Do You Have Questions??? Talk to the Experts!

If you have questions about H1N1 Flu or federal programs that help families, you are invited to participate in a conference call where you will hear from H1N1 and other federal experts.

The experts will talk about H1N1, Head Start, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, the Assets for Independence Initiative, Children’s Health Insurance, Disability Programs, Emergency Preparedness and Food Stamps. After the presentations, there will time for questions.

Midwest Regional H1N1 and Human Services Conference Call

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
or
Monday, January, 11, 2010*

10:30 a.m. – 12:00 noon CT

1-888-790-1959; Passcode 2505

[*The call topics will be repeated on the January 11th call, though H1N1 updates and participant questions may differ.]

Alert: Calls Needed

Action Steps Needed Wednesday & Thursday:

Call the White House to Support Increased Child Care Funding!! On Wednesday (December 9) and Thursday (December 10)

NACCRRA is working with other early learning coalition members to help funnel calls into the White House in support of increased funding for child care as part of the President's FY2011 budget. We know that the FY2011 budget seems far away since the President does not submit his budget to Congress until February. However, decisions about funding are being made this month. Each call will be tallied by topic at the end of each day and we want to show strength in numbers in advocating for child care funding.

1. The toll-free number to call is 1-877-227-3801. This will connect you to the White House comment line.

2. When you call the White House, you may be put on hold for a short period of time, as you would with any customer service hotline. When a White House operator comes onto the line, you are likely to be asked for your name, city, state, zip code, and your comment. Please say: "I am calling to support a significant increase in child care funding in the fiscal year 2011 budget." You can also add if you want: "Make child care a priority to help people get and keep a job!" The call should not take long but the impact of this simple action will be great. Every call is important! The higher the number of callers about child care over the next two days, the stronger the message to the President will be. Quality child care matters!

3. Be a local leader:

a. Tell your friends, family members, colleagues and community members to call the White House too.

b. Engage your online communities by posting this information and phone number on Facebook or other social networking sites and listservs. It's time for our community to get engaged!

Thanks everyone for your help. Together we can make a difference!

Your help can make a difference for Infants and Toddlers in Indiana

Hello Center Directors,

Recently you may have received an email from the Indiana Association of Child Care Resource and Referral titled "Your help can make a difference for Infants and Toddlers in Indiana." The email address that it came from was nemerson@iaccrr.org. The email asked you to complete a survey about the servcies that you are offering to Infants and Toddlers. If you received the survey and have not already completed it I urge you to do so.

The Indiana Association of Child Care Resource and Referral or (IACCRR) is the agency that provides support to all 11 child care resource and referral agencies across the state of Indiana including Child Care Answers. Your input on this survey can make a difference for Infants and Toddlers across the state. If you have questions you can contact our Infant and Toddler specialist Rae at 636-5727 x 248.

Holiday Leadership Party

ATTENTION: Directors, Owners & Administrators of child care programs...

You're invited to join a first ever, one-of-a kind holiday leadership party!!~

• Party will take place via a live conference call
• No special equipment is required to join- just a phone
• Only 200 spaces for this worldwide 90- minute call
• You will recieve... ideas that you can implement immediately to promote your child care program and have a holiday season that really sizzles with positive attitudes and motivation that will propel your program to the next level of success in 2010!
• WIN PRIZES!-- Prizes will be given away every 15 minutes
• You can register for this FREE party... http://www.leadershipconnectionforchildcare.com/public/490.cfm
• Host: Julie Bartkus, The Leadership Connection
• Date: Thursday, December 10th
• Time: 7:00 PM (CST); 8:00 PM (EST); 5:00 PM (PST)

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow - Bad Weather / Hazardous road Policy

I can not believe that I woke up to snow today. Where did the sun go? It seems hard to believe that Winter is already here. Traffic sure was slow going today. With all of this in mind I thought that I would share our Bad Weather / Hazardous Road Policy.

Hazardous weather conditions may cause some trainings or mentoring visits to be canceled on short notice. This policy provides some guidelines to follow for what to do in case of bad weather or hazardous road conditions.

