Fall 2020 Provider's Focus Magazine

FOCUS Magazine PROVIDER’S

Fall 2020

A quarterly publication for early childhood care and education professionals

Providers receive $1 million

Shining some light in the darkness

Are you in compliance?

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Compliance Corner

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Positive Childhood Experiences

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INCENTIVE$ hits a milestone

Inside

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A YEAR FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS A message from the CEO

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A MILESTONE INCENTIVE$ hits $1 million

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POSITIVE CHILDHOOD EXPERIENCES Shining some light in the darkness

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WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE ASQ? The Screening & Accessment Process

Provider's

FOCUS Magazine FALL 2020

INTRODUCTION

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10 Q&A WITH ALISON FRAGA

Director, Resource Development & Community Relations 11

COVID-19 SUPPLY DRIVE Photos from our events

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OUR YEAR IN REVIEW Your ELCHC's annual numbers.

The Provider's Focus Magazine is a quarterly publication of the Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County (ELCHC). The ELCHC is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization located in Tampa, Florida.

The Provider's Focus is printed in limited quantity and distributed across Hillsborough County, Florida. It is also available in digital format at www.elchc.org in the Publications area of the website.

EARLY EDUCATOR SPOTLIGHT Nominate someone!

COMPLIANCE CORNER 14

Are you in compliance?

PUBLISHER

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SUBMISSION INFO

Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County

If you would like to submit an article to be included in the Provider’s Focus, listed below are the submission deadlines and requirements for the 2020-2021 publication year.

PRODUCTION MANAGERS Jonna Johnson, M.A. Jessica Salmond

Articles should include the author's name, affiliation/title, and be typed in 11 or 12 point Arial, Calibri or Times Roman font. Any accompanying photos or artwork should be in high-resolution JPEG format (at least 300 dpi) and sent as a separate attachment along with the article (not inserted in the article or document).

PHOTO COORDINATOR Jessica Salmond

Photo releases should accompany any photo submissions. Submit all to jsalmond@elchc.org by noted deadlines. Please note that submission of articles, information etc., does not guarantee publication.

Submission Deadline

For Issue

November 6, 2020

Winter 2020

January 8, 2021

Spring 2021

April 9, 2021

Summer 2021

August 13, 2021

Fall 2021

GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Jonna Johnson, M.A. Jessica Salmond CONTRIBUTORS Stacey Francois Shabel V. Santiago, M.S. Hannah Goble Jessica Salmond

ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE elchc.org Summer 2020

A MESSAGE FROM THE CEO

A year for the history books The year 2020 has been one for the history books. From a global pandemic to a nationwide call to action for equity and racial justice, it’s been a summer full of uncertainty and challenge.

Through it all, we’ve all had to do our best to continue on with our lives, businesses and livelihoods. I admire our child care provider community for the resilience they’ve shown through the spring and summer, adapting to rapid changes and procedural shifts, all while caring for our community’s children.

From adjusting to new policies to redirecting their daily routine, child care providers have been our heroes, and we’re proud to have been here with you every step of the way. With the help of our team at ELCHC, we’ve been able to distribute the supply, infrastructure, and professional development minigrants, bonuses for providers serving healthcare and first responders and the Phase 1 and Phase 2 CARES grants. In total, our provider community has received $4.7 million in CARES Act Emergency Funding with more to come in Phase 3.

Our Board of Directors also rallied together to push for the COVID-19 Relief Supply Drive.

With their help, we were able to raise more than $89,074 in donations and in-kind gifts and distribute 600 COVID-19 relief packs to our providers. It was so meaningful for our board and team members to see you drive through our three events this summer and get the supplies you need to keep up with COVID-19 health and safety standards! For so many families in our community, you are essential, and we were happy to be able to do something for you in return.

As we head into the fall, times are still uncertain. We’re all ready to return to some state of normalcy. But while we’re getting there, I know for certain that we can get through these challenging times and come out stronger, together.

Sincerely,

ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

$1,000,000

elchc.org Summer 2020

The Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County is pleased to announce we have hit the $1 million mark for the INCENTIVE$ Salary Supplement Program!

