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Child Care Centers and Family Day Homes
Potable Water Lead Testing Webinar on May 7
Join the Office of Child Care Health and Safety (OCCHS) and the Virginia Department of Health Office of Drinking Water for a webinar to receive updated information about the potable water lead testing law, § 22.1-289.057 of the Code of Virginia. This law impacts all licensed child day programs, and certified preschools and religious exempt child day centers that serve preschool age children. Registration is limited to 1,000 participants, but the webinar will be recorded and posted on the VDOE’s child care website. The OCCHS sent a memo to impacted providers on April 5. Please review the memo and send any questions to childcarelicensing@doe.virginia.gov.
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Webinar: Potable Water Lead Testing
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Date: May 7, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
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Register
May is Food Allergy Awareness Month in Virginia
In 2022, the Virginia General Assembly designated the month of May as Food Allergy Awareness Month. The VDOE is encouraging child care programs to keep children with allergies safe by ensuring that all caregivers are aware of children’s food allergies, sensitivities and dietary restrictions; food allergy plans are up-to-date; and caregivers have been trained in recognizing the symptoms of allergic reaction, how to respond to reactions, preventing exposure to allergens, and preventing cross contamination.
May is National Water Safety Month
In honor of national water safety month, the VDOE and Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) are urging caregivers to ensure safe water play. Prevent unsupervised access to water by installing barriers or fencing around water sources; providing constant supervision to children in or near water; and always being mindful of any water dangers such as portable splash pools, buckets and bathtubs, or any place where water may collect. Share this VDSS water safety infographic with families and staff today.
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Virginia Preschool Initiative
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Early Childhood Special Education
Webinar Recording and Slides: VPI Funding for ECSE Classrooms
The VDOE hosted a webinar on April 18 to provide an overview of how school divisions can use Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) funding to support Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) classrooms in public schools. The webinar reviewed considerations for using VPI eligibility to improve programs for children with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). See the recording and slides below for information.
Evidence-Based Practices Academy (Virginia Commonwealth University Autism Center for Education)
The Evidence-Based Practices Academy is designed to provide educators of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) with direct training in evidence-based practices designed to increase access to the general education environment and curriculum. This is an in-person, two-day training held regionally this spring and summer. The remaining open sessions are as follows:
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Regions 4 and 5: Staunton, May 9 –10
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Regions 6 and 7: Christiansburg, June 3 – 4
- Regions 1 and 8: Holiday Inn Express Chester (1911 W. Hundred Rd., Chester, VA 23831) July 15 - 16
Head Start
Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Head Start Funding Increase
The Office of Head Start released Program Instruction ACF-OHS-PI-24-02 FY2024 Head Start Funding Increase, announcing a federal funding level of $12,271,820,000 which is a $275 million increase above the FY2023 funding provided nationally. Eligible grant recipients will receive a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) increase of 2.35% of their FY2023 base level funding. COLA funds must be used to permanently increase Head Start pay scales. Additionally, grant recipients can apply for one-time program improvement funds which can be applied to facility projects and are awarded based on funding availability.
VQB5 - Virginia's Unified Measurement and Improvement System
Proposed 2024-2025 VQB5 Guidelines – Recorded Webinar
VDOE hosted a webinar for all Early Childhood Care and Education stakeholders about the proposed Guidelines on Tuesday, April 23. View the recording here.
VQB5 Quality Profile Feedback Opportunity - Due by May 10
The VDOE has developed 'profile mock-ups' to gather feedback from the field. Feedback gathered this spring will be used to finalize the public quality profiles for fall 2024 release. Click on the links below to learn more about the profiles and how you can provide feedback.
Take the Early Childhood Care and Education Workforce Survey before May 17 – earn $30!
Do you work as a teacher or site leader at a center, Head Start, public school, or family day home participating in VQB5? If so, you may be eligible to take an important survey that will inform our efforts to better support educators!
Partners from the Study of Early Education through Partnerships at UVA have sent email invitations (from noreply@surveys.virginia.edu) with a unique survey link to all eligible educators. Eligible educators who complete the survey will receive a $30 gift card – and be entered into a weekly raffle to win $500!
Early Learning Support
Introducing ECE Resource Hub “Take-Home Strategy” Pages!
The ECE Resource Hub has created new resources that can be shared directly with families and caregivers to promote school readiness. Each page describes a Core Skill and offers activities, tips, and book suggestions that families can use to support learning at home. The Take-Home Strategy pages currently feature Move Skills, with more Core Skills coming later this spring!
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STREAMin³ On-Demand is Moving to a New Learning Platform
Completion records and certificates will be saved for future use. The new learning platform will have the same courses, as well as new ones, available to you.
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Ready B5 Recap Spring Edition is Here!
Click to view the latest edition of Ready B5 Recap, the Quarterly Newsletter for Early Childhood Care and Education in Virginia.
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