Announcements

CARES e-BULLETIN, October 13, 2008

Dear CARES Administrators and Partners,

The following are announcements and news items that may be of interest to you.

To be removed from this list, please contact us at cares@caccwrc.org.

Thank you,
Working for Quality Child Care
________________________________________________________________

NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS

1. Statewide CARES conference call, October 21
2. County Spotlight: Glenn County CARES Participant Survey reports significant gains in participation and program support
3. Highlighted Resource: CARES Statewide Retention Survey Final Report
4. AB 212 funding fully restored for 2008-2009 budget year
5. SB 1629 (Steinberg) signed
6. Regional CARES/AB 212 meeting notes available
7. Project Legacy Process -- see First 5 California website
8. Reminder: Annual Progress Report due October 15
9. CARES Database and Progress Report Update
10. Announcements to share?


1. Statewide CARES conference call, October 21
Save-the-Date! The next statewide CARES conference call highlights the importance of play for early learning and will be on Tuesday, October 21 from 1-2pm.
For call-in information go to the CARES T&TA Project website Events page at: http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/view/e/454

2. County Spotlight: Glenn County CARES Participant Survey reports significant gains in participation and program support
Glenn County CARES has made significant gains in participation and program support as a result of the feedback from participant surveys. Access to core early childhood courses in Spanish and practicum courses at the local community college have both become a reality this year. These issues were noted as barriers to attaining higher education. Glenn County now has their first Mentor Teacher as a result of the implementation of Track 5, which was added to the program based on the information collected from the surveys and focus groups. Furthermore, as a direct result of advocacy on behalf of participants, the county now has stronger communication and collaboration with local community colleges. CARES participants express a high level of satisfaction with the program and report that they seek out and complete more training and education as a result of their participation in CARES.

The CARES Participant Survey is available in the CARES T&TA Project Resource Library at: http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/view/uwba_r/385

3. Highlighted Resource: CARES Statewide Retention Survey Final Report
The CARES Statewide Retention Study- Final Report, was conducted by Harder+Company Community Research and was funded by First 5 California. The report covers two key components: (1) an annual examination of participant level data collected by all participating county-based programs and (2) a retention survey conducted with current and former CARES participants. This report examines the impact the CARES Program has had on agency and/or field retention.

To read the full report, download it from the CARES T&TA Resource Library at: http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/view/uwba_r/384

4. AB 212 funding fully restored for 2008-2009 budget year
Assembly Bill (AB) 212 funding was fully restored in the 2008-2009 California State Budget. AB 212 is a retention program for teachers in early care and education who work in publicly funded programs (Title V). This program provides supports and resources, including a financial incentive for teachers to continue coursework in higher education, and retain them in the field of early care and education.

For more information about AB 212's historical development, go to the CARES T&TA Project website's CARES History page at: http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/print/docs/cares/history.html

5. SB 1629 (Steinberg) signed
On September 26, Senate Bill 1629 was signed by the Governor. The bill establishes an Early Learning Quality Improvement System Advisory Committee to propose recommendations on how to evaluate and improve the quality of child development programs providing services from birth to age five, including preschool. The bill also establishes a framework for future resources necessary to achieve and maintain higher quality programs.

Giannina Perez of Children Now presented the scope of work of the Advisory Committee at the October 7 Bay Area CARES/AB 212 meeting. To read information about the Committee's charge, download the SB 1629 Steinberg bill from the California Legislation Information website: http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/07-08/bill/sen/sb_1601-1650/sb_1629_bill_20080926_chaptered.html


6. Regional CARES/AB 212 meeting notes available
Notes from regional CARES/AB 212 meetings are posted in the CARES T&TA Project Resource Library.

For the June 5, 2008 Central Valley meeting notes go to: http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/view/uwba_r/383

For the September 9, 2008 Bay Area meeting notes go to: http://cares.edgateway.net/cs/cares/view/uwba_r/382

7. Project Legacy Process -- see First 5 California website
On September 18, the California Children and Families Commission (First 5 California) approved the Project Legacy Process. To read about the process go to the First 5 California website at: http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/press/legacy.asp

8. Reminder: CARES Annual Progress Report due October 15
The 2007-2008 Annual Progress Report for CARES programs are due on Wednesday, October 15 to First 5 California. If counties do not have access to the reporting system, please contact AJWI at 415-659-8149 or techsupport@ajwi.com

9. CARES Database and Progress Report Update
The following message is from AJWI:

CARES Online Website: cares.ajwi.com
We are asking all counties to finish entering 07-08 data into the online CARES database by Oct 31, 2008.
Counties who continue to use the Access database must upload their current database to AJWI by Oct. 24, 2008. AJWI will not support the Access data extraction beyond the 07-08 data pulls. AJWI will not make any new modifications to the Access data systems.
Counties that have only partially entered 07-08 data into the Access Databases are encouraged to reenter the data online. The data extraction and reports will be much easier and you will be able to see your data immediately.
If your county has not had their client and site list uploaded from your Access database, please contact techsupport@ajwi.com and request that CARES Web data for your county be uploaded.

Progress Report Updates: progressreport.ajwi.com
Certification Page is ready for download on the Reports page.
In order to officially have 'Submitted' the Progress Report, a County Admin/Director must login and hit the Report Submittal link and then the Submit button. If your county Admin/Directors have not changed from last year then their login and password are the same as last year. If they need a new login or have forgotten their login please contact techsupport@ajwi.com. Please reference CARES Progress Report, their name, their email, their county and that they need submittal rights.
Progress Report must have the SUBMIT button clicked by end of business day October 15, 2008.

10. Announcements to Share?
Do you have a resource, idea or event to share related to CARES, AB 212 or workforce development? Please send any announcements for the CARES e-Bulletin by replying to this email, or by contacting Susan Jeong at (415) 808-4312 or sjeong@uwba.org.





The First 5 California CARES Training and Technical Assistance (T&TA) Project is brought to you by First 5 California, Working for Quality Child Care and the Child Development Training Consortium, and made possible with funds from First 5 California.