Since partnering with the Children’s Forum in 2019, the ELCHC has distributed salary supplement checks to more than 760 early childhood educators in our community. These no-strings-attached checks have been used for everything from vacations and self-care days, home projects and continuing education.

We are so proud to be able to offer this program to our child care providers, whose jobs are labors of love for our county’s youngest residents, and we are happy to help encourage them to remain in the profession of building young minds and preparing them for success in school and life.

But we’re not done! If you’re an educator at a child care site that offers School Readiness, you may be eligible to start receiving salary supplement checks of your own. Go to incentives-fl.org to find out more!

Stacey Francois Manager, Training and IACET

"(INCENTIVE$) is encouraging to start and continue in your field."

— Gloria, R Club Early Learning Academy "When I got my check I went 'oh my gosh, this is going to help me a lot.'

I was able to do a lot with the money."

— E'Dasha, ChildLife Preschool "It makes me so happy to see our hardworking early educators being rewarded for their dedication and commitment. I have encouraged anybody that I know that's in early childhood education to apply for the program. The money's free, what are you waiting on?"

— Aleta, Family Child Care Home owner

Gordon L. Gillette, CEO Early Learning Coalition of Hillsborough County PAGE

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ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

Positive Childhood Experiences: Shining some light in the darkness Shabel V. Santiago, M.S. The Early Childhood Council-Inclusion Support Services

By now many of you have heard about ACEs; Adverse Childhood Experiences which are traumatic experiences that occurred in childhood. These ACEs can have long term negative effects leading into adulthood which can impact mental and physical health.

Examples of these traumatic events include an abusive caregiver, neglect, or death of a family member. Reading about ACEs one may feel sad, overwhelmed, or have a sense of hopelessness thinking about a child in your care who has experienced such traumatic events.

However, within the last year, research out of John Hopkins University has provided a bit of hope in this area. The 2019 study from John Hopkins looked at 6,188 adults and found that adults who had higher positive childhood experiences and felt social emotional support had a lower prevalence of mental health issues. Enter Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs), essentially the exact opposite of ACEs. PCEs reflects supportive relationships in early childhood with social and emotional supports.

The study reported that there are seven Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs) that can possibly counter ACEs. These seven PCEs are: 1) Ability to share with family about feelings 2) Feeling supported during difficult times 3) Enjoyment from participating in community traditions and routines 4) Sense of belonging in school 5) Support from friends 6) At least 2 non-parent adults who showed interest 7) Feeling safe and protected by an adult in the home environment We know that children are resilient, some more so than others. What can we do as child care providers to counter early childhood trauma and generate resiliency in young children? How can we as childcare providers create positive childhood experiences?

For one, we are a non-parent supportive caregiver genuinely interested in the little ones in our care!

Here are some more tips for supporting social emotional development and creating positive experiences: • Teaching emotional vocabulary in your classrooms empowers children to label their feelings and then be able to share them with others. Emotional vocabulary helps children understand their feelings as well as others, so they can also develop empathy and compassion.

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elchc.org Summer 2020

Listen and be present in the moment with your young ones. There are a lot demands on early educators when we are rushing from one activity to another to meet standards, but make sure to be fully present when a little comes up to share something. This also allows you to make a connection with a young child so they feel valued.

Establishing classroom routines helps children know what to expect, therefore providing them with a sense of safety and security.

Classroom rituals provide children with a sense of belonging and also provides an opportunity to connect with a child. (Dr. Beck Bailey’s Conscious Discipline has some great resources for rituals.)

Provide specific praise to build self-esteem and help children know exactly what they did right. Celebrate their progress and accomplishments!

Create an inclusive classroom for children of all abilities, cultures, and backgrounds.

Finally, let’s not forget the wonderful and magical art of PLAY! Child-led play encompasses all of the aforementioned activities

According to the Center for Child Counseling, Positive Childhood Experiences can enhance a child’s life and buffer against negative experiences. As a child care provider you have an amazing opportunity to balance out the negative things that may in occur in a young child’s life with happy and positive ones.

