Solano Family & Children’s Services (SFCS) is a private, non-profit Child Care Resource & Referral Agency. Since 1978, we have provided services and support to parents, child care providers, and community members in Solano County.
Last year SFCS helped over 1800 families select the quality child care placements that best suit their individual needs. In addition, the Subsidized Child Care Program served over 2000 families covering child care costs for approximately 3400 children. The Child Care Food Program also served over 2300 children per month.
The Early Learning Lab just released Stay Play Grow, available at https://earlylearninglab.org/stay-play-grow/#partners, a free app designed to support parents and caregivers during the coronavirus outbreak and beyond. The app is a one-stop source of quality, trusted resources curated to help families with children 0-5 make the most of their time together.
The app offers resources in English and Spanish (under Recursos en Español) on children’s learning and development, including simple activities to help children learn through play at home; self-care strategies; how to get help meeting basic needs including food, shelter, diapers, and more; and health & safety resources, including how to talk to children about the ongoing health pandemic and racial inequality crisis.
As stay-at-home orders are lifted for multiple industries to promote California’s economic recovery, the need for child care and other supports for working families will increase.
Every child care program must have a plan in place to minimize the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure the safety of children, providers, and families. As programs begin to reopen and other programs transition from emergency child care for essential workers to enhanced regular operations, all providers must apply new and updated policies and requirements and must update their emergency preparedness plan.
Click the link below for guidance in operating your child care business during the COVID 19 pandemic.
Parents and providers who wish to send paperwork to us by email may want to scan the document rather than take a picture. The following links are useful in helping you learn to do that:
On April 4, 2020, Governor Newsom issued an Executive Order, that was intended to make child care subsidies available for Essential Workers in California, during the COVID-19 crisis. Unfortunately, this executive order did not come with additional child care funding. In Solano County, Child Care Subsidies are provided in the form of Child Development Centers, located and managed by such entities as school districts and Solano Community College. The other form of subsidy is in the form of a voucher program, which is administered by Solano Family & Children’s Services (SFCS). The voucher system provides the parent greater flexibility in choosing different types of child care providers (center-based care, family child care homes, and license-exempt providers), as well as flexibility in the hours of care needed (including evenings & weekends). Many of the Solano County Subsidized Child Development Centers have been closed due to school district campus closures. Voucher funding provided to SFCS from the State Department of Education, that would otherwise be available to serve essential workers during the COVID-19 crisis, is not available as our California Alternative Payment Program (CAPP) is fully enrolled, and has a waiting list. Solano County is provided a specific amount of child care subsidies for both the Child Development Center Contracts and Voucher Contracts. The amount of funding we receive is never enough to fully meet the needs of all eligible families. We are hopeful that the California Department of Education will work with the Administration to release more funds in order to serve our present families on the program, and the additional essential workers who qualify for this temporary assistance.
In the meantime, there are licensed family child care homes and centers that are still open and making spaces available to essential workers who can afford to pay for their child care. Families in need of child care providers can contact Solano Family & Children’s Services at 707-863-3950 Ext. 709 or by going to www.solanofamily.org and filling out the Child Care Referral form for a list of licensed child care providers.
The Solano County drive-thru COVID-19 testing site is now accepting appointments for essential employees, healthcare workers and first responders who are currently ill and whose symptoms are consistent with COVID-19 (including fever, cough, chills, and body aches). Individuals must also live and/or work in Solano County. Testing is not available for asymptomatic individuals at this time.
Essential employees include, but are not limited to, employees in the following settings:
Grocery stores, food banks, restaurants, and food delivery
Gas stations and auto-repair facilities
Transportation providers
Childcare facilities
Water, sewer, solid waste, gas, and electrical operations
Mailing and shipping services
Banks
Hardware stores, warehouses, and distribution centers
Construction
Laundry service
Telecommunications, internet, and media services
Testing is by appointment only. The phone line is open from 9am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday, or until all appointment slots are filled. The phone number is (707) 784-8655. Do not leave a message. There is no cost for this testing. Testing consists of a self-administered nasal swab, and results can be expected in 1-3 days.
Please call the Solano Public Health COVID-19 warm line at (707) 784-8988 or email COVID19@SolanoCounty.com with any questions.
As child care providers and early childhood educators, you are likely following many of the policies and procedures for reducing the risk of COVID-19. Reducing the risk of spreading COVID-19 is the same as preventing the flu or other respiratory illnesses in child care programs.
Solano County Public Health Department will have the latest information and advice for your geographic location, such as cases of confirmed COVID-19, school closures, and cancellations in your city. Consult their website for more information Solano County Public Health
Since 1997, the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network has produced the biennial California Child Care Portfolio. This presents a unique portrait of child care supply, demand, and cost statewide and county-by-county, as well as information on employment, poverty, and family budgets. The child care data in this report is gathered with the assistance of local child care resource and referral programs. This publication has consistently been relied on by policymakers, business leaders, health care professionals, educators, planning agencies, and child advocates to understand the child care needs of California families. To see the report specifically for Solano County, Click here.
As you may know, SFCS is closed every Tuesday morning until noon. We have also been closed the 3rd Friday of each month, for many years.
Starting January 2020, we will continue to be closed every Tuesday morning until noon, but we are changing our closed Fridays to the 1st Friday of each month, and we will be open to the public on the 3rd Fridays.
Our first closed Friday in the new year will be Friday, January 3, 2020. As always, if you need to drop off documents while we are closed, you may place them in the Brown mailbox located right outside our front door. Please help us spread the word!
“The ADA prohibits providers from excluding people because of their disabilities. It prohibits admissions policies that screen out or tend to screen out persons with disabilities. A provider has to assess case-by-case what accommodation a child with a disability needs to be integrated into the provider’s program. Once the provider knows what is needed, the provider must assess whether reasonable accommodations can be made to include the child. The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division’s Commonly Asked Questions About Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act, gives examples of reasonable accommodations of specific disabilities.” Childcarelaw.org
If you are a child care provider, and need support in caring for children with disabilities, call Resource and Referral at (707) 863-3950 ext. 752. PLUS, we have many workshops on the topic of inclusion. Including a child with special needs in your environment not only helps that child, but also every single child that you care for each day.
