What Works Virtual Conference

What Works! is designed to shine a spotlight on strengths-based approaches to preschool teacher-driven change in early childhood learning environments. What Works! is a three-week Virtual Conference sponsered by the Institue for Teaching

Because the conference will be conducted entirely online, participants may attend whenever their schedules permit, without the burden of travel costs, loss of classroom time, or the inconvenience of being away from home. In this conference, some of the country's foremost thought leaders, practitioners, researchers, and educators in strengths-based strategies will join participants in an online learning community... go to http//www.whatworksconference.org

Autism Famliy Resource Center

Grandparents' Support Group

( For grandparents of children with autism )

Monthly support and educational meetings

November 11, 2009 focus is "Medicaid Waivers"

December 9, 2009 focus is Complimentary dinner and social

From 5:30-7:30pm RSVP to Diane at (317) 882-1914 or Linda (317) 816-1381

Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month

TIME: 5:30-7:30pm (The speaker begins at 6:00pm)

LOCATION: Autism Family Resource Center at Easter Seals Crossroads, 4740 Kingsway Drive,Indianpolis, IN 46205

Autism Resources

Indiana Resource Center for Autism

Supporting individuals with Autism, Asperger's Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorders

For more information or resources contact the: Indiana Resource Center for Autism

2853 east Tenth Street

Bloomington, IN 47408-2696

Phone: (812) 855-6508

TT: (812) 855-9396

Fax: (812) 855-9630

email: prattc@indiana.edu

website: www.iidc.indiana.edu/irca

"Helping Service Providers Cope With Stress"

The Latino Coalition is pleased to offer a FREE half day training on stress management and domestic violence in the workplace. This training is designed to help ensure that service providers learn how to cope with stress, especially when dealing with victims of domestic violence & sexual abuse. Learn how to understand the safety issues to protect a co-worker who has been a victom of abuse.

WHEN: Thursday, October 29, 2009 from 9:00am - 12:30pm
WHERE: Julia Carson Building 300 E. Fall Creek N. Parkway Dr. Indianapolis, IN 46205 On the 2nd floor

The Speakers:

• Steven P. Rossetti, Director of training & Development at the Synergy Companies Inc. in Chicago, IL
• Mark King, Adjunct Faculty, Purdue School of Engineering & Technology. Manager of D.C. Human Resources at Home goods.

Please call, or email to RSVP at (317) 926-4673 or (317) 926-5551 , afigueroa@indianalatinocoalition.org

Baby Food Recall

http://www.plumorganics.com/pdfs/AppleCarrotBabyPouch.pdf

Please visit the above link for more information regarding this important recall!

Disney on Ice

Disney On Ice presents Celebrations! is coming to Conseco Fieldhouse, Dec. 2-6, 2009. The school performance is Thursday, Dec. 3 at 10:30 a.m. with ALL TICKETS $10 when purchased through the group sales office or by using the school link listed below through Ticketmaster. Education has never been so fun when experiencing Disney On Ice presents Celebrations! This event offers the educational components of athleticism (physical education), skating in motion (science), live action performance (art and drama), celebrations throughout the world (history/geography) - just to name a few. Students will walk away remembering to celebrate the everyday joys and successes in their lives.

Make an ordinary day extraordinary when Disney On Ice presents Celebrations! brings more than 50 Disney characters to Indianapolis! This action-packed, all-new show features a magical montage of celebrations and is set to a blend of contemporary music and favorite Disney songs. There is something to celebrate for everyone as audiences join in some of the world’s most popular festivities, including a winter wonderland with Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, a Halloween haunt with the Disney villains, a Hawaiian luau with Lilo and Stitch, a Royal Ball with the Disney Princesses, a Very Merry Unbirthday Party and more in the celebration of the century. Disney On Ice presents Celebrations! will be a memorable and uplifting experience for the entire classroom!

TWO WAYS TO ORDER YOUR TICKETS NOW:
1.) ON-LINE and print an order form at http://www.indygroupsales.webs.com/ Follow instructions on order form to mail (with check or credit card) or fax (credit card only) completed orders. Orders prioritized by date received with payment. When using this option, there is no TicketMaster fee, the deadline to submit is Friday, November 20 and tickets are mailed out before the performance. Email questions to:

2.) LOG-ON to: http://www.ticketmaster.com/promo/1un4v2 Use the school discount code: SCHOOL. Orders processed without the code will not receive the discount. There is an additional TicketMaster fee (10%), although discounted tickets are accessible until the day before the performance when using this process.