PCEs: Support from friends and family Sharing feelings Feeling safe and protected Participating in positive community traditions Non-parent adults involved in their lives Sense of belonging at school

ACEs: Neglect (physical, emotional) Abuse (physical, emotional, sexual) Household dysfunction (substance abuse, divorce, mental illness, incarcerated relative, abused mother)

To learn more about Positive Childhood Experiences check out the references and resources below: • Christina Bethell, Jennifer Jones, Narangerel Gombojav, Jeff Linkenbach, Robert Sege. "Positive Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental and Relational Health in a Statewide Sample: Associations Across Adverse Childhood Experiences Levels." JAMA Pediatrics (First published online: September 9, 2019) DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2019.3007 •centerforchildcounseling.org/positive-childhood-experiences-pces-and-play •childandadolescent.org/positive-childhood-experiences

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ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

elchc.org Summer 2020

elchc.org Summer 2020

What Happens After the ASQ? The Screening and Assessment Process

Screening and Assessment Process

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Sometimes a specialist may recommend a second level screening for a child. This is a screening tool conducted by the Screening and Assessment Specialist within the childcare program. The second level screening takes a deeper look into the developmental milestones and skills.

Depending on the child’s developmental needs, specialist may provide families with referrals to other services in the community. Children may be eligible for services through Early Steps (Birth through 3 yrs.) or School District of Hillsborough County (3-5 yrs). The Screening and Assessment team will base these referrals on the results of the ASQ-3 and Level 2 screenings. The appropriate agency will review the referrals for possible evaluation and acceptance into services.

Check out the next page for a flow chart showing the process!

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ELCHC Reviews Results:

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The first type of support is to assign the child a series of developmental activities. These developmental activities are located on the ELC portal. The provider will receive an email notification with the child’s birthday and type of developmental activity needed to help support specific areas of development. These activities should always be shared with families.

Developmental activities are designed to provide simple, yet effective support in a developmental area. At times, the Screening and Assessment

The second type of support children may receive looks directly at the individual needs of a child.

The Individual Learning Plan works with the child’s strengths and interests to address several areas of developmental concerns. An ILP may be issued to a child when the child’s ASQ-3 results indicate several areas below the threshold score.

This type of support requires the Screening and Assessment Specialist to work directly with the family and provider to determine what goals should be established for the child’s ILP. The ILP was recently revised to focus more on the child’s individual needs. The ILP should be shared with families and implemented at home and in the childcare classroom. Sometimes supports may take several weeks to show child growth. The ILP support may be put into place for up to 8 weeks.

An ASQ-3 rescreen may be requested to show growth or the need for additional screening.

Child Care Provider or Parent/Guardian completes Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) Screening

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After the ASQ-3 results have been entered into the Early Learning Coalition portal, the Screening and Assessment Team at the Early Learning Coalition will review the results and flag any children with areas below threshold for follow up.

Depending upon a few factors, the Screening and Assessment Team may reach out to the child care provider or family to follow up regarding the ASQ3 results.

Specialist may request that either the provider or family conduct a rescreen using the ASQ-3.

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Early screening is one of the best ways to help identify potential developmental delays in young children. The Ages and Stages Questionnaire is the approved screening tool used in the School Readiness program. Screening results from the ASQ-3 should be used to guide early intervention strategies so children can get the best start for learning success. Children enrolled in the School Readiness program should be screened using the ASQ-3 screener within 45 days of enrollment and within 30 days of their birthday. This is our first glance into how the child is reaching their developmental milestone. It is important that teachers administrating the ASQ-3 screener are comfortable with the use and report the results of the screener accurately. Providers will not be faulted for reporting low ASQ-3 results for a child. Accurate results help indicate next steps in helping a child receive the supports they need.

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By Hannah Goble, Manager, Screening & Assessment

Scores Indicate Additional Screening Needed

Scores Indicate Supports Needed

Scores Indicate Child Is Meeting Developmental Milestones

If scores indicate more support is needed, referral to School Readiness Child Find or Early Steps for evaluation.

Parent and/or provider given resources to support developmental growth.

No Additional Supports Needed; Child will continue to receive annual ASQ Screening.

Rescreen later to see if more supports or screenings are needed.

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ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE elchc.org Summer 2020

Q&A WITH Alison Fraga, Director Resource Development & Community Relations Tell us your story.

