Serving Solano County since 1978!

December 30, 2020

Update: Just in time for the New Year! The provider stipends described below were deposited today and paper checks were mailed to those who do not have direct deposit. Providers who received the stipends will receive a letter some time next week with more details of your payment.

December 28, 2020

Subsidized Child Care Provider Stipends

Some of the CARES Act money that was awarded to California by the Federal Government was set aside to issue stipends to subsidized child care providers who have suffered hardships due to the pandemic.

All providers who received a payment from SFCS’s Subsidized Child Care Program (Stages 1, 2, 3 and CAPP) for the service month of July 2020 are eligible to receive this stipend.  Stipends are not available to BRDG program providers.

SFCS was given a set amount of funds to disburse to our providers.  Based on the number of children we issued payments for in July 2020, the one-time, per-child stipend is: $132.76.  This amount will be issued to the provider even if only one day of service was paid for July 2020, and even if the child is no longer in care.  If the provider is no longer in business, we will still issue the stipend.

The stipend can be used for any purpose.  It is considered taxable income, so this amount will be added to each provider’s 1099 form, if the total received from the subsidy program (including regular subsidy payments) is $600 or more for the entire year (2020).

We are working on the logistics of issuing these stipends; we hope to have them issued via Direct Deposit this week.

If you have any questions, please contact your assigned Provider Services Specialist.

SFCS Management

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 COVID-19 Guidance for Child Care for the most up-to-date guidance in operating your child care business during the COVID 19 pandemic.

During these trying times, it may be difficult to find Approved Health and Safety Training. Visit EMSA, call The American Heart Association at (877) 242-4277, or American Red Cross at (800) 733-2767.

Preventive Health Practices may now be found at Solano Family & Children’s Services.

For assistance in finding approved training, call Rayma Ware (707) 864-4634.
Click the link to download the Health and Safety Reimbursement Application 2020-21

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to consumers and health care providers about hand sanitizer products that are labeled as containing ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol (i.e., methyl alcohol or wood alcohol) is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through the skin or ingested and can be life-threatening when ingested. As per the FDA news update hyperlinked below, “Methanol is not an acceptable active ingredient for hand sanitizers and must not be used due to its toxic effects. FDA’s investigation of methanol in certain hand sanitizers is ongoing. The agency will provide additional information as it becomes available.”

FDA has identified more than two dozen hand sanitizers that are toxic when absorbed through the skin. Its urgent that this information be sent to child care providers, parents, state child care licensing offices, child care professional development agencies, and others who can disseminate this information.

Consumers who have been exposed to a hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate treatment for the potential toxic effects of methanol poisoning, which can include nausea, vomiting, headaches, blurred vision, permanent blindness, and seizures. Although people of all ages are at risk for methanol poisoning, “young children who accidentally ingest these products and adolescents and adults who drink these products as an alcohol (ethanol) substitute are most at risk.”

Please see the full FDA news update on hand sanitizers with methanol at https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-methanol for further information.

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.

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:

Android phones:
https://support.google.com/drive/answer/3145835?co=GENIE.Platform%3DAndroid&hl=en&oco=0

IPhones:
https://mashable.com/article/apple-iphone-scanner-notes-app/

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.

Employment Opportunities

“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

To read more about these laws,  Click here

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.