IMPACT Newsletter
The 2021 Winter issue of the IMPACT newsletter is now available!
In this issue, you will find a letter from Governor Larry Hogan, Child Care Scholarship changes, professional development opportunities, important information regarding the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the latest news, developments and updates as it pertains to Maryland child care in the rapidly evolving situation.
Read the latest issue of IMPACT.
New Tools to Help Providers and Families Navigate COVID-19 Guidance
The COVID-19 Maryland Child Care Build-A-Plan Tool helps center-based and family child care providers develop a plan for their program to follow state regulations and guidance, use best practices to limit the spread of COVID-19, and make decisions that are feasible and work best for their program.
Check out the toolkit and additional resources.
Training for Child Care Providers during COVID-19
Effective immediately, trainers may conduct face-to-face training to a maximum of 30 participants. All trainers must continue to take precautionary measures to minimize the impact of COVID-19 and must adhere to the guidelines established by the CDC.
Virtual
Approved Online Training Organizations
Basic Heath & Safety
The FREE January training will run January 4 at 9:00am through January 25 at 9:00am.
Registration for the February course will be open January 21-28.
Online / Virtual
Registration for the Child Care & COVID-19 Training is now open!
The training is designed to equip child care providers and caregivers with the knowledge they need to stop the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in their child care facilities.
Course information and registration is available on the Training page of our website.
Child Care Providers
All licensed child care programs are now able to reopen. Please fill out the NEW Child Care Reopening Verification form and send it to your licensing specialist or region manager for approval.
Contact your regional licensing office with questions.
FDA Reiterates Warning About Dangerous Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizers Containing Methanol
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration continues to warn consumers and health care professionals not to use certain alcohol-based hand sanitizers due to the dangerous presence of methanol, or wood alcohol – a substance often used to create fuel and antifreeze that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin as well as life-threatening when ingested.
Check the updated list here.
In Memoriam
The Division of Early Childhood launched a new page to pay homage to early childhood community members who have passed away due to COVID-19.
Let’s Celebrate Teacher-Child Interactions!
Teacher-child interactions take center stage with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) published by Teachstone.
- CLASS provides an objective, consistent measure of teacher-child interactions, from supporting
cognitive development to connecting with children individually.
- CLASS is valid and proven to predict child outcomes.
- Maryland EXCELS will use CLASS to assess programs that request an assessment and for quality rated 5 programs that are due an assessment.
- School-age child care settings will continue to use the School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale.
Are you ready to support continuous quality improvement and celebrate teachers who warm children’s hearts and tickle their brains?
Visit teachstone.com/maryland-excels
New Benefits of Maryland Accreditation Coming Soon!
Here’s what will be new…
- Optional, remote Technical Assistance (TA) will replace Program Improvement Visits
- Individual TA at your program’s request
- TA provided by Quality Assurance Specialists
Scheduling priority will be given to programs that had Program Improvement Visits canceled or declined due to COVID-19.
Contact accreditation@marylandexcels.org
Coming in January 2021
CDA Renewal Amnesty program has been extended!
Due to recent events, the Council is extending the deadline for the CDA Renewal Amnesty
Program to June 1, 2021. We hope this extension will help ease your concerns and allow you the additional time you need to take advantage of this opportunity. Please stay safe and continue to follow CDC recommendations.
Maryland Early Childhood Teacher on Cover of NAEYC's Teaching Young Children
Hope Cain of NASA Goddard Child Development Center is featured on the cover of NAEYC's Teaching Young Children Magazine.
Teaching Young Children features an outstanding preschool teacher in each issue of the magazine. Teachers who are selected appear on the cover of the magazine and are profiled within the publication.
Read the article on Hope.
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Maryland's Division of Early Childhood has scheduled a public hearing on the proposed plan for the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF). The public hearing is an opportunity for interested parties to publicly provide comment on what the Division should include in the plan response, including current and future goals.
Learn more and register.
Employment Opportunities with MSDE
Administrator - Child Care Policy & Special Projects
Child Care Licensing Specialists *announcement coming soon!*
For job openings, visit marylandpublicschools.org
Strengthening Business Practices for Family
Child Care and Centers
Training is available for family child care providers and center directors/staff to strengthen their
knowledge in various aspects of business practices. Some of the topics include budgeting,
finance, marketing and recruiting/hiring qualified staff. Find a trainer
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides small and midsize employers (fewer than 500 employees) refundable tax credits that reimburse them, dollar-for-dollar, for the cost of providing paid sick and family leave to their employees for leave related to COVID-19 between April 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020.
Grant Opportunity
FY 2022 State Coordinating Entity (SCE) Services for the Maryland Child Care Resource
Center Network (MCCRCN)
Deadline for submission:
February 5, 2021
No later than 5:00 p.m. EST
The Family Child Care Provider Direct Grant Program
The Provider Direct Grant Fund Program reimburses up to $1000 in expenses that a provider
incurs to achieve or maintain compliance with family child care regulations. Reimbursement is
made in the form of a grant award.
