CAPS Update- No More Children on Georgia’s CAPS Waiting Lists
In April of 2009, the Birth to Five Coalition reported that 4,000 to 7,300 children were on the waiting lists for child care assistance and only two states had waiting lists longer than GA. A year later in April 2010, William Carter, Project Administrator from the Office of Family Independence/Child Care Unit reported that the CAPS program has “no waiting list for the past two months.”
To gain more information current eligibility requirements & applying to the CAPS program please visit http://dfcs.dhr.georgia.gov/caps or see the attached flyer for the most for the CAPS program.
Stimulus Money is Equipping Georgia Families to Go to Work, but the Clock is Ticking!
Until September 30, 2010, the Georgia Department of Human Services is administering the Temporary Child Care Assistance program (TCCA) program. Funding for the TCCA is provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) signed by President Barrack Obama. The TCCA program expands child care assistance to help parents in need who may not be eligible for the CAPS program. For example, TCCA provides child care assistance to (1) parents who are actively looking for work and receiving unemployment benefits, (2) parents who may work, but are underemployed receiving only 15-23 hours of work per week, and (3) TCCA includes parents that participate in job readiness training.
BFTS Repsonse to FPG Study
On March 26, 2010, BFTS relased a study by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, based at the University of North Carolina, evaluating the quality of the state’s early childhood programs.
The study revealed that the majority of infant and toddler classrooms studied in Georgia offer low-quality care. The preschool classrooms rated somewhat better, and the Georgia Pre-K program was found to provide “medium” quality care and education.
Executive Summaries and BFTS Response are available for download at bottom of this page. View the full report on http://decal.ga.gov/BftS/ResearchStudyOfQuality.aspx
Macon Telegraph News article on FPG Study: http://www.macon.com/2010/04/04/1082357/independent-study-faults-georgia.html#ixzz0kE8FMZ3g
Congrats to Georgia for being among the top of 16 finalists in the Race to the Top federal competition!
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Early Learning Council Grant Application
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act provided nearly $3.5 million to Georgia to help the council begin its work toward improving early learning for Georgia’s young children. However, before those funds are allocated Georgia must prepare a detailed application which delineates how the money will be used to improve outcomes for young children. The application core targets areas are (1) improving program quality; (2) empowering parents; and (3) unifying and coordinating data on Georgia’s children. To view the draft application, go to decal.ga.gov .To read the position submitted by GAYC during the public hearing on March 3, 2010, please scroll down to the section titled, Files of Interest, and then click on the file titled GAYC Position Letter- 3-3-10.
Proposed DOE Rule 160-5-1-.35 “Seclusion and Restraint for all Students”
GAYC supports the Department of Education’s decision to address the issue of restraint and seclusion through the development of a rule. In particular, GAYC supports the proposed prohibition on seclusion, prone restraint, mechanical restraint, and chemical restraint. We endorse the Georgia Advocacy Office’s position on significant limitations of the use of physical restraint and the need to build safeguards into the process by which school personnel use restraint and seclusion on a student. To read the letter submitted by GAYC please scroll down to the section titled, Files of Interest, and then click on the file titled Safe Schools Support Letter-2010
Speak Up for Georgia Pre-K
Georgia had the third largest waiting list in the nation for families in need of child care assistance. The influx of ARRA funds has allowed Georgia to nearly eliminate the waiting list. But what will happen when the ARRA funds end in September of 2011? Find out more about this critical issue of subsicies and what we can do to continue to improve the situation. Also see Did You Know? flyer available for download below.
GA Child Care:
http://www.workworld.org/wwwebhelp/ga_child_care.htm
GAYC Policy Initiatives
GAYC is taking an active role in advocacy and public policy. Our 2010 Legislative Agenda addresses Pre-K, national accreditation, quality standards, child care subsidies, home visiting, strengthening families, P-16 alignment and family friend and neighbor care. Download the GAYC 2010 Legislative Agenda below.
GAYC Women’sVoices for Child Care Project
Interested in quality, accessibility and affordability issues in early care and learning? So is GAYC. Find out more about this project generously funded by the Atlanta Women’s Foundation and how to get involved. Download the Georgia Women Call to Action flyer below. Find out more about our funder at http://www.atlantawomen.org/index.asp
Links and Ways to Take Action!
Voices for Georgia's Children
To receive newsletters and additional communications regarding Voices for Georgia's Children initiatives click on the link below. http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1679/t/8723/signUp.jsp?key=3973
Voices Today...for Georiga's Children. This site provides daily blogs that provide information regarding the lastest news and observations impacting child policy. http://gavoicesblog.wordpress.com/
GAYC also supports the Georgia Birth - 5 Coalition Agenda and priorities. http://www.georgiavoices.org/
NAEYC Public Policy link to Advocacy Tools http://www.naeyc.org/policy/
SECA Public Policy Page http://www.southernearlychildhood.org/policy.php
Worthy Wage Campaign http://www.ccw.org/policy.html
Economic Impact on Georgia's Child Care http://www.cviog.uga.edu/services/research/childcare/
For more information call GAYC Public Policy Fellow at 404-222-0014 or email gaycpolicy@gayc.xohost.com
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