Tuesday, October 13, at 8:00pm EDT, Webinar For the Love of Literacy: Six Critical Pre-Reading Skill

"For the Love of Literacy: Six Critical Pre-Reading Skills for Preschool Children,"

Free web training for all:

Register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/231825906

Highlights High Five Editor Kathleen Hayes will help you learn how to maximize your “reading together time” and set your preschool child on a joyous path to reading success. You’ll learn what you can do to nurture your child’s natural interest in sounds, letters, and words so he or she will love reading. Kathleen will explain simple steps you can take, beginning when your child is an infant, to stimulate six critical early research-proven reading skills. The session will explore:• why rhymes and rhyming stories are so important;• why talking together is key to reading success; • what children can learn about print and books when you read aloud, and;• how to make learning about letters interactive, fun, and meaningful.

Wednesday's adventures in Washington DC

I started my day today by attending a Congressional Briefing titled Children in the Federal Budget which was sponsored by First Focus. At the briefing they released the newest edition of their comprehensive guide to all federal spending on children. The guide includes information for past years as well all the way back to fiscal year 2005 to the present proposal by President Obama for fiscal year 2010. If you would like to check out their data you can find it by going to www.childrensbudget.org. The report for the most part includes spending for children birth to 18. It is very interesting. Congressman Danny Davis was in attendance and spoke about the bill that he plans to re-introduce later this week that will require the President to submit a children's budget to help direct greater attention ton the needs of our youngest citizens. The "Children's budget Act" would require a detailed account of all the federal funding for children and children's programs, including a detailed breakdown of spending by agency.

I then attended a the Children's Leadership Council meeting in the National Association of Education for Young Children's building. This is the second time I have been in their building and I love visiting it! They have statues of children in fun poises right outside their front door. The Children's Leadership Council is VERY exciting! It is a group of over 50 children's organizations that have come together with the purpose of having the early childhood community speak with one voice to the powers that be in the Federal Government. Today they were talking about a meeting that they have coming up in October where they will be meeting with an individual from the Presidents office. This is exciting because for many years the legislatures and senators have been saying that the early childhood community needed to come together and decide what they wanted. The Children's Leadership Council is helping these agency develop a consistent message that all of the agencies can share when they visit the hill.

Next I attended a CLASP meeting that was held in the office of the National Women's Law Center. CLASP's mission is to develop and advocate for policies at the federal, state and local levels that improve the lives of low income people. In particular, we seek policies that work to strengthen families and create pathways to education and work. Today they were talking about possible options for increased funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant. The Child Care and Development Block Grant is the money that is used for multiple programs in Indiana. It is the money for Voucher dollars, Paths to QUALITY and many training opportunities for Child Care Providers among other things.

The meetings that I attended today were also attended by agencies such as Zero to Three, NAEYC and Head Start. It was exciting to see the national organizations all work together. It makes me feel good to know that these wonderful individuals are in Washington DC working for polices that support children and families.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before returning home on Friday. I hope that you have enjoyed hearing about my adventures. I will post again tomorrow.

Have a great night!
Mindy

Long and productive day on the Hill

What a busy day on Capitol Hill today. I started with a tour of the Capitol building. Wow, what a beautiful place! Did you know that each state gets to send two statues to be on display in the Capitol Building? Indiana has Oliver Hazard Perry Morton and Lewis Wallace. My favorite statue was Ronald Reagan from California. He really stood out amongst all of the older statue designs. What was great about it is they actually used pieces of the Berlin Wall in the base of the statue. What an experience!

I was lucky enough to have gotten Gallery passes from Representative Burton's office yesterday. With these passes I was able to visit both the House and the Senate Floor. With the Gallery passes they let you go into the balcony while congress is in session. It is really cool to see it all in action! If you ever visit Washington DC make sure to get Gallery passes from your Congressperson's office. All you have to do is walk into their office and ask for them. You do have to go through a great deal of security to get in but it is worth it.

