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In May, for the first time, DECAL will celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week as  a reminder for all of us that the early years in a child’s life provide a key opportunity to establish safe and secure relationships and support healthy social and emotional development.  Joining us to talk about Children’s Mental Health Week is Laura Lucas, our new Director of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health here at DECAL, and State Representative Katie Dempsey who represents Rome and Northwest Georgia and is Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Human Resources and a House Study Committee on Infant and Toddler Social and Emotional Health.  

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Educators, school nutrition staff, early care providers, and agriculture professionals will come together April 27 through May 1 for the eighth Georgia Farm to School and Early Care and Education Summit.  Joining us to talk about the event is Kimberly Della Donna, Farm to School Director at Georgia Organics, and Diana Myers, Nutrition Health Educator here at DECAL. 

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DECAL and the Technical College System of Georgia have received a $150,000 grant from the Aspen Institute to increase economic mobility and well-being for students who are parents.  Joining us to talk about the Aspen Policy Acceleration Partnership is Donna Johnson, Family Support Director for Development and Partnerships with Georgia’s CAPS Program, and Cayanna Good, Assistant Commissioner for Adult Education with TCSG.

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On March 8, all Georgia Pre-K teachers, child care teachers, and child care staff in programs with a license or exemption from DECAL became eligible for COVID-19 vaccines.  Since then, teachers and staff have been flocking to nine mass vaccination sites from Clarksville to Savannah as well as local health departments and pharmacies to get vaccinated.  On today’s podcast, we’re going to tackle some of the frequently asked questions we are hearing from the child care workforce.  Joining us to talk about COVID-19 vaccines for early education teachers and staff is Pam Stevens, Deputy Commissioner of Child Care Services, and Dr. Georgina Peacock who currently serves as the Georgia Department of Health Chief Medical Officer as a Center for Disease Control Assignee.  She also oversees the CDC Vaccine Implementation Unit.  

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Beginning March 22, all licensed Georgia child care providers may apply for a third round of Short Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities (STABLE) payments from DECAL.  Funding for these payments comes from the federal CARES Act and part of our ongoing efforts to support early child care providers still struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Joining us to talk about Round 3 of STABLE payments and how you can apply is Woody Dover, Enterprise Project Management Director here at DECAL.  

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Governor Brian Kemp and Commissioner Jacobs recently announced plans to provide a one-time, $1,000 bonus payment to every Georgia’s Pre-K Program teacher, assistant teacher, and birth-5 child care teacher in the state.  The bonuses will be funded through the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Joining us to talk about POWER (Providing Our Workforce with Essential Recognition) is Susan Adams, Deputy Commissioner of Georgia’s Pre-K Program and Instructional Supports; Barbara McWethy who is Manager of Workforce Support in our Professional Learning Group, and Yiet Knight who is owner of the Universal Child Care and Learning Center in Augusta, a three-star Quality Rated program, and part of our Quality Rated Peer Support Network.  

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It’s that time again!  DECAL is seeking applications for Georgia’s Pre-K Program Teachers of the Year for 2021-2022. DECAL will select a winner from a local public school system and a winner from a private child care center.  Joining us to talk about applying for Georgia’s Pre-K Teachers of the Year is Meghan McNail, Summer Transition and Outreach Manager for Georgia’s Pre-K Program; Channie Frazier is a pre-K teacher at Kids World Learning Center in Statesboro and was our Pre-K Teacher of the Year for 2016-2017; Nathan Leatherwood is a Pre-K teacher at Calhoun City Pre-K and was Pre-K Teacher of the Year for 2017-2018; and Stephanie Westhafter is a Pre-K teacher at Georgia Kids Academy in Hoschton and was Pre-K Teacher of the Year for 2018-2019.  

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Last summer, DECAL joined the Governor’s Office and the Georgia Department of Public Health in providing COVID-19 guidance for Georgia Child Care facilities.  Now, at almost a year into the pandemic and public health emergency, we have updated that guidance to support providers, teachers, and of course Georgia’s children and families.  Joining us to talk about Updates and Changes to our COVID-19 Guidance for Georgia Child Care Facilities is Pam Stevens, Deputy Commissioner of Child Care Services, April Rogers, CCS Director of Enforcement Operations, and Ebony Thomas, Epidemiologist with the Georgia Department of Public Health.  PLUS we have the latest information o n COVID-19 vaccines for Pre-K and child care teachers and staff. 

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Communities across Georgia who are interested in promoting high-quality early childhood care and education are applying for three separate Community Impact Grant opportunities from DECAL.  Funding for these grants was made possible by the $11.2 million Preschool Development Renewal Grant that Georgia received in January 2020 from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education.  Joining us to talk about the Community Impact Grants is Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships, Laura Wagner, Community Outreach and Partnerships Director, and Jill O’ Meara, Community Partnerships and Projects Manager.  

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For the 11th year, DECAL is offering a six-week intensive academic program for rising Pre-K and rising Kindergarten students called the Summer Transition Program.  The program was created to support students who either did not attend Georgia’s Pre-K Program or Head Start or who need additional help before taking that next step.  Joining us to talk about the Summer Transition Program is Meghan McNail, Summer Transition Program and Outreach Manager, Ashley Manning, whose son attended the Summer Transition Program at Little Ones Learning Center in Forest Park, and Jeff Randa, Director of Quality Implementation for Easter Seals of North Georgia, who hosted five Summer Transition classes, even last summer during the pandemic.  

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