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Office of Early Childhood & Out-of-School Learning |
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CCDF Enrollment for Children in Foster Care
The Department of Child Services' foster licensing staff are working closely with the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) to allocate newly legislated Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) vouchers for licensed foster families. Licensed foster families currently on the CCDF waitlist will be given priority enrollment based on their waiting list date. Families on the waitlist will maintain their spot, in the order in which they were received, and additional foster children will be invited as spots open.
Licensed foster families that are currently on the waitlist will be contacted soon by eligibility to submit all their enrollment documents and start their vouchers. If they fail to respond, don't submit all their documents, no longer have placement of the child they applied for, or if they are not eligible, then the next family on the waitlist will receive an invite. Licensed foster families will be issued a 16-week voucher at the CCDF provider of their choice. These families will not have a co-payment because their income is exempt. However, they are responsible for any overage difference between the reimbursement rate and the provider's actual charges.
If a foster family does not need vouchers for the full 16 weeks because they no longer have placement of the child, they should notify eligibility immediately to have vouchers ended so additional foster children can be invited. All foster families who could benefit from child care vouchers are encouraged to continue to apply for the vouchers through the CCDF program. Information on the application process can be found on OECOSL's website.
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Follow Non-Paid Closure Guidance
Providers get 16 paid closures per calendar year. Non-paid closures may also be selected by the provider at their discretion. It is recommended that paid closures be used first.
When non-paid closures are selected, the provider's payment for that week will be reduced by one-fifth of their weekly subsidy reimbursement amount per day marked as 'Non-Paid'.
The intent of non-paid closures is for occasional planned or unplanned closures when paired with a regular payment. They should not be used for periods when a provider is closed and should not have had vouchers assigned.
Providers who are closed for summer or extended periods should not use non-paid closures. The vouchers should be adjusted to reflect the correct dates of enrollment. Providers should report these changes on the Roster Clean-Up Form. Providers should not enter non-paid closures just to submit periods that have vouchers assigned in error.
It is the provider's responsibility to check their vouchers in the provider portal every week and report any discrepancies to avoid improper payments. If a provider is paid for a child who is not enrolled/attending, these payments should be reported to the state as soon as possible, and a recoupment will be processed (if the provider still has current vouchers). If the provider does not have any current vouchers, they will be responsible for mailing a check to the state and will receive instructions from their policy consultant.
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Attend SPARK's Pay by Enrollment Training
Accurate attendance tracking is essential for maintaining compliance and ensuring smooth operations in child care programs. SPARK is offering two focused Pay by Enrollment training sessions designed to help you master the essentials.
Learn what is required to be on your backup attendance and how to correctly keep this up-to-date for licensing and audit. Register for this session:
Find out how to correctly use each of the attendance codes for children and providers. Keep accurate attendance records for Child Care and Development Fund and On My Way Pre-K vouchers. Register for this session:
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Join Classroom Ready Training Offered by Ivy Tech
Are you new to the classroom and looking to build your skill set? Ivy Tech Community College is using Early Learning Indiana's Classroom Ready curriculum to offer an eight-week training to boost children's learning outcomes by strengthening the preparation of educators. The training is 60 hours of self-paced online work and 90 hours in an early care and education setting. Participants will learn skills and apply them as they work with children under the direction of a cooperative teacher. The training is offered in two sessions.
Session 1 starts Aug. 25, and session 2 starts Oct. 27. Only one session is needed, and you may choose the session you would like to attend. The cost is $466, and payment plans are available. Upon completion, you will receive a badge that may apply towards three hours of credit in continuing your education at Ivy Tech.
Please contact Kelli Servizzi, Ivy Tech's Executive Director of Early Childhood Pathways and Initiatives, with any questions or to get registered at kservizzi@ivytech.edu.
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Gain Support and Grow with INAEYC
The Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children (INAEYC) has several upcoming opportunities for child care providers.
Join INAEYC Workforce Systems Team for the following trainings:
Register for Fall 2025 Non-Formal CDA Course
Attention early childhood educators! Reach out to pd@ianeyc.org as soon as possible to learn more about applying for the Indiana Non-Formal classes that are starting fall 2025.
These are live classes. Attendance and active participation are required. Each course will run for 14 weeks, meeting three nights per week for three hours each evening. Days and times may vary depending on the specific class.
To be eligible for the Non-Formal CDA Course, applicants must:
- Be employed in a child care center, child care home, or child care ministry that is licensed, registered, or is certified as a Legally Licensed Exempt Program (LLEP) CCDF provider by the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL)
- Be a resident of Indiana who is at least 18 years of age
- Be working +20 hours per week in Indiana
- Have a current criminal history/background check on file with OECOSL
- Have a high school diploma or high school equivalency diploma (HSE)
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Attend Upcoming SPARK Learning Lab Trainings
Explore upcoming training opportunities through SPARK Learning Lab. See a full list of upcoming face-to-face training, live webinars, and live resources, plus read session descriptions and find registration instructions at IndianaSpark.com/training.
The upcoming schedule includes:
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