the period beginning March 16 through June 30, , you may claim services based upon enrollment. If you are currently providing exempt child care services, including part day services, drop-in services, etc. We are implementing an emergency waiver process to speed up necessary licensing activities.
If you are currently licensed and would like to extend the capacity of your services, start serving additional age groups or include additional working hours to your services, please contact your licensing office. There are no fees for changing your license. Please see the regional child care licensing offices contact information.
If you are currently providing exempt child care services, such as part day services, drop-in services, etc. Child care providers may request waivers for certain requirements. Family Home providers are more than welcome to use the emergency waiver process for increasing capacity of their services. On Monday 3. This guidance is based on new modeling on how the virus might spread, according to Dr. Deborah Birx of the White House coronavirus task force.
For child care providers that remain open, it is crucial to minimize the risks of spreading coronavirus. Social distancing is one of the main strategies to slow the spread of the virus. The capacity waivers will be approved in consideration with the DOH guidance. Limiting the group size is an emergency measure that will help reduce potential coronavirus exposures and may prevent an entire program from shutting down if exposure does occur.
Please contact your local licensing office if you need technical assistance regarding emergency waivers. We understand the staffing challenges that may occur during this emergency. You should continue to recruit and hire staff. If you are able, use fully qualified workers who have cleared a background check.
Work with your local licensing office to get approval. DCYF also has a substitute pool for licensed providers that offered by The Imagine Institute and will be expanding services. Please make the needed arrangements with the providers. DCYF will not make changes to ratios across the board.
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