I then visited Representative Carson's office. I met with his staff person Amirah Salaam. She was very nice and interested in the field of early childhood. She asked me to send her further information on some of NACCRRA's agenda. It is always a good sign when they ask for more information to be sent to them. I shared with her about a scandal that is occurring in the Wisconsin's CCDF voucher system. Among other things they have discovered that they have been paying voucher dollars to at least 4 child care sites that have registered sex offenders living at them. They have also discovered that the program has been paying almost 500 child care providers who have a criminal history. I shared this information with Representative Carson's office in hope that they may be able to use it to get Representatives from Wisconsin to co-sponsor his recent bill to require all licensed child care providers and any provider who receives CCDF vouchers to have comprehensive background checks.

By the time I got back to NACCRRA's office Amirah had already emailed me about an event that is occurring tomorrow on the Hill that she thought that I might like to attend. So.... Tomorrow I will be attending the Congressional briefing on Children in the Federal Budget being sponsored by First Focus. I will let you know how it goes. Have a good night everyone, I am off to attend the Parent Webinar that is being sponsored by NACCRRA tonight. This isn't the first NACCRRA webinar I have participated in but it is the first one I have attended in person.

By the way... did you know that the Cannon House Office Building has a beauty shop in it? I found that to be very interesting.

Hand Sanitizer Danger

With flu season upon us, I wanted to take a moment to remind you of the dangers associated with alcohol based hand sanitizers. One of our staff members got an email from her mother today and we wanted to find out if these horror stories were in fact true. According to snopes.com they are. Although the specific anecdotes in the email were not verified, snopes reports that there are documented cases of alcohol poisoning and intoxication associated with hand sanitizer. Remember that this is a form of alcohol (ethyl alchol) that causes intoxication, not isopropyl alcohol commonly used for sanitizing injection areas.

Snopes goes on to say that ingesting as little as an ounce or two could be fatal to a toddler. So please remember to keep these products out of the reach of the little ones this fall and winter, and if you allow them to use it, do not let them ingest any and keep an eye on them until they have rubbed it in and the alcohol has evaportated.

Voluntary Tylenol Recall

You may have heard that McNeil Consumer Healthcare (the makers of TYLENOL®) is voluntarily recalling certain lots of Children's and Infants' TYLENOL® liquid products that were manufactured between April, 2008 and June, 2008. All products manufactured met internal specifications. However, the company is implementing this recall because during this period, an unused portion of one inactive ingredient did not meet all quality standards. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, it was decided to recall all Children's and Infants' TYLENOL® liquid products listed below, which were made during this time.

Parents and caregivers who have questions or concerns should contact their child's health care provider or our consumer call center at 1-800-962-5357 (available Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time). Consumers can find the lot numbers on the bottom of the box containing the liquid product and also on the sticker that surrounds the product bottle. The lot numbers of the affected products are listed below.

These actions do not apply to Children's TYLENOL® Meltaways and Junior Strength TYLENOL® Meltaways. The voluntary recall applies only to select lots of Children's and Infants' TYLENOL® liquid products.

Recalled Products - Full List

Lot #
Product Description

SBM041, SBM067, SCM037, SDM027, SEM109
Children's Tylenol Plus Cold MS Suspension 4 oz. Grape

SBM042, SCM015, SCM036, SDM034
Children's Tylenol Suspension 4oz. Grape

SBM043, SBM044, SCM029
Children's Tylenol Suspension 4oz. Bubble Gum

SBM045, SCM011, SCM030, SDM035
Children's Tylenol Suspension 4oz. Strawberry

SBM064, SCM033, SDM020
Infant’s Tylenol Grape Suspension Drops 1/4oz.

SBM065, SCM005, SCM006, SDM032
Infant's Tylenol Suspension 1/2oz. Cherry

SBM066, SCM068
Children's Dye Free Suspension 4oz. Cherry

SBM068, SCM035, SCM070, SCM080, SDM005
Children's Tylenol Suspension 4oz. Cherry

SBM069, SBM070, SCM081, SDM006
Children's Tylenol Plus Cough & Runny Nose 4oz. Cherry

SCM012, SCM067, SDM007, SDM068
Infant's Tylenol Suspension Drops 1/2oz. Grape

SCM013, SCM014, SCM069
Children's Tylenol Plus Flu 4oz. Bubble Gum

SCM016, SFM024
Children's Tylenol Plus Cold Suspension 4oz. Grape

SCM017
Children's Tylenol Plus Cough/ST Suspension 4oz. Cherry

SCM082, SDM039, SDM040
Infant's Tylenol Suspension Drops 1oz. Grape

SCM083, SCM084, SDM008
Infant's Tylenol Dye Free Suspension 1oz. Cherry

SDM064
Children’s Tylenol Pediatric Suspension 1oz. Cherry

SDM038, SDM009
Infant's Tylenol Suspension Drops 1oz. Cherry

SDM033
Children's Tylenol Plus Cold/Allergy 4oz. Bubble Gum

SDM078
Infant's Tylenol Drops 1oz. Grape

SCM034
Infant’s Tylenol Grape Suspension Drops H/G 1/2oz.