I’ve called Tampa Bay home for more than 20 years. It is where I got married and raised my family. After leaving a 14-year career in banking and wealth management I followed my heart into the work I had always cared most about: youth development. Working for the past 6 years in the nonprofit community have been both meaningful and joyful.

What drew you to work for the ELCHC in this role?

Wonder Woman has always been a big role model in my life — she symbolizes a crusader for justice while balancing both the heart and the brain. The passion for my work lies in the hope that all children have the skills they need to be successful individuals, and that the definition of success is defined by them and them alone. What I have learned in my professional career is that the playing field is not level and the best tool we have in creating equity is by participating in a highly engaging and meaningful early education program as a child. The ELCHC presented an opportunity to allow me to crusade for justice and protect the important needs of our youngest citizens.

How will developing a “friendraising” arm for the ELCHC to help its mission?

The more people in the community who champion the work of early educators, the more successful the ELCHC will be in in promoting life success of all children in the county. We need advocates to create greater awareness of the impact of early learning, the need for more funding both private and public and the importance of equipping all adults with the role they play in early learning.

What challenges and opportunities do you see?

The biggest opportunity the industry encounters is to change the false perceptions of what early learning is and why investing in it is important. By overcoming how early educators are valued as the brain builders in our youth we can unlock the funding and support our industry needs to make the largest impact on our children.

What can early educators expect from this new venture?

The hope is that early educators will begin to see and feel support from the community through ELCHC in a big way.

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COVID-19 RELIEF SUPPLY DRIVE The ELCHC Board of Directors hosted the COVID-19 Relief Supply Drive, raised more tha $89,000 and distributed 600 care packages to child care providers in our community.

ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE elchc.org Summer 2020

ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

Our Year in Review

While the ELCHC fiscal "year" doesn't end with fireworks and a ball drop, we think our community and our team had some celebration-worthy moments in the 2019-2020 year!

Continuing education The ELCHC's Institute for Early Childhood Professionals offered 67 learning events last year! In addition, we pivoted due to COVID-19 and began offering trainings in a virtual format in March.

We also offered our very first conference, all about VPK! Held at the USF College of Education David Anchin Center, approximately 200 people attended our conference, which had 25 presenters.

Coaching

Provider Appreciation

The ELCHC's Institute for Early Childhood Professionals offered 67 learning events last year! In addition, we pivoted due to COVID-19 and began offering trainings in a virtual format in March.

Appreciating our providers was a major goal last year!

Besides the INCENTIVE$ salary supplement program and T.E.A.C.H. scholarships, conference, and more, we also tried to just have some fun, too!

We hosted our first holiday Mix, Mingle and Jingle in December 2019. It was a fun event for providers to relax and network together with snacks, a hot cocoa bar, DIY ornament table and of course prizes!

We also offered our very first conference, all about VPK! Held at the USF College of Education David Anchin Center, approximately 200 people attended our conference, which had 25 presenters.

Hillsborough County Infant Toddler Initiative Eleven early childhood programs in at-risk communities joined the Hillsborough Infant & Toddler Initiative! The goals of the Initiative focus on improving the quality of care in early childhood programs for children birth to 36 months and increasing families’ access to that care by increasing the number of infant/ toddler slots. Since August 2019, the Initiative Pilot enrolled 186 new School Readiness infant/toddler children.

While we couldn't have another Provider Appreciation Breakfast due to COVID-19, we ran a "Brag on the 'Book" Facebook campaign. Your families and peers flooded our Facebook page with praise and love for their children's teachers! Families nominated 106 different child care providers, and we had three awesome winners.

Hillsborough County Housing & Urban Development approved a $68,250 grant to extend the Initiative into unincorporated Hillsborough. This was called the Expansion. Four programs joined the Expansion, and 49 children were enrolled.

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The full Fiscal Year 2019-2020 Annual Report is available to view in the Resource Center at elchc.org.

elchc.org Summer 2020

Be our next: Early Educator Spotlight!

Your work is crucial to our community and we want to show you and the world how vital you are to our youngest citizens!

The Early Educator Spotlight is our social media initative to give a shout-out to the early educators in our community as well help the community understand the work you do to teach young children important skills and concepts.

