December 1 | Early Care and Education Digest

BB CommsAdvocacy, Community

News

For Educators

  • New subsidy funding is available for children, with priority going to serving children 0-3. All programs interested in newly operating or expanding child care services (CCTR) are encouraged to apply. Register here for the informational webinar about this funding on Tuesday, December 6 from 9:00am – 12:00pm. Applications are due Friday, December 30. Get more info at the CDSS webpage here or contact Laura Keeley-Saldana (510) 996-2361 for more information. 
  • Major Renovation and Repair Funding is now available for childcare centers and family home providers! This opportunity for funding for facilities is due Tuesday, January 31, 2023 (non-LEA’s only). Join the informational webinar for centers on Thursday, December 8 from 9:00am – 11:00am here; Join the informational webinar for family child care homes on Thursday, December 8 from 6:00pm – 8:00pm here or contact Laura Keeley-Saldana (510) 996-2361 for more information. Funds can be used for:
    • Renovating or building out an existing facility by adding classrooms 
    • Constructing a brand-new facility  
    • Replacing a facility lost due to a state or federally declared disaster 
    • Expanding Small Family Child Care Homes to Large Family Child Care Homes
  • MAOF is offering to reimburse ECE providers up to $100 for taking health and safety training. Take advantage of this generous offer by contacting MAOF at 831-757-0775. More information about this opportunity here.  
  • What is RSV and how do I help communicate the FAQs with families? Here’s a resource from UCSF to help you understand the symptoms and treatment of this contagious virus. 
  • Apprenticeships in ECE are getting a lot of attention nationwide, especially for multilingual educators. Check out the article from MPI here. 
  • Creating Brave Spaces: Disrupting Implicit Bias training is available for educators! Join this free web based training from CDSS and get professional development hours as well as anti-bias training for your classroom.  Click here for more information. 
  • Interested in the Prek-3 ECE Specialist Instruction Credential? Check out the handbook for requirements, pathways and standards here. 
  • Free Preventative Health and Safety Training! Santa Clara County Resource and Referral program is offering an EMSA-approved eight-hour Preventative Health and Safety training (with nutrition and lead poisoning prevention) required for child care licensing. Your final opportunity is scheduled in December and is open to participants in San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey Counties. Learn more here.
  • Early EDU provides free training for Early Educators. The next course, Creating Classrooms to Support Positive Behavior, is available on Thursday, December 8 from 3:30pm – 5:00pm. Register here.  
  • Access MCOE’s Early Care and Education Department virtual magazine for future professional development opportunities available for ECE providers here!
  • ECE Community College students: Funds are available to help with tuition & textbooks. The funds will go fast, so share this application with those you know and apply early.

For Families

  • Looking for childcare? Go to Montereycountychildcare.org or Mychildcareplan.org for help finding the right care for your child. 
  • RSV (Respiratory syncytial virus) and the flu virus is increasing in California and can make young children very sick, including potential hospitalization. Most children get RSV at least once before they are 2 years old, and oftentimes the symptoms of RSV for healthy children are like a cold. Know when it’s more than just a cold, from the American Academy of Pediatrics here. 
  • Most childhood respiratory illnesses are mild and resolve on their own without the need for emergency care or hospitalization. Understanding when to see a doctor or go to the hospital ensures that children receive the right care. Call ahead to get medical advice and see what you can do at home and when it is best to come in to be examined. Seek evaluation right away if your child has:
  • Symptoms of lung disease: fast breathing, flaring nostrils, head bobbing, grunting, or wheezing while breathing; belly breathing; pauses in breathing
  • Symptoms of dehydration
  • Gray or blue color to tongue, lips or skin
  • Significantly decreased activity and alertness
  • Symptoms that worsen or do not improve after 7 days
  • Fever in those under 3 months of age (12 weeks)
  • Fever above 104°F repeatedly for a child of any age
  • Poor sleep or fussiness, chest pain, ear tugging or ear drainage
  • Here are a few events coming your way in December from Monterey Parent Magazine.
  • Kidpower is hosting free online training tailored for educators, adult services providers, parents, and other caring adults who provide services, care, or mentorship for adults or teens with communication challenges. The next session will be on Wednesday, December 7 from 12:00pm – 1:00pm, or from 5:00pm-6:00pm.

