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Office of Early Childhood & Out-of-School Learning |
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Child Care Workers May Be Eligible for Vouchers
CCDF and On My Way Pre-K (OMWPK) income eligibility has expanded for employees of regulated child care programs, allowing more workers to qualify for child care assistance. This change is a result of Indiana Senate Enrolled Act 2, which passed earlier this year.
The income eligibility threshold for child care workers increased to 85% of State median income (SMI) from 150% of the federal poverty level (FPL). For reference, 150% FPL for a family of four is $3,900 per month, while 85% SMI is $6,756 per month. View a full SMI chart online.
Newly eligible child care employees must be referred to the Eligibility Office by their employer or by a registered program administrator/supervisor at the site where they work through a simple process in I-LEAD. Learn more about this process.
This expanded assistance is limited, and not every child care worker who applies will receive it. Be sure to make referrals and encourage employees to apply as soon as possible.
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PTQ Incentives Move to Cash Awards
Starting October 1, Paths to QUALITY™ (PTQ) incentives are moving to cash payments. These will be sent to you through the same payment vendor as your CCDF payments. Based on the payment schedule, these payments will be added to an upcoming CCDF voucher payment, if applicable. To receive these cash payments, you must have a W-9 on file. Access a W-9 form online. If you have any questions about this transition, please email OECOSLproviderinquiry@fssa.in.gov.
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New Reminders for Pay by Enrollment
There are several important reminders for providers with active vouchers:
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Providers must report any changes in enrollment to the eligibility office every week going forward. Please email this to your eligibility office for processing.
- Children who are no longer attending should be reported immediately. Vouchers will be ended the following week.
- If you have requested children's names be removed from your roster for previous weeks and it is taking some time to complete, please mark them with "Off Days" instead of "Absences" until they are removed. This helps to avoid termination from excessive absences.
- Please check your vouchers carefully and report any discrepancies to the eligibility office immediately (such as a child's start date changed after vouchers are set, child is being paid at incorrect rate, etc.)
- If you run an OMWPK or school-age program and are not operating during school break weeks (and not claiming these as paid closures), please report this to the eligibility office before the break. This ensures vouchers can be removed to avoid improper payments.
- School-age children can be assigned vouchers for school breaks and before- and after-school care. Children who are assigned school break vouchers will only have coverage for full-week breaks, such as winter, spring, and summer breaks. These do not cover single days out of school.
- If a school-aged child only uses vouchers for breaks (and does not use care before or after school), vouchers should not be assigned for weeks the child is not scheduled to attend. Vouchers should only appear during break weeks. Please notify the eligibility office immediately if these are not set correctly.
- Each enrollment year, absences are tracked against a 45-day Excessive Absence Policy. Vouchers are terminated when the child reaches 45 days absent, and the family must wait 90 days to reapply for services.
- "Off Days" should only be used for children who do not attend full time, and these must be the same days each week. Full-time children should always be marked "Absent" when they do not attend, whether the absence was planned or not.
- View 2024 and 2025 payment schedules online.
- Attendance must be submitted every two weeks, either through the provider portal or through your CCMS. This does not happen automatically. Failure to do so before the submission deadline will result in interruption to payment.
- For more provider support with Pay by Enrollment, call the SPARK Help Desk at 800-299-1627. Families can get support by calling Indiana 211 or their local eligibility office.
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Support Multilingual Learners in Early Learning
Early learning educators and administrators can now access instructional guidance and resources to support multilingual children and their families. The Indiana Department of Education's (IDOE's) Office of Kindergarten Readiness and the Office of English Learners and Migrant Education have collaborated to provide these best practices.
Register to join us in the Learning Lab to explore this collection of resources and guidance on Thursday, October 24 from 1 to 2 p.m. ET.
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Join INAEYC for Listening Sessions, Trainings
The Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children (INAEYC) has several ongoing opportunities, including:
Listening Sessions with State Child Care Director Courtney Penn
The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is hosting regional Listening Sessions across the State to meet with child care providers and other early childhood professionals to answer questions and listen to concerns. INAEYC local chapters are hosting these sessions. Register today.
