Like the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act, this proposal will benefit family child care providers who participate in the CACFP.
It will:
- Provide an additional 10 cent reimbursement for each meal and snack served in the CACFP
- Eliminate the tiering of family child care homes
- Allow family child care home providers to claim their own children’s meals for reimbursement
- Shift the calculation of family child care homes’ reimbursement from “food at home” to “food away from home” to align with centers
Click here to send a letter of support to your representative!
On October 26, the Early Childhood Nutrition Improvement Act (H.R.6067) was re-introduced in the House of Representatives by Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Congressman Marc Molinaro (R-NY). This bipartisan legislation would:
- Allow providers who are open for more than 8 hours in a day to be reimbursed for an additional meal (up to 3 meals and 1 snack).
- Align the calculation of reimbursement rates for family child care homes with that of centers by shifting to “food away from home.”
- Allow annual eligibility for for-profit child care centers to streamline program operations.
This would make a huge difference in children’s nutrition and providers’ bottom lines.
Read More Here from the CACFP!
Click here to send a letter of support to your representative!
For more opportunities to advocate for yourself and your fellow providers, read about the Child Care Nutrition Enhancement Act here!
Child Care is in Crisis: Wisconsin Needs to Invest Now (actionnetwork.org)
Use this letter-writing portal to tell your state elected officials to invest significant state revenue into child care. Without action, Wisconsin risks a deepening crisis: programs forced to raise rates and consider closing, added financial strains for working families, and the workforce and economic consequences that will result. Send a letter to tell your state elected officials it is their job to ensure child care providers, young children, families, and the economy receive the support they need, especially with more than $7 billion in state surplus available.
Town Square had the pleasure of sitting down with Jill Russell, family child care provider and owner of Russell Family Childcare, to discuss the importance of policies and how they protect her business and families in her care. Listen below.
Clearly defining your policies and following through on them is helpful for families, for you as a professional, and to maintain the standards needed for licensing and high-quality care.
This Town Square resource was created with the help of family child care professionals who shared what they thought was necessary to include in a contract.
Whether you are just starting your program or a veteran, this resource can help you review and think more about your contract!
Town Square Tip Sheet -Things to Include in Your Contract
Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, I had to re-think my sick policy and revise the parent handbook to reflect the new changes instituted by the state Health Department and recommendations from the CDC.
A typical sick policy within a child care setting consists of children not returning until 24 hours after the last symptom (fever, diarrhea, vomiting, flu, etc.). A doctor’s note is not always required upon returning, just as long as the child has returned after the 24-hour wait. This policy has its flaws. Oftentimes, the children are still not well after the 24-hour time frame. Illnesses such as a stomach virus, strep throat, or flu seem to pass through a child care setting like wildfire, being passed between not only the children but staff as well, causing unforeseen shut-downs due to the lack of adequate staff to child ratios.
COVID-19 has changed the way we handle sick policies and has also changed the way parents feel about keeping an ill child out of the facility, for the better.
Our new sick policy was added as addendums to the old policy and reflects a longer exclusion period of 48 hours after the last symptom of fever and/or illness. A doctor’s note is also required upon the return of any child who was out with an illness, stating that the child is in good health and can return to the facility. These measures alone have substantially cut back on illnesses being spread throughout the program. I have seen fewer sick children and staff for this time of year as compared to previous years. Because of this reason, I have decided to make these policies indefinite.
Explore our Learn, Share, and Grow series located in the Professional Development tab.
Learn, Share, and Grow series covers a particular topic spread across a number of short video segments. By breaking up the topic into multiple shorter videos, they are more digestible one at a time, while still being a part of a larger coherent segment.
Below is the second of three parts business series. Family Child Care Provider Laverne Head explains why policies are essential for the success of an FCC business.
We asked family child care professionals what types of things they thought were most important to include in their contract and put together this tip sheet:
Top 5 Things to Include in Your Contract
Clearly defining your policies and following through on them is helpful for parents, for you as a professional, and also for maintaining the standards needed for licensing and high quality care.
Take some time to review and revise your program’s contract today!
