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Apply for Accreditation Council

This year the council is looking to fill three positions. This is an opportunity to expand your scope to the national arena and to work with other passionate experts who strive to improve the quality of Family Child Care.

Click the link below to apply today!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeJBvNgm8Bk9oP7U7PNW57aXf2idxbdJJ9F5AycncaENyykig/viewform

Make sure you’re ready for the switch. Visit https://gapds.decal.ga.gov/Home to make sure all your personal information is up to date.

The Board of Early Care and Learning will hold its final quarterly meeting for 2022 on Thursday, November 17, 2022, at 9:00 AM at our Atlanta offices. You can attend the meeting virtually by registering here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/4886801846630667279

Congratulations to our finalists for 2022-2023 Georgia's Early Childhood Educators of the Year!

Tomorrow is the last day to vote early for the Midterm Elections. Make a plan to vote for our children and our communities.

Learn How, Where & When to Vote. https://www.bcdiatlanta.org/policy

Join us virtually tomorrow, November 2 at 2 pm as we release our new Afterschool and Child Well-Being Interactive Map!

Learn how to use our findings to visualize where the need for programming is greatest and allow for targeted action that will help children thrive in your community.

Register: https://bit.ly/3FfkFLJ.

This was a great event! 🎉 Thank you Grovetown for providing an outlet to feature local, small businesses!

Georgia, vote early until November 4, 2022, in the 2022 midterm election.

Learn How, Where & When to Vote. https://www.bcdiatlanta.org/policy

I wanted to share this newsletter. I am featured in an article reflecting on my family childcare experience.

Mobilizing Our Votes to Support Home-Based Child Care As we settle into the fall, we want to reflect on opportunities to prioritize home-based child care in early learning policy and practice. We know that home-based child care is often a first choice of immigrant and dual language speaking families who seek out caregivers who nurture both their childr...

Join us virtually on November 2 at 2 pm as we release our new Afterschool and Child Well-Being Interactive Map!

Learn how to use our findings to visualize where the need for programming is greatest and allow for targeted action that will help children thrive in your community.

Register: https://bit.ly/3FfkFLJ.

Join BCDI-Atlanta virtually for this listening session and community discussion on policies and budgets impacting Black children in preparation for the 2023 Georgia Legislative Session.

Learn more and Register. https://www.bcdiatlanta.org/events

October 3-7 is Georgia’s Pre-K Week! This year’s official book is “Hey, Georgia” by Malcolm Mitchell and inspired by First Lady Marty Kemp. Physical activity helps our young learners activate their minds and energize their bodies to have fun and “Just Do It.” Let’s get active in your classroom with these tips while highlighting Georgia’s natural resources!

Happy October Farm to School Month! It's a month-long celebration for schools and early care centers across Georgia to celebrate all things Spinach! "Spinach to Win It" is a state-wide celebration to get kids eating, growing, and participating in Spinach-themed activities. Here's a Spinach Book List of Suggested Titles to share with the children you serve throughout the month. If you’re a Pre-K classroom celebrating Georgia’s Pre-K Week, consider integrating in these spinach-themed books throughout your weekly celebrations! Georgia Organics

BCDI-Atlanta is a proud Voices for Georgia's Children Ga Pre-K partner! We believe in and support universal Pre-K.

The child care economy IS the economy. Starting on October 3, join across the country as we put direct pressure on our leaders to fight for our families. Learn more: cca.is/childcarevoter

What’s going on at BCDI-Atlanta? Check out our September 2022 Newsletter: Innovative Programs Celebrating Our Heritage! https://www.bcdiatlanta.org/news

Mark your calendars for Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning's Georgia Pre-K Week happening on October 3, 2022 - October 7, 2022. bcdiatlanta.org/calendar

Celebrating 30 years of Pre-K in Georgia with

The Board of Early Care and Learning meets this Thursday at 9:00 AM in our Atlanta offices. Join the meeting virtually here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/6488103090851374095

Community, Work, and School Actions that communities can take to slow the spread of COVID-19.

Your impact on the children you care for and educate in your home is greater than you can ever imagine. All of us at NAFCC appreciate all the child care educators across the nation. Your work is hard. We are here to help.

Advocacy Alert -- Act by August 12th
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Quality Care for Children approves of the Higher Education Act . . . with a few changes.

We urge the U.S. Department of Education to revise and strengthen the regulations of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program (PSLF) to ensure that all current and prospective early childhood educators working with children beginning at birth and in all licensed, regulated and registered settings, including family child care, center-based child care, and schools, equitably gain the maximum benefit from the program.

As we communicated in our report, “Impact of a $15 Per Hour Wage on Child Care,” early child educators in metro Atlanta had an hourly mean wage of $10.23 in May 2020 while other jobs that do not require complex skills and in-depth knowledge saw wage increases up to and above $15 per hour.

Throughout the pandemic early childhood learning and care providers heard how essential their roles were to parents, children and the economy. Yet, promised investments in child care are not happening and most child care professionals still are not earning a living wage nor can afford higher education that is essential in helping educators gain and strengthen their competencies.

Isn’t it time that early childhood educators are recognized for the vital service they provide?

We encourage the Department to use its regulatory authority to expand access to the program for educators working in for-profit and family child care settings and to allow options, beyond submitting the employer's Federal EIN, for providing evidence of employers' eligibility.

Join QCC in showing your support for the expanded eligibility of PSLF by submitting comments to the Department of Education by Friday, Aug. 12. Utilize The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)’s online comments submission form at https://www.votervoice.net/NAEYC/Campaigns/96628/Respond.

3-Month-Old Boy Dies After Being Left in Hot Car in Washington, DC According to police, the child’s father said he found the baby inside a car on Park Road, and that the baby had been in the car for up to two hours.

Planning for a new school year can be challenging. Luckily, the Inclusion and Behavior support unit has your back! We’ve developed the Planting the SEEDS for a New School Year Checklist that will help give you tips for enhancing your classroom environment with the success of all your students in mind! Check it out herehttp://www.decal.ga.gov/documents/attachments/SEEDS_BacktoSchoolChecklist.pdf

Tips for a great