Monday Must Know — November 6

Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning sent this bulletin at 11/06/2023 10:01 AM EST

Monday Must Know. Office of Early Childhood & Out-of-School Learning

Mobilizing Indiana's Business Community to Support Growing Child Care Needs

The Employer-Sponsored Child Care Fund is a $25 million grant program, funded by the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) and Indiana Chamber of Commerce, to mobilize employers to offer or expand child care to working families in their communities.

While providers are not directly eligible for this opportunity, the early child care and education field and the families served will indirectly benefit from investments made, and you may be asked to partner on projects with employers or nonprofits that apply for funding in your community.

The initiative, part of Gov. Eric J. Holcomb's 2023 Next Level Agenda, uses a portion of the State's remaining federal relief funds from the COVID-19 pandemic. The program is part of the State's broader efforts to strengthen the sector, providing support for today's workforce and investing in tomorrow's.

In recent years, the State has provided $542 million in stabilization grants to more than 3,300 child care providers to help them rebuild after the instability caused by the pandemic. The Employer-Sponsored Child Care Fund seeks to further bolster these efforts.

Learn More

Indiana Afterschool Network Webinar:
Reimagining Our Bias

Change begins with awareness. Implicit biases are often hidden from our view and affect our decisions and interactions. Join the Indiana Afterschool Network (IAN) at 11:30 a.m. ET on November 13 to learn how to understand and confront these hidden biases.

Participants will learn what biases are and how they influence our lives. This workshop will create a safe space for participants to explore their biases, acknowledge them, understand their potential consequences and make informed choices about addressing them. Join IAN on the path toward a more inclusive future.

Register Here

Help Beginning Readers at Home

Strategies for teaching young children how to read have changed over the years, specifically for those aged preschool to first grade. To stay informed about current instructional recommendations, Hoosier families and child care providers are invited to join the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) from 4 to 4:30 p.m. on November 8 for an educational webinar.

During the webinar you will learn best practices for supporting reading development at home and get ideas to assist children struggling to learn new skills. A kindergarten teacher will model strategies and answer questions during this session. Please contact IDOE's Office of Kindergarten Readiness with any questions.

Register Now

Learn How to Facilitate Smooth Transitions

Help students and families make smooth transitions, like transitioning from child care services into kindergarten, using tools from our upcoming virtual summit. From 12 to 1:30 p.m. ET on December 6, join the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL), Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and the Indiana Head Start Association (IHSA) to learn about key partners and explore tools and activities to build strong transitions.

The virtual summit will address:

How the Early Learning Standards help us prepare children for kindergarten
What readiness looks like for students, providers, and families
Supports from the transitions toolkit

Beth Barrett, Assistant Director of Pre-K Initiatives for OECOSL, will talk about engaging families and how to help them feel more comfortable with language and the transition process.

Register Today

Mental Health Resources Provided by Town Square

Explore these valuable Town Square resources and trainings provided by SPARK Learning Lab, in partnership with the Erikson Institute, sponsored by the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL).

The following resources are available on-demand via Town Square:

To access the following mental health trainings, sign into Indiana Learning Paths through your I-LEAD account. Then click the link(s) below to access the registration page(s):

Town Square: Exploring Trauma-Informed Care in Practice
Town Square: Supporting Trauma Survivors and Those Who Care for Them
Supporting Social Emotional Development in Infants and Young Children / Apoyando el desarrollo socio-emocional de los bebés y los niños pequeños — Part 1, en Español y English
Town Square: Supporting Social Emotional Development in Infants and Young Children / Apoyando el desarrollo socio-emocional de los bebés y los niños pequeños — Part 2, en Español y English

Access Town Square

Create Your Indiana Educator Job Board Account

Through a partnership between FSSA's Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) and the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE), the Indiana Educator Job Board is helping child care providers recruit high-quality educators for their programs.

More than 200 providers across the State have already created an account on the Job Board to hire for open positions. Interested in signing up? Watch this quick how-to video (Español) and learn more on Brighter Futures' job board webpage.

Watch the Video

Stay Connected To OECOSL

SUBSCRIBER SERVICES
Manage Subscriptions | Help

Update your subscriptions, modify your password or email address, or stop subscriptions at any time on your Subscriber Preferences Page. You will need to use your email address to log in. If you have questions or problems with the subscription service, please visit subscriberhelp.govdelivery.com.

This service is provided to you at no charge by Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.