CCU-JULY-2024 – News & Information

REGISTER TO ATTEND DELC’S JULY, 2024 PROVIDER INFORMATION SESSIONS

Join us in July to learn about: DELC Strategic plan, Child Care Infrastructure Fund, and Agency and Program Updates

Join us in July to learn about the below topics:

DELC Strategic Plan
Child Care Infrastructure Fund
Agency and Program Updates

Wednesday, July 17 | 6 – 7 p.m.

All provider types. (Interpretation available)

Zoom Registration: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_r85WDyyEQwu7YMrSHN7P2g

Thursday, July 18 | 6 – 7 p.m.

All provider types. (Conducted in Spanish)

Zoom Registration: Zoom Registration: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_ohXdF8mbRMyDRQE1dcGsjw

This is a virtual event. Registration is required to attend via Zoom. You may submit questions in advance on the registration form. You may also participate on DELC’s Facebook page live stream at the same time. DELC staff will monitor the Facebook comment section for questions. Note: Attendees utilizing interpretation services (Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Chinese, and ASL) should join the session via Zoom. For more information, please visit https://www.oregon.gov/delc/providers/pages/provider-info-sessions.aspx

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July 2024 Community Newsletter

July 2024 Department of Early Learning and Care Updates

A Message from the Director

My name is Alyssa Chatterjee, and I am the director of the Department of Early Learning and Care, also known as DELC. Going forward, this will be a segment where I share my reflections on some of the big work we are doing across the agency each month. Today though, I wanted to take a look back at the past year – our first year as an agency.

Do you want to receive this update in your email? Sign up for our Community Newsletter and Child Care Updates twice monthly send by subscribing here.

Our one-year anniversary update

There was an incredible amount of work that went into creating DELC between 2021 and 2023. But the work isn’t finished! Here are a few high points I’d like to share with you from the past year:

DELC Strategic Planning & DEI Action Plan Implementation – Our team worked with you – parents, providers, community partners – as well as our internal staff to design ambitious, but achievable plans for our agency that are now live. You can now check out Growing Oregon Together and our DEI Action Plan for yourself! Last week, we kicked off our first Implementation Team to keep this work moving – I am so excited to start making progress on these plans and share more with you in the coming months.
Birth Through Five Literacy – The Governor’s Early Literacy Success Initiative recognized the important role that early care and education plays in literacy development. We released our first Birth Through Five Literacy Plan in December, and are in the process of releasing a Request for Applications for programs to apply for the Birth Through Five Literacy Fund. As part of the Governor’s focus on early literacy, we were honored to be part of the expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program! Now, even more young children will have access to a free, developmentally appropriate book to look forward to every month.
Child Care Licensing and Risk-Assessed Rules – We have updated the Certified Center licensing rules and completed the first stage of Risk-Assessed Rules data collection. This is a critical step in creating consistent, objective licensing monitoring and compliance that reflects the spectrum of risk to children. We are beginning engagement to revise our Registered Family and Certified Family rulesets as well.
Child Care Infrastructure Fund – This week, we cohost a webinar with Business Oregon to share more information about the Child Care Infrastructure Fund application that will go live later this month. This is an amazing opportunity for child care providers, community-based organizations, culturally relevant programs, and other partners to access funding specifically for capital investments and improvements in their programs. This is an amazing example of how agencies can work together for a common goal, and highlights the shared responsibility many agencies have in supporting access to child care.

This is just a small sample – there is so much more incredible work we have accomplished together over the last year. I encourage you to read the anniversary press release for additional highlights. I am excited to continue on this journey together.

Cheers to 1 Year of DELC!

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Birth Through Five Literacy Grants 2024-2025 Request for Applications

We are excited to announce that the Department of Early Learning and Care (DELC) has officially launched a statewide Request for Applications (RFA) for the Birth Through Five (B-5) Literacy Grants.

This RFA is open for interested and eligible providers to apply to participate in and deliver services under the Early Childhood Equity Fund Program (ECEF) for Birth through Five Literacy activities for the 2024-2025 program year. To be eligible for this opportunity, applicants must be current Early Childhood Equity Fund (ECEF) grantees or be a culturally specific organization and/or operate a culturally specific early learning program within Oregon’s borders.

DELC anticipates awarding up to $4.7 million through this RFA. Each applicant may request up to a maximum amount of $200,000. These one-time awards will last through the State fiscal biennium (June 30, 2025).

Are you interested in Applying?

Interested applicants have the option to apply in English or Spanish. All application materials must be received by 5:00pm on August 2nd, 2024.

The Grant Application can be found here: https://www.oregon.gov/delc/programs/Pages/early-childhood-equity-fund.aspx#BirthThroughFiveRFA

The Single Point of Contact (SPC) for this RFA is Lori Nordlien. Her email address is: lori.nordlien@delc.oregon.gov

Want to learn more about this opportunity?

DELC staff will be hosting an informational webinar in English/Spanish at 3:00pm on July 10^th, 2024. This Webinar and RFA materials will be recorded and posted on DELC’s website on the ECEF landing page.

Here is a link to the scheduled Webinar: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/16057000840?omn=1615219842

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Child Care Infrastructure Fund Opportunity (CCIF)

Are you interested in opening a child care facility or making improvements to your existing child care program and have a need for more funding to support the costs?

The Child Care Infrastructure Fund (CCIF) was created by House Bill 3005 during the 2023 Legislative Session to build out child care infrastructure statewide. DELC will provide statewide Business Technical Assistance for CCIF through technical assistance providers Northwest Native Chamber and First Children’s Finance.

Learn more about this opportunity and how to apply by visiting our website at: Department of Early Learning and Care : Child Care Infrastructure Fund : Programs : State of Oregon

The CCIF webinar opportunity has passed. Please visit the CCIF website page to view the recordings of this webinar. They will be available after July 1. Department of Early Learning and Care : Child Care Infrastructure Fund : Programs : State of Oregon

Join us for an informational webinar on July 1, 2024 from 6:30-7:00pm!

The Department of Early Learning and Care is hosting an informational webinar about CCIF on Monday, July 1, 2024 from 6:30-7:00pm. The recording for this webinar will be available on the DELC CCIF website page for viewing after July 1, 2024. Visit Department of Early Learning and Care : Child Care Infrastructure Fund : Programs : State of Oregon

You can register to attend the webinar at the following link: https://www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_WTqo3vAuTHSBo8QFW_98iw#/registration