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ACCA August 2016 Newsletter
Dear ACCA Members,
I hope you had a wonderful summer and that everything is going smoothly as Back to School season is in full swing. I expect that many of you returned a DES contract at the end of June and I just want to remind you to take a second look and make sure you are implementing all of the changes required by CCDBG such as Group Size, Health and Safety Pre-Service Training, and Expulsion Policy. We have been working closely with DES to bring the provider perspective to their decision making process and will continue to do so with additional changes and new training requirements in the coming months. Please let Barbie or me know if we can answer and questions or help you with implementation.
Also, please Save the Date for the ACCA Annual Membership Meeting on November 16th, 2016! We look forward to seeing you all there!
Best,
Erin
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DES Waitlist Release
The Department of Economic Security announced great news Friday for many Arizona families looking to receive child care for their children. The DES Child Care Administration (CCA) released 4,385 children from a Priority-1 wait list, representing 2,298 families. Child care assistance is now available to an additional 4,385 that were the highest priority on the wait list. All released families will receive a notice in the mail informing them of this change in status. Released families are asked to contact their Child Care Administration office with their Child Care Provider selection and verification of their eligibility. Once eligibility is confirmed, they will be able to receive financial assistance with child care costs.
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DES Health and Safety Deadline
Don't forget that August 31st, is the deadline to grandfather existing staff for the DES Pre-Service Health and Safety Training!
- Prior to August 31, 2016: The Director can "certify" that staff has completed the training by going to the ADES Health and Safety Pre-service Training Grandfather link located on the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry, and checking the boxes of the training topics completed by staff. Click here for instructions on how to Grandfather staff in the Registry
- On or after August 31, 2016: All staff who are new or who have not completed the training must attend the ADES Health and Safety Training Series within 90 days of being hired.
If you aren't going to grandfather your staff, please make sure they register for the full 12 hour training course through the Arizona Early Childhood Workforce Registry at
www.azregistry.org
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After more than six years' hiatus, KidsCare will finally be available as a health coverage choice for working families. This is exciting news for Arizona families who have been fighting for an affordable option for medical insurance for their children.
Beginning July 26, families across Arizona who earn too much to qualify for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), yet cannot afford the cost of private health insurance, will be able to apply for low- or no-cost coverage through KidsCare. KidsCare is tailored specifically to the needs of Arizona children, some 30,000 of whom may be eligible, according to AHCCCS.
The earliest coverage begins on September 1.
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On June 15, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a hearing
"Implementing the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014: Perspectives of Stakeholders
." The Chair of the Senate HELP Committee, Senator Alexander (R-TN) turned the hearing over to Senator Burr (R-NC) to chair in recognition of Senator Burr's leading role in pushing for reauthorization of CCDBG. Senator Burr called the reauthorization "a landmark bill that has ushered in a new era in safe, quality child care for low income families and children."
When asked about the cost of quality, Linda gave a shout out to the Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships. She explained "that EHS-CCP grants are closing the gap between low state subsidy rates and the cost of high quality care. These investments are now supporting 275 new EHS-CCP and Early Head Start Expansion grantees that partner with 1,300 local child care centers and 800 family child care homes. Through the partnerships, 32,000 infants and toddlers will receive comprehensive services, health and developmental screenings, and the enhanced curriculum offered through Early Head Start."
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ACCA has a great new resource to share with our members, Menlo Group Commercial Real Estate. The team at Menlo Group will be at our Annual Meeting in November and provide real estate advice in this newsletter, but they are a great resource for ACCA members year round. Whether your organization is relocating, embarking on an expanding business, looking to reduce costs or simply needing to renegotiate terms of your current lease, you need a commercial tenant representation firm who knows and specializes in Child Care Commercial Real Estate. With their extensive market knowledge of sub-markets and industry types and unparalleled negotiating skills, they will identify the perfect location for your business and negotiate the best deal for you.
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Keith Slater of Slater and Associates, ACCA's preferred insurance provider shares some helpful insights on Insuring Business Personal Property exclusively for ACCA Members.
Insuring or under insuring your "Business Personal Property (BPP)"
An easy understanding of "BPP" is: if you left the building to go another location; what is the replacement value of the items you would take with you such as office equipment, toys, books, cribs, etc. (You would not take tenant improvements such as bathrooms, walls, plumbing, etc. that you installed for your business. These items belong to the landlord.)
The most common problem a center owner has is that they view this value as the current used value; or what the items were purchased for years ago; or the fantastic low prices they paid for on a sale. If the insurance policy is properly written, it should be on a "replacement value". If the insurance policy is written on a "replacement value" and a loss occurs, the insurance company will ask you to provide them with evidence of the replacement cost from vendors. The insurance company will insist you itemize each item for which you want to be reimbursed. It would be a good idea to keep pictures of your rooms so you can remember what you want to claim.
Many center severely underestimate the replacement cost of the BPP. It is not uncommon to be 50% under insured. If you pay a limit of $40,000 on you contents and you should have $60,000, the additional premium may only be $100. The centers I insure that had losses on their BPP were shocked at the cost to replace the damaged BPP.
If you would like any assistance in this area, please call me at 503-319-4894.
Keith Slater
971-801-1269 Direct (new)
503-319-4894 Mobile
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Children's Safety Symposium
Save the Date
Saturday, February 4th, 2017
DoubleTree Tempe
2100 S Priest Drive
Tempe, AZ 85282
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Celebrate the Young Child Conference
Save the Date
Saturday, March 4th, 2017
Glendale Civic Center
5750 West Glenn Drive
Glendale, Arizona 85301
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The First Five Years Fund commissioned a poll with regard to how voters feel about early childhood education. Overwhelmingly, voters believe that early education is important.
78% of Trump supporters and 97% of Clinton supporters believe Congress and the next President should work together to make quality early childhood education more accessible and affordable to low- and middle-income families.
The poll results are great but not surprising. From information posted on FFYF's web site, it is unclear whether those individuals polled were also asked about the financing of early learning. It's great to have support, it's a separate question whether that support translates to funding to enable such initiatives to be expanded or strengthened.
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Arizona Child Care Association | erin@azcca.org | 602-252-3845 |
www.azcca.org
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