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Today, it’s another one of our “Day in the Life” features where we learn more about a member of our DECAL team and what they do for Georgia’s youngest learners and their families.  Today we are talking to the manager behind the POWER payments, a big initiative both last year and this year here at DECAL.  Welcome Abby Mozo, Manager for the POWER payments.  

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In January, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE) presented its 18th edition of the Top Ten Issues to Watch Report.  The report identifies and analyzes key education issues Georgia will be or should be addressing in the coming year.  Joining us to talk about the Top Ten Issues to Watch is Dr. Dana Rickman, GPEE President, and Matt Smith, Senior Policy Analyst.  

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DECAL is joining the Georgia Department of Education and the nonprofit research institute RTI International to help schools and child care programs test drinking water for lead, communicate about the testing, and remove lead from their drinking and cooking water.  Thanks to a federal grant, this testing program is free of charge and good for the health and safety of children and their families.  The project is called Clean Water for Georgia Kids…and here to talk about it is Rhonda Parker, Child Care Services Director of Field Operations, Jennifer Hoponick Redmon, the Clean Water for Georgia Kids Program Director and a Senior Environmental Health Scientist with nonprofit institute RTI International, and Crystal Lee Pow Jackson, a research environmental scientist and an outreach and communication coordinator for the program. 

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Today they may be learning their colors, shapes, and letters…but before you know it, those four year olds in Georgia’s Pre-K Program will be all grown up and headed to technical school or college.  That’s why each year we join Path2College 529 Plan and the Georgia Student Finance Commission for our Pre-K to College Sweepstakes.  This is the fifth year for our sweepstakes and here to talk about Pre-K to College is Mitch Seabaugh, Executive Director of the Path2College 529 Plan, and Meghan McNail, Summer Transition Program and Outreach Manager for Georgia’s Pre-K Program.  

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On October 18, 2021, DECAL welcomed our new Early Head Start - Child Care Partnership Director.  DECAL has been an Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grantee since 2014. Megan Fickes joined us after 14 years of Head Start/Early Head Start experience working with Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning.  Joining us to talk about DECAL’s Early Head Start partnerships is our new director, Megan Fickes, along with Deputy Commissioner of Quality Initiatives and Partnerships Dr. Bentley Ponder.  

More information can be found at Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/

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If you’re a food bank, school, camp, church, government entity, or nonprofit organization, you may be eligible to receive reimbursement for serving nutritious meals to kids and teens this summer through Happy Helpings...the new name for Georgia’s Summer Food Service Program.  Here to talk about how DECAL’s Nutrition Division will ensure Georgia’s kids will have access to meals and snacks this summer is Cindy Kicklighter, Manager of Marketing and Outreach.  

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Fathers, mothers, foster parents, or guardians of young children that have had a child in childcare or early intervention currently, or in the past two years…they all make up DECAL’s Family Peer Ambassadors.  The Ambassadors serve as leaders in their community, engaging families in activities to provide them with information about child development and strategies they can use to support their children’s school readiness.  Joining us to talk about the Family Peer Ambassador Program are Ann Panzica, Child and Family Development Training Specialists; Bridget Ratajczak, Child and Family Development Supervisor and three of our current DECAL Family Peer Ambassadors:  Ni’Aisha Banks-Devore, Raymond Dockery, and Mayra Velez. 

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DECAL’s Child Care Services Division is responsible for ensuring the health and safety of thousands of children in Georgia while also providing training and technical assistance, licensing new child care programs, and determining exempt programs.  The division also responds to any concerns or complaints the public may have through the CCS Consultant of the Day.  Joining us to talk about the CCS Consultant of the Day is Tahishe Smith, CCS Intake Manager for the Complaint Unit. 

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WSB Radio's Scott Slade talks with Commissioner Jacobs about the availability of child care, staffing shortages, and the impact of COVID-19 in Georgia.

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Early child development helps build a foundation for lifelong learning, behavior, and health.  With that in in mind, DECAL and the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning have named our inaugural Georgia’s Early Childhood Educators of the Year for 2022.  The infant winner is Diana Black from Pookie Bear Learning Center in Savannah, the toddler winner is Maria Claudia Ortega from My Little Geniuses in Marietta, and the preschool winner is Hannah Beth Reeves from the Academy for Little People in Chickamauga.  On this week's podcast we are joined by all three winners in addition to Thea Stevens, Infant Toddler Supervisor here at DECAL, and Carrie Ashbee, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning.  We’re also joined by Maria Moor from Georgia's Pre-K Program who will serve as Maria Claudia’s interpreter.

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