Resources For All

  • New infant and early childhood mental health fact sheet for families and educators. This fact sheet is to provide parents and caregivers with knowledgeable resources to help support their infants and toddlers’ social-emotional development. The fact sheet is available in both English and Spanish.
  • Child care staffing shortages continue to impact businesses throughout the US. As companies try to bring their workforce back to the office, the childcare staffing issues limit availability of spaces for children. Read more in this article by Fortune. 
  • Want to know more about the health of the residents of Monterey County? Monterey County Community Health Needs Assessment results for 2022 are here. 
  • Your opinions matter! Complete the Community Behavioral/Mental Health Survey to help shape services for you, your family and the community. Take the 5 minute survey here.
  • The Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce Children’s Shopping Tour is scheduled for Saturday, December 10 this year where volunteers take hundreds of kids shopping for school attire. To learn more about how to volunteer for this event and how children can benefit, visit here. 
  • Fight the Flu! Getting a flu shot can protect you and your loved ones. Schedule your flu vaccine today at vaccines.gov or myturn.ca.gov/flu.
  • The California Department of Public Health released  this video on how to stay healthy this winter. 
  • Due to the decrease in usage, a reduction in hours of operation for selected Health Department COVID-19 testing sites is now in effect. See the new hours at the locations below.  
    • Salinas testing site at the Sherwood Hall will be open Friday through Sunday, 12:00pm –  8:00pm.
    • Soledad testing site at the Soledad Library will be open Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 10:00am to 6:00pm.
    • Marina testing site at Marina Behavioral Health Clinic will be open Monday through Wednesday, 9:00am to 6:00pm
  • Need to find a COVID-19 testing or vaccine clinic in Monterey County? Visit MontereyCountyVaccines.com or find a location in the flyers: Free Testing and Free Vaccination sites.

Monterey County Vaccines By the Numbers

Overall, 80.8% of the eligible population in Monterey County have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. For more details on COVID health data, visit the Health Departments website here. Stay informed on all things COVID-19 on the Monterey County COVID-19 portal.

COVID-19 Information

COVID-19 Vaccine Information ➡️ click here to learn more…

General COVID-19 & Public Health ➡️ click here to learn more…

Resources & Tools

Financial Relief for Families ➡️ click here to learn more…

All Ages Learning & Development Supports ➡️ click here to learn more…

Resilience & Mental Health Resources ➡️ click here to learn more…

Child Care & Education Quality & Business Tools ➡️ click here to learn more…

Policy & Advocacy ➡️ click here to learn more…

Our goal is to ensure that young children have quality, nurturing, and safe child care and education during and post-pandemic. For more information about this effort and the coalition behind it, please visit our web hub here. 

News and resources are shared below. Previous Weekly Digests are available here. 

If you have information, flyers, or events you would like to share in this publication, please contact or send information to: Laura@BrightBeginningsMC.org. 

Want more information from Bright Beginnings? Stay up-to-date and join the mailing list for the BB Weekly Recovery Coalition Digest, Maternal Mental Health Task Force, and the BB Quarterly Update.

It Takes a Coalition

The emergency response providing coordinated solutions for child care and education is led by a coalition of early childhood champions, united under the Bright Beginnings Strategic Framework to better support all young children and their families, to prepare every child for life and school. This coalition is ever-growing:

4th Monterey County Supervisorial District
30th California Assembly District
Building Healthy Communities
CAPSLO
Carmel Unified School District
Child Care Planning Council
Child Development Centers and Continuing Development Incorporated
Children’s Council
Early Development Services
First 5 Monterey County
Go Kids, Inc.
Health Department
MAOF Resource & Referral & Alternative Payment Program
Monterey Peninsula Unified School District
Natividad Medical Center
North Monterey County Unified School District
Office of Education – Early Learning Program
Office of Education – Educational Services
Public Health Office
Quality Matters Monterey County
Salinas City Elementary School District
Social Services – Child Abuse Prevention Council
United Farmworkers Foundation
United Way of Monterey County
YMCA

A special thanks to the coordinating team and major funders: Bright Beginnings Backbone, Child Care Planning Council, First 5 Monterey County, MAOF Resource & Referral, Quality Matters, and the United Way of Monterey County.

For more information, please contact sonja@brightbeginningsmc.org.