Shared Services Update
Early Childhood Iowa, in collaboration with the Iowa Department of Human Services, and with technical assistance from Opportunities Exchange, is working on a multi-phase Shared Services project with proven success in other states. This project is in response to a recommendation in the Governor’s Child Care Task Force Report.
Today, we are releasing the April monthly project update. (Click on the ‘+’ sign to display the updates.) Besides the project update, we are providing summaries of an electronic survey sent to licensed centers and preschools (in November) and home-based child care providers (in December). The goal of the survey was to learn about how providers manage their business, and what, if any technology solutions they are using. The survey data provided foundational information that supports the work of the Shared Services project. The survey data summaries are on the same webpage as the project updates under ‘Shared Services Project Reports and Presentations.’ (Click on the ‘+’ sign to display the documents/resources available.)
IowaAEYC Spring Leadership Institute
Registration for the Iowa AEYC Spring Institute on April 29-30, 2022 is open!
Friday, April 29 – Jen Alexander will guide us through Fostering a Healing Community in Your Early Childhood Learning Environment During COVID-19: What Works and Why? This learning goes beyond raising awareness of trauma and helps answer the question, “What can teams do about it in early childhood settings?”
Saturday, April 30 – A Day with Lisa Murphy! Lisa Murphy will walk us through a day focused on the importance of celebrating all children in your classroom or child development home and how to build hands-on, play-based, child-centered programs.
Join Iowa AEYC either Friday, Saturday, or both days. Visit the Iowa AEYC website for additional information and click here to register.
May 10 ECI Stakeholders Alliance Reminder
The ECI Stakeholders Alliance will meet on Tuesday, May 10 from 1:00pm-3:00pm via Zoom. The Alliance is open to anyone who is interested in learning about Iowa's early childhood system is encouraged to attend. The final agenda is coming soon and will be posted to the corresponding May 10 event on the Events page of the ECI website. The afternoon will be focused on reviewing the 2,000+ family survey results that were sent electronically statewide between the months of November 2021 through February 2022 via the distribution lists of several early childhood system partners.
Free COVID-19 Tests Available
Households may order their second set of four free at-home COVID tests. There is a particular focus on reaching organizations, groups and partners that can help ensure our highest-risk and hardest-hit communities are aware of this important COVID-19 prevention resource. Starting the week of March 7, 2022, U.S. households may order their second set of four free at-home COVID-19 tests, via the COVIDtests.gov website or by calling 1-800-232-0233 (TTY 1-888-720-7489).