Early Learning Assessment Updates
The enrollment for child care programs to complete the interest survey for the of the Early Learning Assessment (ELA) for 2021 are:
- February 15
- June 15
- October 15
Click the flyer to learn more and register for the ELA at this link.
On December 3rd an update was released to the KReady system. In response to teacher feedback, this update includes an enhanced interface for the teacher role. This update applies to both KRA and ELA. Teachers will still be able to access the assessment data collection link(s) the same way from the system dashboard when they login. Teachers will also still have access to enter scores and ratings the same way they have been able to as well as view the same reports. The look of the system will be refreshed. This document will provide an overview of the enhancements. This update will not affect the interface for the data manager role or the district and school administrator roles. If you have any questions or technical issues with the update, please contact the KReady help desk.
Submission of Applications For Credentialing Branch
All Maryland Child Care Credentialing program applications should be submitted directly to Child Care Central:
PO Box 598 Baltimore, MD 21203
Email: cccredential@conduent.com
Fax: 410-229-0145
Maryland Child Care Credential Program
Effective October 1, 2020, Credential Award Letter and Certificate will be sent directly to your email. Please make sure that you submit the correct email address on your Credential
application.
Applications for the following programs should not be mailed at this time. Applications should be sent electronically to credentialocc.msde@maryland.gov until further notice.
- Child Care Career and Professional Development Fund
- Quality Incentive and Family Provider Grant
- Training Voucher and Training Reimbursement Applications
Please do not mail applications in at this time.
Note: Training Voucher and Reimbursement applications can also be submitted using the following links:
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JANUARY 12, 2021
Updated Consolidated COVID-19 Health and Safety Guidance Posted (1/11/2021)
Guidance includes:
Guidance for Use of Cloth Face Coverings in Child Care Programs
Exclusion, Quarantine, and Closure Recommendations for COVID-19 or COVID19--like Illness in Child Care Programs
Guidance for Temperature and Symptom Screening in Child Care Programs
Frequently Asked Questions: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Guidance for Child Care Settings
Get the Guidance here.
MSDE Releases New Five-year Strategic Plan for Early Childhood System
The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), in partnership with the Maryland Department of Health (MDH) and Department of Human Services (DHS), is excited to release Maryland Ready: A Path to School Readiness and Success, a new five-year strategic plan for the state’s early childhood system from the prenatal period through age eight.
Simple Interactions Institute
A facilitated panel with four practitioners and professionals will share their stories of finding opportunities, overcoming challenges, and using relational thinking to support children and families during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Learn more and register.
JOYFUL READING at School and at Home
Join REL West for a free webinar series on
storybook reading, culturally affirming instruction, and connecting with parents and
families. This four-part series is designed to help PreK–1st grade educators.
Learn more about the webinar series.
CDA funding has officially launched!
The Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Early Childhood will provide funding to support child care providers with obtaining their Child Development Associate® (CDA) Credential™ from the Council for Professional Recognition. This initiative was funded through the PDG B-5 Grant and through the Governor’s Office to enhance the early childhood workforce in career advancement.
For more info, please visit:
earlychildhood.marylandpublicschools.org
Best Practices for English Learners and
Best Practices for Children with Disabilities
These new CSW Virtual Learning resources provide practical strategies to engage and interact with all learners during online instruction.
Virtual Learning resources are available now in the
CSW Goes Virtual - Fall 2020 post in your iTunes U library.
Questions: email umdcsw@umd.edu
Free online learning modules for teachers of four year olds.
The Essential Instructional Practices in Early Literacy are a set of research-
supported instructional practices that, when implemented in the classroom, can have a positive impact on student literacy achievement. The use of these practices in every classroom every day could make a measurable positive difference in the state’s literacy achievement.
Work at your own pace and receive 3-4 COK hours upon completion of each module. Submit your certificate to MSDE when you renew for licensing or submit for Credentialing.
Enroll: literacyessentials.org/
Free Clock Hours and Networking
Kick off 2021 with MPT’s Early Learning Social
Early educators, MPT invites you to Early Learning Social, a new virtual space to learn together as we explore topics and share resources that help make your job a little easier.
Join us on the first Thursday of each month for this professional development and networking series. Throughout the year we’ll offer a range of FREE events, some that offer clock hours and others that offer fun and lively discussions.
Visit Thinkport.org/social to view the schedule of events and to register.
Emergency Preparedness Training for Child Care Providers
Project Security Blanket is a six -hour course that assists child care providers in completing an emergency plan for their programs. Information for upcoming Project Security Blanket training can be found on the Clearinghouse Calendar or on the Project Security Blanket website.
projectsecurityblanket.org
Integrating Language Into Early Childhood Education
This teaching brief draws upon recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine report Promoting the Educational Success of Children and Youth Learning English: Promising Futures. The brief highlights some promising instructional practices that are relevant and important for teachers of young children ages 3-7 who are identified as dual language learners or English learners.
View the resources.
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