INAEYC Non-Formal CDA Project Now Accepting Applications
The Child Development Associate (CDA®) credential courses are now available through the Indiana Non-Formal CDA Project. These courses are being provided at no cost to recipients through funding by The Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) and the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). INAEYC is recruiting providers who work in the following counties with openings:
- Monroe and surrounding counties
- Parke and surrounding counties
- Jennings and surrounding counties
- Washington, Scott, Clark, Floyd, Harrison and Crawford counties
Learn more about the Indiana Non-Formal CDA Project. Interested in applying or want more information? Please email pd@inaeyc.org.
Join INAEYC Workforce Systems Team for Support and Professional Development
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Program leaders who want extra support to implement professional development plans with staff, pursue higher education, or take the next step in their careers can reach out to a Workforce Coordinator to explore career coaching opportunities. Join a Taking on Turnover Session in October.
- Interested in joining the Indiana Trainer and Training Approval System? You can register for upcoming orientations on:
- Want to learn more about Indiana's Core Knowledge and Competencies and how to implement them in your programs? Join the Exploring the CKCs: Indiana's Core Knowledge and Competencies during one of two upcoming sessions:
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Mark Your Calendars for SPARK Group Coaching
Register for SPARK Group Coaching opportunities and learn more about topics such as Paths to QUALITY™, Infant Toddler, Active Supervision, and more.
Mark your calendar for these upcoming opportunities:
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PTQ Level 2 Advancement for Homes: Mondays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 7 to November 11
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Active Supervision for Facilities: Mondays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 7 to November 18
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NAEYC Accreditation: Tuesdays at 11 a.m. ET from October 8 to December 17
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PTQ avance al nivel 2 (en español): martes a 1:30 p.m. ET 8 de octubre a 19 de noviembre
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Infant Toddler for Homes: Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 8 to November 5
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Español bebés y niños pequeños: miércoles a 12 p.m. ET 9 de octubre a 6 de noviembre
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NAFCC Accreditation: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 9 to December 11
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NECPA Accreditation: Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 9 to December 11
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Active Supervision for Homes: Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 10 to November 7
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Infant Toddler for Facilities: Thursdays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 17 to November 14
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PTQ Level 2 Advancement for Facilities: Tuesdays at 1:30 p.m. ET from October 22 to November 26
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Get Free Premium Calm Access
SPARK is partnering with Calm, our mental health partner, and the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) to offer a free premium subscription. This offer is eligible to individuals who work, own, or volunteer in an Indiana-based early childhood education or out-of-school care program.
Getting premium access is an easy, five-step process:
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Head to IndianaSpark.com/calm
- Click the "Get Started Here!" button
- Complete the interest form
- Use the unique code on the confirmation page to redeem your free Premium Subscription
- Follow the instructions on the next page to get started with Calm
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Expect Temporary Delays with the SPARK Help Desk
As Indiana prepares for the expanded CCDF and On My Way Pre-K (OMWPK) income eligibility today, we anticipate a higher volume of calls and inquiries to the SPARK Help Desk. Our team is working diligently to address all questions and provide guidance as efficiently as possible, but you may experience temporary wait times when calling the Help Desk.
In addition to calling the SPARK Help Desk at 1-800-299-1627, you can also
Is your to-do list keeping you from waiting on hold? SPARK has you covered. Request a callback when offered by our phone system and one of our Help Desk Coaches will call you back in the order your call was received. Please request only one callback. (Note that the Help Desk attempts to send follow-up communication within 24 to 48 hours.)
To assist with the expected influx of requests for support, we kindly ask for your patience during this time.
In the meantime, we encourage you to:
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Train with SPARK Learning Lab
Explore valuable upcoming training opportunities through SPARK Learning Lab. Review this week's training schedule:
See a full list of upcoming face-to-face training, live webinars, and live resources, plus read training descriptions, and find registration instructions at IndianaSpark.com/training.
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