• If the local school system where the training/visit is cancelled, the training/visit will be cancelled.
• If there are hazardous driving conditions as stated by the Indiana State Police, such as ice, the training/visit will be canceled. Due to travel distance of our trainers/mentors, roads may or may not be hazardous at the destination of the training/visit or starting point of the trainer/mentor. Travel routes will be closely monitored by the trainer/mentor team and if hazardous conditions are present, the training/visit will be cancelled.
• Trainers/mentors will try to contact all participants via phone using the number that is provided when you registered. Please provide Child Care Answers with the best number to contact you. Trainers/mentors will print off the most recent registration information to take with them in case calls need to be made.
• Trainers/mentors will contact the Education Coordinator for cancellation and the Education
Coordinator will contact the location of the training with cancellation information.
• Child Care Answers will make the best effort to contact local TV and/or radio stations for
cancellation of trainings.

If you have a question as to if a training or visit is still scheduled or has been cancelled, contact the Child Care Answers office at 800-272-2937.

Online Training Tracking

We have recently started using a new module in our database that allows us to track trainings for individuals rather than for child care locations. What does this mean for you?

1. You will now be able to have a transcript of all your child care trainings in one place and available for YOU to down load at ANY time!
2. You will be able to sign up for all of our traings online at your leisure!
3. YOU can update your information at anytime!

Once you have registered for a training, you will be able to access the training site, we will send you a postcard with your User ID and login information.

If you have any questions about this new program, please contact me at 317-636-5727 ext. 249.

Jan - Mar 2010 Training Calendar Available Online

The first training calendar of 2010 (can you belive it!?) is now available at our website here.

CEU Renewal Opportunities

Do you need to renew your CDA?
Child Care Answers offers opportunities to receive 4.5 CEU


Promoting Social Emotional CompetenciesPreschool Session (1.5 CEU’S)
Preschoolers and Challenging Behaviors: These 12 hours will take a look at challenging behaviors in the 3-5 year old classroom. A model of social and emotional competence will be used throughout and many teaching strategies will be shown. Come prepared to learn, listen, share and participate in rethinking challenging behaviors and making children more successful in your child care setting. Participants must commit to all nights and complete required assignments in order to obtain the training certificate and CEU’s.

DATES/TIME: February 23, 24, 25 and March 2 ~ 6pm-9pm
LOCATION: Day Nursery Lilly 3522 N Central Ave, Indianapolis, 46204
COST:$60

Attend all of the following trainings and complete homework assignment to receive 1 CEU-
*Science Play~ Come explore the science play of young children! We will be taking a look at the Science Early Childhood Foundations and discuss how to make play based learning meaningful! This will be a hands-on learning experience focusing on teaching young children science. Please bring your copy of the Foundations. ($15)— Tuesday, February 16th ~ 6-9 pm
*Block Play~ Think block play is “just play”? Come and join us for a look at how beneficial block play really is in the early childhood classroom. We will explore the Early Childhood Foundations throughout this training as well as looking at an appropriate set up for the block area and items to include in the block area. Please bring your copy of the Foundations. ($15)- Wednesday, February 16th ~ 6-9 pm
*Language, Literacy, Lingo, B-I-N-G-O!~ Fun 3-5 Year old language and language and literacy activities to keep children learning about letters, sounds, and books! We will create something for you to take with you! We will explore how the Early Childhood Foundations connect. IF you have a copy of the Foundations please bring it! ($15)- Thursday, February 18th ~ 6-9 pm
LOCATION: Day Nursery Lilly 3522 N Central Ave, Indianapolis, 46204


Watch Me Grow & Help Me Learn - must attend both five hour sessions and complete homework to receive 1 CEU. In this session participants will learn appropriate activities to stimulate the development of infants and toddlers; gain understanding of language development and early literacy; identify realistic expectations for infants and toddlers; learn to recognize temperament types in infants and toddlers and learn ways to make your environment infant and toddler friendly. ($45)
Dates: Saturdays March 13th and 20th ~ 9 am-2 pm
LOCATION: Day Nursery Lilly 3522 N Central Ave, Indianapolis, 46204

Child Abuse Prevention Conference~ Keynote speaker Sgt. Terry Hall will captivate his audience! Learn how you can make a difference. Eight break out sessions will be available for your personal choice. Basic Prevention Strategies, Online Predators and Sexual Abuse Prevention are just a few sessions available. Prevent Child Abuse Indiana will be presenting Child Abuse 101 and 102. NO ON SITE REGISTRATION . Ask about how you can receive 1 CEU. ($20) Date: Saturday March 27th ~ 9 am– 3 LOCATION: Southside of Indianapolis