GSC and RC COVID-19 Guidance & Resources

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued interim guidance for safely resuming K-12 schools and summer day camps, laid out in a series of three steps.

This information is intended for child care programs that remain open, and should be used in conjunction with CDC’s guidance for administrators of child care programs and K-12 schools.   This guidance does not supersede state and local laws and policies for child care programs.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has posted a Supplemental Guide for Child Care. Written in collaboration with the Offices of Child Care and Head Start for a variety of child care settings, this resource provides guidance specific to child care on issues such as:

• Social distancing;
• Child pick up and drop off procedures;
• Cleaning and disinfecting of toys and bedding;
• Safely caring for infants and toddlers; and
• Food preparation and meal service

In addition, the Guidance document provides numerous links to resources that provide even greater detail, including information regarding children’s risks concerning the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Plan, Prepare, and Respond to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

These materials were developed under a grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Education.

Funding from the Office of Great Start within the Michigan Department of Education supports the implementation of Great Start.

• All publications, including reports, films, brochures and any project materials developed with funding from this program, must state (1) the percentage and dollar amounts of the total program or project costs financed with Federal funds and (2) the percentage and dollar amount of the total costs financed by nongovernmental sources.

• For each publication that results from HHS grant-supported activities, recipients must include an acknowledgment of grant support, such as the following:

 “The project described was supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDG B-5), Grant Number 90TP0055-01-0090TP0002, from the Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

• Recipients also must include a disclaimer stating the following:

“Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Office of Child Care, the Administration for Children and Families, or the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.”

This webinar features resources and practices to support infants, toddlers, families, and teachers during times of national disasters.

Effective pay period 018 (August 16, 2020 – August 29, 2020) through pay period 114 (June 20, 2021 – July 3, 2021), child care providers may bill the child care subsidy for care provided during the school day for school-age children if a child is participating in virtual education. This includes when a child is participating in a fully virtual program, virtual learning during a hybrid program, and virtual learning offered due to temporary closures.

The Michigan Department of Education (MDE) has received a number of inquiries regarding a mandated closure of schools due to a state or federally declared Public Health Emergency and the potential impact of such a closure on the Great Start Collaboratives (GSCs) and Great Start Parent Coalitions (GSPCs) funded trainings, services, meetings, and program compliance requirements.

The Michigan Department of Education Learning at a Distance Guidance. This document is a work in progress, a largely teacher-written effort to help address the immediate needs of staff who must address the immediate needs of children – at a distance – during a pandemic. 

This link is to the Early Childhood “Instructional Resources” on the MDE COVID-19 page. 

This memorandum provides updated guidance as of April 2, 2020 for licensed child care providers during the COVID-19 state emergency.

This Family Wellness Guide was created by MDHHS and contains some good guidance when talking with families and children during the crisis.

Well-designed and thoughtfully executed online courses can effectively engage adult learners in high quality, engaging individual, small group, and whole group learning. This webinar will provide examples of how to develop and deliver content, support interaction including small group activities, promote reflection, and manage assignments as part of an online course.

This webinar focused on policies and strategies for use by technical assistance providers and child care professionals to increase mindfulness and self-care.

This article has some practical tips for facilitating virtual meetings.

In an effort to support families and teachers, the NC Office of Early Learning has created weekly family resources for home learning that do not require technology for children ages Birth through Grade 2. There are also links to many digital resources.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is working closely with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other federal, state, and local agencies to facilitate a speedy, whole-of-government response in confronting Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), keeping everyone safe, and helping detect and slow the spread of the virus. To keep the public, media and family members of those in custody and other stakeholders informed, we will update this site frequently during this extremely fluid situation.

Consistent with its sensitive locations policy, during the COVID-19 crisis, ICE will not carry out enforcement operations at or near health care facilities, such as hospitals, doctors' offices, accredited health clinics, and emergent or urgent care facilities, except in the most extraordinary of circumstances. Individuals should not avoid seeking medical care because they fear civil immigration enforcement.