Child Care Council Of Westchester Inc

WESTCHESTER COUNTY'S LEADING AUTHORITY ON CHILD CARE, THE CHILD CARE COUNCIL OF WESTCHESTER, INC. IS ONE OF THE LARGEST CHILD CARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL AGENCIES IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK. A NONPROFIT, 501(C)(3) AGENCY, THE COUNCIL PLAYS A UNIQUE ROLE WITHIN THE COUNTY, DELIVERING A VARIETY OF UNIQUE SERVICES INCLUDING: LINKING PARENTS TO CHILD CARE VIA INFORMATION AND REFERRALS AND HELP OBTAINING FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE; EXPANDING THE SUPPLY OF QUALITY CHILD CARE PROGRAMS AND PROVIDERS THROUGH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, TRAINING, MONITORING OF REGULATORY COMPLIANCE AND START-UP HELP; SUPPORT TO THE WORKPLACE THROUGH ON-SITE SEMINARS, GUIDANCE ON DEPENDENT CARE ISSUES; POLICY AND PUBLIC EDUCATION TO RAISE AWARENESS OF THE BENEFITS AND VALUE OF A STRONG EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION SYSTEM. BEGINNING IN MARCH OF 2020, THE COUNCIL BECAME AND REMAINS ACTIVELY INVOLVED IN ALL MANNERS OF ECONOMIC RELATED SUPPORT TO THE CHILD CARE COMMUNITY.

PROVIDER SERVICES DEPARTMENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS 7/1/22-6/30/23. REGISTRATION SERVICES: THE REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT OFFERS THREE MAIN SERVICES TO CHILD CARE PROVIDERS: PROCESSING INITIAL FAMILY DAY CARE (FDC) & SCHOOL AGE CHILD CARE (SACC) APPLICATIONS, PROCESSING FDC & SACC RENEWAL APPLICATIONS AND PERFORMING INSPECTIONS OF FDC/SACC PROGRAM. DURING THE PERIOD STARTING JULY 1, 2022 TO JUNE 30, 2023: WE SERVED 12 INITIAL FDC APPLICANTS (4 - FDC APPROVED AND 8 - FDC WITHDRAWN), AND 36 SACC APPLICANTS (17 - SACC APPROVED AND 19 -SACC WITHDRAWN). THE CHALLENGE WITH INITIAL APPLICATIONS HAS BEEN APPLICANT FOLLOW THROUGH. MANY APPLICANTS APPLIED AND FOUND THAT THEY COULD NOT MEET OCFS GUIDELINES IN THE REQUIRED TIME. THE REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT ALSO RENEWED 42 ACTIVE FDC & SACC PROGRAMS. WE ASSISTED THEM IN THE PROCESS OF RENEWING THEIR REGISTRATIONS (12-FDC AND 30-SACC). THERE WERE SEVERAL CLOSURES IN THIS PERIOD DUE TO REDUCED ENROLLMENT, 10 FDC PROGRAMS AND 21 SACC PROGRAMS CLOSED. THE REGISTRATION DEPARTMENT PERFORMED 514 INSPECTIONS OF FDC/SACC PROGRAM (152-FDC AND 362-SACC). ALL INSPECTIONS WERE CONDUCTED AND CLOSED WITHIN THE APPROVED TIMEFRAMES. THE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN INSPECTING CHILDCARE PROGRAMS DURING THIS PERIOD WAS ACCESS TO THE PROGRAMS. MANY PROGRAMS WERE CLOSED DUE TO LOW ENROLLMENT. LEGALLY EXEMPT SERVICES: THE LEGALLY EXEMPT DEPARTMENT OFFERS TWO MAIN SERVICES TO LEGALLY EXEMPT CHILD CARE PROVIDERS. THE DEPARTMENT IS CONTRACTED TO PROCESS INITIAL APPLICATIONS, RENEWAL APPLICATIONS AND CONDUCT ANNUAL INSPECTIONS. DURING THE PERIOD STARTING JULY 1, 2022 TO JUNE 30, 2023: WE PROCESSED 456 LEGALLY EXEMPT PROVIDER APPLICATIONS. WE ACCOMPLISHED OUR GOALS DUE TO THE WORK EFFICIENCY IN THE DEPARTMENT. THE CHALLENGE WITH PROCESSING THE INITIAL ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS HAS BEEN THE TIMEFRAMES AND HIGH TURNOVER AMONG PROVIDERS. THE CHALLENGE IN PROCESSING THE RENEWAL ENROLLMENT APPLICATIONS HAS BEEN THE DELAY IN PROVIDERS SUBMITTING THE RENEWAL MATERIAL ON TIME AND CHANGES THAT NEED TO BE MADE TO THE ENROLLMENT. THE LEGALLY EXEMPT DEPARTMENT PERFORMED 46 INSPECTIONS. CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM: THE CHILD AND ADULT CARE FOOD PROGRAM HELPS PROVIDERS PAY FOR MEALS AND SNACKS SERVED TO CHILDREN UP TO AGE 13 ENROLLED IN THEIR CHILDCARE PROGRAMS. AS THE SPONSOR OF THE CONTRACT, WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR DETERMINING IF MEALS SERVED MEET NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS, CONDUCTING MONITORING VISITS, AND PROVIDING TRAINING TO PARTICIPATING PROVIDERS. DURING THE PERIOD OF JULY 1, 2022-JUNE 30, 2023 CACFP STAFF PROCESSED 2,921 MENUS, REIMBURSING PROVIDERS FOR THE HEALTHY MEALS AND SNACKS SERVED TO CHILDREN. THE CACFP STAFF CONDUCTED 405 FOOD-MONITORING VISITS AND ADDED 41 NEW PROVIDERS TO THE PROGRAM.

TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO IMPROVE CHILD CARE QUALITY *3,104 EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS ATTENDED 201 COUNCIL WORKSHOPS * 39 STUDENTS WERE ENROLLED IN THE COUNCIL'S ECDA PROGRAM (ON-LINE CDA). * IN OCTOBER 2022, 12 EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONALS ENROLLED IN THE COUNCIL'S 2022-23 INFANT TODDLER/ FAMILY CHILD CARE CDA PROGRAM. IN JUNE 2023, 8 STUDENTS GRADUATED THE PROGRAM. * IN MARCH 2023, 13 EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONALS BEGAN THE COUNCIL'S 2022-23 PRESCHOOL CDA PROGRAM. AS OF OCTOBER 2023 THE COURSE IS ONGOING WITH 11 STUDENTS REMAINING IN THE CLASS. 31 CHILD CARE CENTER CLASSROOMS AND FAMILY CHILD CARE PROGRAMS RECEIVED INTENSIVE SCALE BASED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE; ALL OF THOSE PROGRAMS RECEIVED A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT GRANT. THESE GRANTS FOCUSED ON THE COGNITIVE AND SOCIAL EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILDREN. * IN EARLY 2023, TWENTY-ONE PROGRAMS INCLUDED EIGHT (8) CENTER-BASED CLASSROOMS AND THIRTEEN (13) GROUP FAMILY PROVIDERS, PARTICIPATED IN OUR EARLY LITERACY BOOK BAG PROGRAM FUNDED BY THE SEXAUER FAMILY FOUNDATION. THE PROJECT WAS CREATED TO PROMOTE EARLY LITERACY FOR LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. THIS YEAR, FAMILIES WERE EACH PROVIDED A HOME LIBRARY OF 7-8 AGE APPROPRIATE BOOKS AND A BOOK BAG. THE FAMILIES WERE ALSO GIVEN LITERATURE ON READING AT HOME WITH YOUNG CHILDREN. PROGRAMS PARTICIPATED IN A TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECT, AND RECEIVED AN ASSORTMENT OF DIVERSE BOOKS AND LANGUAGE ENHANCING MATERIALS FOR THEIR PROGRAMS. * MENTAL HEALTH SPECIALISTS WORKED WITH CAREGIVERS IN 34 CENTER AND FAMILY CHILD CARE PROGRAMS. THE SPECIALISTS WORKED ON IMPROVING THE CAPACITY FOR THE CAREGIVERS TO MEET THE SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL NEEDS OF YOUNG CHILDREN. THREE SUPPORT GROUPS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD PROFESSIONALS MET VIRTUALLY AND IN-PERSON THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, GIVING SUPPORT AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO THE VALUABLE CAREGIVERS.

BETWEEN JULY 1, 2022 AND JUNE 30, 2023, THE COUNCIL AWARDED 279 CHILDREN WITH THE WESTCHESTER WORKS SCHOLARSHIP AND 7 CHILDREN WITH THE KEYS TO THE FUTURE SCHOLARSHIP. ALL SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS WERE DISTRIBUTED DIRECTLY TO THE REGULATED PROGRAMS WHERE THE CHILDREN WERE ENROLLED IN CHILD CARE.