We're actively recruiting nominations for School Readiness or VPK early educators to spotlight! You can nominate yourself or a fellow educator, director, or other teacher.

We need a photo, name and age group taught of the nominee, plus the answers to the questions on the right.

We will need: A photo, name and age group taught, and the answers to the following questions: • What is your favorite learning tool/ activity and how or why does it benefit your students?

• What is your favorite book to read in with your students?

• Why does early learning matter?

Email your nomination to communityrelations@elchc.org!

Meet Lora Brown of B&G Daycare and Kindergarten, Inc.!

Favorite learning activity: anything during group rug time Favorite book to read: “Love You Forever” by Robert Munich Her thoughts on early learning: It's so important because what a child learns in the first five years, serves as a basis for the rest of their life! They need acceptance, love, and approval to thrive.

Meet Veronica McGhie of Melody Makers Kidz!

Favorite learning tool: Creative Curriculum, storytime, and small group because it makes learning more fun and simple. Plan for each individual child's needs.

Favorite book to read: “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle and "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" by Bill Martin, Jr. Her thoughts on early learning: Early Learning matters because children learn faster at this age and they will be better equipped and prepared for kindergarten and beyond.

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ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

ELCHC PROVIDER’S FOCUS MAGAZINE

elchc.org Summer 2020

elchc.org Summer 2020

In the VPK APP (OEL Provider Services Portal): • VPK Staff DCF transcripts • Attestation of Good Moral Character • Clearinghouse Background Screening Documentation

The school year is well underway! We hope everyone is excited and staying safe. The Compliance Team has outlined some important information about VPK program requirements below.

Document Library of ELCHC Portal • Child Certificate of Eligibility (COE’s) • Parental Choice forms (Monthly Parent Signatures) compared to the Attendance Rosters in the OEL Portal • Substitute Tracking form for your Lead teachers for each month VPK ASSESSMENTS:

VPK MONITORING: Below are the things your Compliance Specialist will be checking before and during your monitoring visit.

Records from the last 5 years: We will ask to see some of your records for the last 5 years, starting with the 16-17 program year (if you program has offered VPK since then). Records we may look at include: • Child Certificates of Eligibility (COE’s) • Parental Choice Forms (Monthly Parent Signature Forms) • Attendance Rosters • VPK personnel records (teachers that were in your VPK classroom those years) Information for the current VPK year: We will also be verifying information and documentation on site for the 2020-2021 school year: • Evidence of completed VPK Assessments (AP1, *AP2 (optional), & AP3), *if provider is a VPK POP

that selected Staff Development Plan, AP2 must be completed • Current lesson plans (as evidence of the approved curriculum being use) • Daily Schedule • Class Rosters/Attendance • Approved Instructors/Substitutes • Instructor/Student Ratio Documentation in the portals: We’ve also outlined the items we’ll monitor/view in the portals before we come out to your program.

Making sure these documents are up-to-date in the portals will help speed up the process and minimize the time we spend onsite.

In the 2020-2021 Provider Profile (OEL Provider Services Portal): • VPK Endorsed Director’s credential (unless exempt) • Child Care License or Accrediting Agency (if accredited) • General Liability Insurance • Workers Compensation • Reemployment Compensation

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As a reminder please complete all the assessment booklets correctly (child’s name, child’s DOB, teacher’s name, school name, date administered on the top of each page within the booklet and complete the total correct on the front of the booklet). When entering the scores in the Bright Beginnings website remember to click save and submit after inputting the VPK students’ scores.

If you have any questions and or concerns, please feel free to email Lauren Morgan at lmorgan@elchc.org. The VPK Assessment website is brightbeginningsfl.com.

Thanks for your assistance in this matter and thanks for helping build a strong educational foundation for our VPK and SR children!

Your quality program is their success!

CE TEAM

THE COMPLIAN QUESTIONS? 813-515-2340 Extensions:

REGION 1

REGION 3

REGION 5

Ingrid Sanchez ext. 223

Jessica Sladky Jones ext. 225

Lauren Morgan ext. 224

REGION 2

REGION 4

REGION 6

Yelena Sanchez ext. 410

Tasha Williams ext. 345

Kenya Rowe ext. 229

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