News

Children's Week Feb 2022  What a great way to kick off Children's week by celebrating with so many amazing champions who work so hard to ensure Florida’s children get the best start in life! Our CEO, Renee Jaffe and our CPO, Howard Bakalar are currently in Tallahassee advocating for Early Learning. Together we can create a major impact in our childcare communities for our providers, our families, and most importantly our children! #Childrensweek2022 #BecauseEveryChildMatters #Advocacy #ElcBroward #childrenarethefuture    

Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature authorized two qualified disaster relief payments to child care and early learning directors and instructors affected by COVID in Specific Appropriation #80B of the 2021-22 General Appropriations Act (GAA) (Chapter 2021-036, Laws of Florida). This funding is CRSSA federal funding that the State of Florida has authorized to be used for instructor disaster relief payments. These payments are provided to qualified instructors in recognition of their continuing service and dedication to Florida’s children and families.   

House Bill 419 was passed in legislation this year. Learn about what is coming. Who: VPK Providers What: Changes coming to VPK based on HB 419 When: Tuesday, November 16th at 6:30 pm on Zoom  Why: To Be Ready!!  

The ELC is pleased to announce the release of the Phase VI (6) Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Support Grants. The grants provide additional funding to Coalitions to support private early learning/child care providers and contracted school district providers that were classified as operational/open on September 1, 2021 and are providing on-site early learning/child care services on the date of application, to assist them in remaining open during the COVID-19 crisis. Phase VI CRRSA Grant Application Webinar November 10, 2021 - 10am Our ELC staff will be hosting a grant webinar on…

House Bill 419 was passed in legislation this year. Learn about what is coming. Who: VPK Providers What: Changes coming to VPK based on HB 419 When: Monday, September 13th at 10:00 am on Zoom  Why: To Be Ready!!  

The Business and Leadership Institute for Early Learning (BLI) in partnership with ELC Broward offers Synthesizing Winning Performance (SWP). This eight (8) session series of Master Classes will empower you as a business professional and entrepreneur in the industry of childcare. The course is designed specifically for early learning center or home based owners, operators or educators whose programs contract with ELC Broward County. The curriculum focuses on creative business strategies with an emphasis on quality care and education.  

Governor Ron DeSantis and the Florida Legislature authorized two qualified disaster relief payments to child care and early learning directors and instructors affected by COVID in Specific Appropriation #80B of the 2021-22 General Appropriations Act (GAA) (Chapter 2021-036, Laws of Florida). This funding is CRSSA federal funding that the State of Florida has authorized to be used for instructor disaster relief payments. These payments are provided to qualified instructors in recognition of their continuing service and dedication to Florida’s children and families.   

Great news! We're excited to announce a new rate increase for School Readiness providers! Recently, ELC Broward requested an additional rate increase for Broward's School Readiness small businesses. We just received notice that Florida's Division of Early Learning (DEL), formerly the Office of Early Learning (OEL), has approved our rate increase effective July, 1 2021.

Hurricane season is upon us.  Learn ways that child care providers can be equipped in the event of a hurricane.  

VPK Applications and Contracts for the 2021/22 Program Year Now Available on the Provide Portal. Please complete and submit both the VPK Application and Contract at the same time as we must review them together. If you are a Provider on Probation, please remember that you must have your improvement plan approved at least 30 days before the start of your VPK program’s start date. School year VPK programs can begin on or after August 18, 2021. Please be sure to register for the new program year on the Bright Beginnings website and order VPK assessment kits if you will need them for AP1. 

The Child Tax Credit in the American Rescue Plan provides relief to most working families. Starting July 15, most families are eligible to receive monthly payments of up to $250 per child ages 6-17 and $300 per child under age 6.

This is a reminder of the upcoming changes to the eligibility criteria for the School Readiness financial assistance program. Job Search or less than 20 hours of employment and/or educational activity as an initial eligibility criteria for the School Readiness program will expire on June 30, 2021.

Through the first few years of a child’s life, we watch them grow exponentially. From coos to sentences and crawls to runs, parents watch in amazement at how quickly their child learns new things and moves from one stage of development to the next. During a “normal” year, thousands of local children under the age of 6 are enrolled in a child care or prekindergarten program in which their development is enhanced by daily learning opportunities and activities.

Children are using early math skills throughout their daily routines and activities. Whether your child counts the number of red cars they see, or the recognizes a shape, math is all around them! In our May/June edition of Family Connection, you'll learn ways to help your child foster a love of math, fun counting books, ELC resources and more!

Exciting reading adventures await you! This program provides all families with young children (up to 5 years of age) free books by mail  living in Broward County.

The ELC is pleased to announce the release of the Phase V (5) Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Support Grants. The grants provide additional funding to Coalitions to support private early learning/child care providers and contracted school district providers that were classified as operational/open on April 1, 2021 and are providing on-site early learning/child care services on the date of application, to assist them in remaining open during the COVID-19 crisis.

We have some great news to share! The Office of Early Learning has waived parent copayments for the months of May and June.

As the COVID-19 vaccine becomes widely available to the public, we know how important it is to provide reliable information to our community. That's why we are thrilled to partner with our community partners from the Health Foundation of South Florida, to help share information about the COVID-19 vaccine.  

The Early Learning Coalition of Broward County (ELC Broward) is pleased to announce the addition of two new board members: Kirk Englehardt and Kristina West. 

VPK Provider: The Office of Early Learning has recently released new updates regarding the the VPK Program. Here is some important information we want to ensure you are aware of:  

We're excited to announce ELC Broward has partnered with WSFL-TV to bring information to families across Broward County. Check us out on Inside South Florida every Wednesday for news, updates and resources.

School Readiness Child Care Provider: Beginning on March 31, 2021, families receiving School Readiness funding will be asked to complete, decline or defer a Developmental Screening for all children ages birth through kindergarten eligibility (66 months) during their enrollment process.

Effective March 1, 2021, the Office of Early Learning (OEL) will be enforcing signing of the payment certificate in order for your child care provider to be reimbursed for services provided to your child(ren).

Here some information on how to Verify Your EFS MOD Overpayment Balance

The Early Learning Coalition of Broward County is working in partnership with the Office of Early Learning to gather information from child care providers on any financial challenges and needs you may have as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Please take a moment to answer these brief questions in order to give us a better understanding of how your program has been impacted.

Want to know... How to better understand your School Readiness and VPK contracts? How to properly enter children's attendance in EFS? How long the children in your program are eligible for subsidy? More about CLASS observations and how they affect your reimbursement? If you have ever wondered about how you can more easily conduct business with ELC Broward... The "A" Team is here to train you!

FOR CHILD CARE PROVIDERS: The EFS Modernization portal will be offline Thursday, February 25, 2021 from approximately 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. EST. OEL will be deploying the upcoming/past due redetermination lists that were mentioned at the last PLAN meeting.