Child Care Now- September 2018

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September 2018

In the news:

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Congratulations to the following centers for achieving NAEYC re-accreditation:

  • Cleveland FedKids Childcare, Inc, Cleveland, Ohio
  • Edward Zorinsky Child Development Center, Omaha, NE
  • Summit Child Care Center, Atlanta, GA
  • Rainbow School, Honolulu, HI
  • Stars and Stripes Learning Station, Battle Creek, MI
  • Club Fed Child Care Center, Albany, NY
  • Treasure House, Covington, KY
  • Y Early Learning Program, St. Albans, VT
  • Commerce Kids,  Washington, DC
  • Barry Ted Moskowitz Child Care Center, San Diego, CA
  • Cottage Kids Children’s Center,  Sacramento, CA
  • One Hope United / O’Hare CDC. Des Plaines, IL
  • Gold Creek Child Development Center, Juneau, AK
    upcoming

    Network Board Meeting: Thursday, September 27, 2:00 pm EST


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    What Color is Your Air Quality?

    The more you know about the quality of our air, the more you can do to protect the health of children, who are more sensitive than adults to air pollution. Air pollution can make asthma symptoms worse and trigger attacks. Even students who do not have asthma could experience symptoms. There is less ozone in the morning. On days when ozone is expected to be at unhealthy levels, plan outdoor activities in the morning.Schools and organizations across the United States have adopted EPA’s Air Quality Flag Program.

    Do you know how to find out:

    • When the air is unhealthy
    • When and how to modify outdoor activities
    • When and how to reduce exposure to air pollution

    Retrieved from EPA (EPA-456/F-17-005 September 2017).  Go to www.airnow.gov/flag and to learn more.

    Quote of the Month:

    "Children are the worlds most valuable resource and its best hope the future” 

    - John F. Kennedy

     

    Find out more about GSA Child Care:

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    Contributions and comments on Child Care Now are welcome and encouraged.

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    Consumer Products Information

    Would you like to learn more about consumer product recalls? Sign up for alerts by clicking the Consumer Product Safety Commission logo.

    A Grand Re-Opening

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    On July 9th, Region 9 celebrated the opening and renaming of our new San Diego child care facility with a ribbon cutting. The Barry Ted Moskowitz Child Care Center, formerly known as Kids on Broadway, was relocated from leased space to its new location in the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Building. With an expiring lease and federal funding challenges, the child care center could have been on a path to closure. The San Diego community, teachers, parents, local, state, and federal officials worked together to advocate for the center, which ultimately resulted in keeping Kids on Broadway open until the new facility was built.

    The new center has capacity for over 80 children, ages 6 weeks to 5 years, and is operated by Bright Horizons.  It has a large playground that includes an outdoor bathroom and changing table, allowing teachers to take advantage of the year-round temperate climate and create a vibrant indoor/outdoor curriculum for children.

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    During the ceremony, Dan Brown, Region 9 Acting Regional Administrator, announced the center will be named the Barry Ted Moskowitz Child Care Center.  Dan explained, this name "reflects the considerable time, effort and advocacy that went into bringing this world-class center to fruition.  [Judge Moskowitz]  has been a tireless champion for bringing a world-class child care center onto the campus to meet the needs of federal employees who work here."

    A big thank you to all who advocated for and worked on the new facility.  Everyone's efforts and dedication is reflected in the new world class facility.

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    Photograph Credit: Steve Shinn, Gensler Architects

    Emergency Preparedness

    SEPTEMBER is NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH

    Are you prepared?  Check out the latest Child Care Aware of America’s Emergency Preparedness webinar series. Certificates of attendance and CEUs are available. You can access archived recordings on: http://usa.childcareaware.org/preparednesswebinars/

    Recent webinars include:

    • Child Care Emergency Supply Kits: What to Pack and Where It’s At: Every child care program should have fully-stocked emergency supply kits ready to use—one that is portable for evacuations and another that is on-site for sheltering in place.  This webinar will provide you with a greater understanding of what to put in your kits and how to store them.
    • Keeping Kids Safe:  The Basics of Active Shooter Response for Child Care Programs: What can you do keep children in your child care program safe from similar threats?  This webinar will introduce child care providers to some of the basic prevention steps to take to in dealing with violence, such as an active shooter incident

    Please consider joining Child Care Aware of America’s mobile texting pilot to quickly and efficiently send one text in an emergency to all parents in your program.

    Register for the mobile texting pilot, upcoming webinars, access more emergency preparedness resources or request training or assistance at: www.childcareprepare.org.


    Board Business: When Was Your Last Board Training?

    Our Child Care Program Managers have been busy reviewing and updating Board files. If you are contacted by GSA for more information, please respond promptly so we can assure our records are complete.

    During this process, we identified several Boards who have not yet received Board training.  Best practice is to have a basic Board training for all of members, as well as Board training and orientation for any new members as they join.  If you are interested in receiving a one hour Board training webinar, please contact your GSA Child Care Program Manager or Sandy Axelrod at sandra.axelrod@gsa.gov or 202-253-4161 to schedule a session.

    GSA Child Care also offers quarterly Board Networking sessions that you are invited to join.  The next one will be Thursday, September 27th at 2:00 pm EST.  Please save the date and look for an invitation with more information in your inbox soon.

    And finally, we invite you to join our Federal Child Care Board Facebook Group.  To join, log into your personal Facebook account and enter the following in the search field: “Federal Child Care Center Boards”.  You will then see a link to request access to the group. The administrator will then grant you access.

    All Boards can benefit from both training and networking opportunities throughout the year. Please take advantage of these opportunities to enrich and enhance your Board experience.