July 13 | Early Care and Education Digest

Rebeca ZunigaAdvocacy, Community

News

For Educators

  • Explore a comprehensive suite of 12 new online professional development modules designed for early learning and care professionals in all roles and settings. These module series offer engaging, interactive online learning experiences that present current and practical content.
  • The Rate and Quality Advisory Panel meeting is scheduled on Wednesday, July 19 from 12:00pm – 3:00pm and will be held via Zoom. All meetings are open to the public so that community members can participate and share advice and ideas.
  • Monterey Peninsula Unified School District is looking to hire more staff! Join this excellent team of professionals, and you might receive a signing bonus. Share these flyers with interested individuals. 
  • Family Child Care homes can be part of a cohort to support their business, and get $500! Business Lift-Off is a free course for newly licensed entrepreneurs (English & Spanish) that will help you keep your business successful. Download the app from the Google Play Store or App Store and enter your name, phone number, and email address and immediately have access to the Business Exploration Course. Business $500-start-up grants and zero-interest loans are available to entrepreneurs who complete this track.
  • Great Administrators 2023: Join EveryChild California in beautiful sunny Santa Barbara July 25-27  for a deep dive into the core principles of strategic leadership. Connect and engage with early care and education professionals from across the state on conversations around all the hot topics facing our field. 
  • Stipends for child care educators/providers are headed to you! See if you are eligible to receive $1,442 per subsidy child and complete the required ARPA surveyby August 15, 2023. 
  • Plan on attending professional development next year? Check out the 2023 Early Care and Education events from Quality Matters. Topics include DRDP mini sessions, teaching pyramid, math concepts, ASQ and more!
  • ECE Community College students: ECE Career Educational Support grants are available for help with tuition & textbooks. The Child Development Training Consortium is offering these funds on a first come, first served basis. 

For Families

  • Summer is the time for families to prepare for fall school entry. The California Department of Public Health wants to ensure students are up-to-date on all required immunizations and encourages families and caregivers to make appointments now so there are no delays in the fall. Learn about California Immunization Requirementsto help your children stay healthy.
  • Find the right program for your 3-4 year old. Check out the Monterey County Office of Education UPK Community Magazine for UPK resources. Available in Spanish and English.
  • A list of Monterey County Schools with links and contacts are available for the community. Contact your school district for UPK, TK and school related services. 
  • Breastfeeding support groups in Salinas and Soledad! Get the latest information on nutrition and child care as well as support with other mothers. Save the date for the Breastfeeding Walk in Salinas and Soledad on August 1 and 3. 
  • Now Enrolling! Hartnell College ECE program welcomes you and your child to quality child care on the Hartnell Campus. Morning and afternoon sessions are available. 
  • Connect with other moms and their children (0-5) at the Maternal Well-Being play groups. In person and ZOOM groups are being offered. Learn more or call Sandra Avina at (831) 796-6118. 
  • Fun activities for you and your family are happening at the Salinas Library.Check out their calendar of events for times and dates. 
  • Looking for child care? Go to Montereycountychildcare.org or Mychildcareplan.orgfor help finding the right care for your child.

For All

  • Do you know someone who wants to be an ECE teacher? The Hartnell ECE Apprenticeship program provides an earn and learn approach to starting a career with young children. Check out their website to know more about Hartnell Apprenticeships. 
  • The Siembra Latinos Fund awards annual grants to nonprofit organizations and groups serving nonprofit organizations and public agencies serving Monterey County residents. Grant applications are due August 4. 
  • FEMA will continue to provide funeral assistance until September 30, 2025, to those who have lost loved ones due to COVID-19. Our thoughts go out to those who have lost a loved one during the pandemic.
  • Monterey County needs businesses that support families, both behind the scenes with strong family policies and in the public eye as a service to families. Ready to apply to become a Bright Beginnings Family Friendly Employer? It’s easy! Learn more and certify your business here. Child care businesses are encouraged to apply!
  • Are you or others you know interested in starting a child care business?MAOF is recruiting potential family child care homes and is offering free training, marketing, and up to $1,000 to new or expanding child care programs in Monterey County. Learn more or call MAOF at (831) 757-0775.
  • 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, 81.4% 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: info@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.