SDM028
Children's Tylenol Suspension 4oz. Cherry, Hospital Govt.


Consumers with questions should call (800) 962-5357.

Visit to Dan Burton's office (Indiana's 5th district)

I visited Dan Burton's office yesterday. He was not in town because there were no votes for the day but I was able to visit with his Legislative Assistant Mary Valentino. This was at least the third time I have visited with her and I was encouraged to realize that she remembered my last visit and what I had talked about with her. My first trip to his office was about 6 years ago and what I remember about that trip was that I got the feeling that the staff person was not at all interested in my visit. I can't say that about Mary. She was interested in what I had to say. She didn't seem as if she agreed with all of it but at least she was interested and seemed to understand what I had to say. The piece that she found to be most interesting was the chart that shows the different regulations for the different types of child care in Indiana. You can find that char here http://www.childcareanswers.com/facilityregulations.html. This was the first time I had taken that document with me and I am glad that I did. I am hopeful that Representative Burton will consider becoming a co-sponsor for the new bill that Representative Carson has put forth to require Comprehensive back ground checks for all child care providers who accept the CCDF vouchers dollars.

Want to find out about a bill

I want to share this website with you. http://www.thomas.gov It is a wonderfully helpful site that helps you find out all the information you could want to know on proposed bills. Want to find out how your congressman has voted on a particular bill or what bills they have introduced or cosponsored? This is the site for you.

Mindy's first time at a congressional hearing

On September 24th I attended a hearing on "The Future of Newspapers: The Impact on the Economy and Democracy. It was a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee that is Chaired by Congresswoman Carolyn Malony, a democrat from New York's 14 district. In attendance was 3 other congressmen. Four individuals testified on the issue.

The Internet has had a large impact on the newspaper industry. There print readership has gone down as individuals have begun to read the paper on the Internet. They are also having problems because their largest source of revenue, advertising, has gone down in favor of advertising on the Internet.

What I found to be very interesting is that the bill that Congresswoman Malony had just introduced was not really what the newspaper industry wanted. Her bill proposes to make it possible for newspapers to become non-profit industries. The Newspaper industry is concerned about that because they do not want their papers to be censored by the federal government. They want to continue to have freedom of the press.

If you are ever in Washington D.C. you should try to attend a hearing. The one that I attended lasted about 2 hours because it was interrupted when the congressman had to go and vote. Most hearings are open to the public. You just walk in and find a seat. You will see many congressman's staff members but not always the congressman themselves. The staffers job is to take notes for their boss and to fill them in later. The hearing that I attended had the chairwoman and one other congressman in the hearing the whole time. One congressman kept coming and going and one came in towards the end. I hear that their schedules are so packed that they are not always able to stay long.

Imagine & Explore Kids Day 2009

Saturday, October 3rd 10am - 4pm

North End of the Downtown Canal at 11th Street

Free Event

• A sports area, including the Indians, Colts, Pacers and Ice


• 
  
  Indianapolis Symphony Petting Zoo


• 
  
  The Imagination Station, where kids can win Imagination Movers prizes, including tickets to their upcoming concert in Indy


• 
  
  The UL Safety Game Show


• 
  
  The Children's Museum Haunted House friendly Ghosts and Goblins


• 
  
  Free Kid IDs


• 
  
  Arni's Restaurants kids activities area


• 
  
  Bouncertown will have inflatable bounce houses


• 
  
  Indymomslikeme.com activity area


• 
  
  Performances throughout the day by the Indianapolis Children's Choir, and the Radio Disney Road Crew, on the 5th 3rd Bank Entertainment Stage

Visits to the Hill

I will be visiting Representatives Carson and Burtan as well as Senator Lugar next Monday and Tuesday. I would love to be able to take your stories with me when I visit. Send your stories about your families experience with child care to my email. mindyb@childcareanswers.com. I would also like to hear from all of you providers. Have you benefited from a Teach scholarship? Have you enjoyed having a mentor work with you to improve the quality of care that you provide? Have you lost enrollment due to the economy? Send me your stories.

