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This week we return to our tour of DECAL’s six regions talking to our Community Partnership Coordinators, representatives from our Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and introducing you to child care providers in each region. Today, we’re talking about the Central West Region that includes Cobb and Paulding Counties to the North with Clayton and Fayette County furthest East. Furthest West we have Carroll, Heard, Troup, and Harris reaching the Alabama border. Joining us to talk about the Central West Region are Bridgette Washington-Collier, Early Education Community Partnership Coordinator; Taylor Reid, a Team Lead for Central West Early Childhood Education Specialists, Quality Care for Children; Camilla Mason, a Family Child Care Learning Home provider; Noni Walton, the Executive Director of Oak Leaf School; and Dr. Kiki Singletary- Williams, a Peer Support Network Ambassador in Clayton County and also a Family Child Care provider.  

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There’s no doubt about it…we are all living in a digital world and, since the start of the pandemic, more and more of what we do is virtual and online. With so much emphasis on smartphones and computers, cyber criminals are also at work trying to take advantage of businesses and individuals alike. Joining us to talk about cybersecurity is Dennis Brice, Chief Information Officer here at DECAL, and Radha Datla, Chief Information Security Officer and Chief Technology Officer for DECAL.  

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In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia has received over $2-billion in federal money to help stabilize the child care industry, increase access to high quality child care for all families of young children, and support the state’s early childhood education workforce.  The money comes from the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and from the American Rescue Plan Act.  We recently announced plans for spending the remaining $400-million in a list of projects supporting child care providers, the ECE workforce, families, and other groups.  Joining us to discuss our plans for supporting families is Elisabetta Kasfir, Deputy Commissioner for Federal Programs.  

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For many kids across Georgia, summer vacation means more fun and free time. But for kids facing food insecurity—made worse by COVID’s impact on already tight-family budgets—no school can also mean limited access to affordable, nutritious foods.  That’s where Happy Helpings comes in, the summer food service program funded by USDA and administered by DECAL. Joining us today with an update on Happy Helpings Georgia is Tamika Boone, Nutrition Services Director here at DECAL, and Cindy Kicklighter, Nutrition Marketing and Outreach Manager.  

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We're taking a tour of DECAL’s six regions by talking to our Community Partnership Coordinators, representatives from our Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and introducing you to child care providers in each region. Today, we’re talking about the Central East Region. The Central East region consists of 23 counties, beginning with DeKalb County to the left and stretching all the way to Lincoln, Columbia, Richmond, and Burke counties on the South Carolina border. Joining us to talk about the Central East Region are Hannah Smith, Early Education Community Partnership Coordinator; Deidra Fitzpatrick, a Technical Assistance Coordinator with LEAP Early Learning Partners, one of our child care resource and referral agencies; Beverly Johnson, owner of Discovery Point Child Development Center #61 in Conyers; and Antoinette Elliott, who is a family child care provider in DeKalb County and a member of our Peer Support Network.

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It may be summertime but before you know it we will be opening up the 2022-2023 school year for Georgia’s Pre-K Program, our 30th year offering Pre-K in Georgia. Joining us to talk about preparing for Georgia’s Pre-K Program is Faith Duncan, Director of Georgia’s Pre-K Program; Laurianne McDonald is a Pre-K specialist working with programs in Southeast Georgia; and LaNita Carey from Jackson Creek Academy in Lilburn is one of our Georgia’s Pre-K Program Teachers of the Year for the 2021-2022 school year.  

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Starting last month, DECAL announced that student parents are now a “priority group” for receiving financial assistance through Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services Program (CAPS). This new priority group is a major step forward in our Two-Generation Approach to assisting young children and their families. Joining us to talk about the new student-parent priority group is Elisabetta Kasfir, Deputy Commissioner for the CAPS Program; Ni’Aisha Banks-Devore, a wife, mom of four, and entrepreneur; and Dr. Meghan McBride, Vice President of Adult Education at Georgia Piedmont Technical College in Clarkston.  

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This week we open it up to our DECAL team as well as followers on social media to ask questions of Commissioner Jacobs.  This is an opportunity to talk about a wide variety of topics and discuss those issues that are concerning you most, including updates on STABLE (Short-Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities) and POWER (Providing Our Workforce Essential Recognition).

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We’re taking a tour of DECAL’s six regions by talking to our Community Partnership Coordinators, representatives from our Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, and introducing you to child care providers in each region. Today, we’re talking about the Southeast Region consisting of 40 counties that stretch from Monroe County, north of Macon, all the way down to Lowndes County on the Florida border.  Joining us to talk about the Southeast Region are Tomisher Campbell, Early Education Community Partnership Coordinator, and Jeneine Barlow, the Technical Assistance Manager at the CCR&R of Southeast Georgia. Also joining us is Shalinda Smith, a family child care provider in Emanuel County and Bree Carter, the Owner and Director of Bree’s Creative Learning Preschool Childcare Center in Lowndes County. 

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For the ninth consecutive year, DECAL is calling for families and caregivers to increase awareness of the dangers of leaving children unattended in vehicles.  Joining us to talk about our annual Look Again campaign and ways to prevent pediatric vehicular heatstroke is Dana Morrison and Rhonda Parker, both directors of field operations with Child Care Services here at DECAL; and Michelle Walker is Manager of Child Advocacy Programs with Safe Kids Georgia and Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  

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