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Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Governor Brian Kemp has allowed licensed child care in Georgia to remain open to serve children and families. However, with more families staying at home, child care attendance significantly declined except for children of first responders and essential workers.  At one point, only thirty percent of the licensed programs in Georgia remained open.  Joining us to talk about Georgia child care open for business in a pandemic are Jennifer Paschal with Endeavor Schools in Atlanta, Michelle Smith-Lank with Kids World Learning Center in Statesboro, and our own April Rogers, Director of Policy and Enforcement with Child Care Services.

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Here at DECAL, we’re committed to ensuring that Georgia's youngest learners receive the best services possible to prepare them for school and life. To help meet this commitment, we’ve developed the Georgia Professional Development System (GaPDS) where early childhood educators can create and maintain a profile and search and register for the latest training. This year, the Professional Development Unit has been hard at work revamping OLLI, the Online Learning Library Initiative.  Joining us to talk about improvements to OLLI and what you can find through GaPDS is Christi Moore, Director of Professional Development, along with Barbara McWethy, Workforce Support Manager.  

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For 30 years, WSB Radio’s Clark Howard and the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services has had the mission of ensuring that every child in the Georgia foster care system has at least one gift on Christmas day. Traditionally, shoppers attended live events in Walmart locations in the metro Atlanta area to purchase gifts from a child’s wish list. But due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s campaign is going all virtual.  Joining us to talk about this year’s Clark’s Christmas Kids is Tom Rawlings, director of the State Division of Family and Children Services, and our very special guest, a legend in Georgia broadcasting, consumer expert and popular TV and radio personality Clark Howard.  

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In May, all licensed child care providers in Georgia were invited to apply for STABLE: Short Term Assistance Benefit for Licensed Entities. This was the first round of payments from the $144 million Georgia received under the federal CARES Act and 3,789 providers received more than $38.8 million in financial support.   Now, it’s time for Round 2.  How do you apply and what can the money pay for?  Joining us to talk about STABLE Round 2 is Woody Dover, Enterprise Project Management Director here at DECAL. 

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Quality Rated is Georgia’s system to determine, improve, and communicate the quality of programs that provide child care. Like rating systems for restaurants and hotels, Quality Rated assigns one, two or three stars to early education and school-age care programs that meet or exceed the minimum state requirements. This year, COVID-19 had an impact on the program, especially the deadline of December 31, 2020, for all providers receiving CAPS funding.  Our guests are Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships, and Denise Jenson, Quality Rated Operations Director.  

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DECAL is the state agency that licenses and regulates child care programs in Georgia using a system that focuses on certain “core rules” within 15 categories ranging from diapering and discipline to supervision, transportation, and criminal records checks.  Based on research, the core rules represent critical areas to consider when determining compliance and the impact on the health and safety of children.  But how much do you know about the core rules?  Here to talk about core rules and their importance in keeping our children healthy and safe is Pam Stevens, Deputy Commissioner for Child Care Services; Shannon Carroll, Technical Assistance Coordinator for Child Care Services; and Morgan Stahl, one of our CCS consultants. 

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Over 3,500 infants die annually in the United States from sleep-related deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome.  The issue disproportionately impacts families of color, especially black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, and low-income families.  With that in mind, October is Safe Sleep and SIDS Awareness Month and DECAL is joining Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to remind caregivers and parents.

Joining us to talk about Safe Sleep and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome is Pam Stevens, Deputy Commissioner for Child Care Services here at DECAL; Candace Gilbert is Quality Improvement and Training Coordinator with Child Care Services; Malissa Champion is a CCS Consultant serving Northeast Georgia; Rachel Brown is a CCS Consultant in the Northwest Region, and Michelle Walker is a pediatric nurse serving as Manager of Child Advocacy Programs with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  

We are also joined by Sabrina Henry from DECAL's HR Division with an update on 2021 Open Enrollment.

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The pandemic continues, Georgia’s Pre-K Program is up and running with a few different looks, and we’re supporting school age children doing virtual learning with child care scholarships.  Plenty of things going on…and it seemed like a good time for one of our sit-down chats with Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs. Join us as we discuss a variety of topics facing DECAL and early childhood education in Georgia. 

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It’s Pre-K Week in Georgia! For the past 28 years, Georgia’s nationally recognized Pre-K Program has provided quality early education to the state’s youngest learners.  Launched in 1992 as a pilot program serving 750 four-year-olds, the lottery-funded Georgia’s Pre-K Program has laid a solid foundation for academic excellence and future success in the lives of approximately 1.6 million children.  This is our tenth year partnering with Voices for Georgia’s Children.   

Joining us to talk about Georgia Pre-K Week is Dr. Erica Fener-Sitkoff, Executive Director at Voices for Georgia’s Children; Susan Adams, Deputy Commissioner for Georgia’s Pre-K Program and Instructional Supports; Nicole Cook, one of our outstanding Pre-K Specialists; and Coy Bowles, lead guitarist from the Zac Brown Band and author of “Behind the Little Red Door” and his latest, “Behind the Little Red Door: Can You Touch a Color?”

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It's Georgia's Pre-K Week and Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs talks about it with WSB Radio's Scott Slade on Atlanta's Morning News. 

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