I told you last night that I am going to my first hearing tomorrow. It should be interesting. It is about the future of News Papers. I would have preferred to attending a hearing related to a child care issue but we can't influence the hearing schedule.

I have always wanted Indianapolis to expand their public transportation systems. After spending two days trying to get back and forth to work by using a shuttle and the subway I have decided that there might be a downside to using public transportation. :-) I guess that there are ups an downs to everything.

Have a great evening,
Mindy

Two Weeks in Washington DC

2 1/2 years ago I was lucky enough to be chosen to participate in the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) inaugural leadership development program with 5 other wonderful women from across the country. I have learned a lot about child care resource and referral in these two years and have made many changes in my agency as a result. I am nearing the end of this wonderful program and I am lucky enough to spend two weeks interning at the NACCRRA office in their public policy division. I will spend the next two weeks updating you on what I learn. For an example did you know that Representative Andre' Carson has introduced a bill to require comprehensive back ground checks for all child care providers that care for children who are on the CCDF voucher program? On Thursday I am going to attend my first hearing. I will let you know how that goes. Check back for updates.

Have a wonderful evening!

Mindy Bennett

Computer Training Classes!

Do you wish you knew more about Word, Excel, and PowerPoint? Would you like to send out a jazzy newsletter to your parents every month? How about an attractive flyer that showcases your skills as a professional child care provider? Would you like to create spreadsheets to help you run your business? When I call you for updates are you at a loss to tell me the ages of all your children and how many of each? Would you like to create financial spreadsheets for you and your parent's records? How about a nifty little powerpoint animation to keep your children occupied and teach them somthing at the same time?

Well you can do all of this! It is really easier than you think and fun! I will be teaching a "101" level class for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Look in your upcoming Training Calendar, or you can call Joslyn Sullivan at 636-5727 ext. 257 to get in on this fun and exciting computer training opportunity! The cost for each class is $10.00.

Indy Kids Consignment Sale

Indy Kids Consignment will be having their Fall sale on SEPTEMBER 18-19 from 9am-5pm at the Hamilton County Fairgrounds, Expo Hall A Indy Kids Consignment started in 2005and has had two sales a year since then. They have grown from a sale in the front yard to offering 4,000 square feet of high quality, new and gently used children's clothing, gear and furniture, as well as maternity clothing. Register now to sell your items at a sale with experience that draws over a thousand shoppers and over 100consignors at each sale. For complete details visit our website at www.ikcsale.com. 9am-5pm. Free. Hamilton County 4H Fairgrounds. 2003 Pleasant Street, Noblesville. WWW.IKCSALE.COM.

Paths to QUALITY - Super Saturday Introduction Sessions

What is Paths to QUALITY?

Paths to QUALITY is a voluntary program that gives child care providers the opportunity to enhance their businesses by providing knowledge, training, and guidance in providing higher quality child care.

􀂐 It identifies four levels of high quality care and provides resources and incentives to advance to the next level of care
􀂐 It provides a referral system that helps parents locate participating Paths to QUALITY providers like you

Best of all, Paths to QUALITY is a free resource, and it’s easy to do! You can participate using the easy, self-guided workbook, or
Child Care Answers your local Child Care Resource and Referral Agency can provide a mentor to help you through the process.

Saturday September 19, 2009
Choose from:
10am—12pm
Or
1pm—3pm
Contact Crystal Coleman to Reserve your Spot today!
317-926-3401 opt. 1 or crystalc@childcareanswers.com
**** Snacks will be provided ****

What are other providers saying about Paths to QUALITY?

“Dedication to quality is always exciting. I love the work we do in PTQ overlaps into other programs we are participating in. My staff does a better job maintaining quality indicators not just using them & forgetting them. Thank you!”

“We now learn while we play. The children really enjoy all the centers and so do I even in idle time they are playing and learning.”

“My mentor, x, has made it worth my time and effort for this training. When I thought my daycare didn’t have anything else to offer, X has helped me to see that it’s great to help others when they need you. Good childcaring is very important to parents and I have the power to be a great child care provider. Thank you for “Paths to QUALITY”!”


If you are unable to attend Super Saturday please contact Crystal for other opportunities to sign on to Paths to QUALITY.