COVID-19 Response & Recovery for Child Care & Wellbeing
Our goal is to ensure that young children have quality, nurturing, and safe child care and education during the pandemic. For more information about this effort and the coalition behind it, please visit our web hub here.
If you have information, flyers, or events you would like to share in this publication please contact Laura@BrightBeginningsMC.org.
This Week’s Highlights
A few highlights from this last week are shared below. Previous Weekly Digests are available here.
Vaccines By the Numbers
83% of eligible Monterey County residents ages 5+ have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as reported here by the Monterey County Health Department on March 28. Stay informed with the Monterey County COVID-19 portal.
News
- Curious about the statistics behind child care and access in Monterey County? Take a look at this data of where child care is by zip code. This is just a start of the kinds of data Bright Beginnings and its partners will be sharing over the next months, as we together work to improve access to child care in our community.
- Wondering if you may be eligible for a second booster shot? Check your eligibility for the Moderna or Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine boosters here and schedule an appointment at myturn.ca.gov.
- There are additional funds available for materials, training, and fees associated with starting new and expanding child care programs in Monterey County! Contact Maria Ortiz at the Resource and Referral at 831-757-0775 for more information.
- Did you know more 4-year-olds qualify for TK next school year? Kids turning 5 between September 2 and February 2 will be able to enroll in their school district’s Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program in the fall of 2022. This article from CalMatters discusses the urgency for more staffing to meet the increased need.
- The Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) Online Group Care Course starts May 9. Contact Laura Keeley-Saldana for more information on how you can earn 3 units of ECE and register here.
- Looking for ways to connect with your children? Join the free Circle of Security Parenting program in Spanish every Friday starting April 1 – May 20 from 4-6pm. Click here for flyers and contact Florentina from Door to Hope at 831-613-1060 for more information.
- Join the F5MC IFECMH virtual training series, “Let’s talk about Bruno!”, on April 13, April 27, and May 4 from 6:30-8pm. This training is free and open to those who work with children prenatal through age five and their families in Monterey County. The sessions will have simultaneous Spanish interpretation. Register here.
- Alisal USD is enrolling preschool, TK, and Kindergarten students! Register online and learn more here.
- The San Andreas Regional Center Early Start program provides speech, occupational and physical therapy, nutrition, nursing, and other services for free to infants and toddlers (0-3 years) with disabilities and their families. Click here for more information on early intervention and prevention.
- The Monterey County Preschool Service Corps (PSC) program is looking for new AmeriCorps members for the 2022-23 year to support language and literacy development in partnering preschools. Visit Monterey County’s United Way website or contact Taylor Jonte-Saiz, Monterey County Preschool Service Corps Program Manager at (831) 757-3206 x 204 for more information.
- Join The Children’s Partnership for a webinar about understanding new milestones for infants and toddlers on Tuesday, April 19 from 5-6:30 pm. Register here.
- Join the First 5 Monterey County team! F5MC is looking for a Communications Coordinator and an Administrative Support Coordinator to work with the Executive Director and team. Apply here!
- Learn about future professional development opportunities available for ECE providers via the Quality Matters calendar!
- Need to find a testing or vaccine clinic in Monterey County? Visit MontereyCountyVaccines.com or find your location in the bilingual flyers below:
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…
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.