The Children's Week Florida^TM Planning Team has an important update to share for next year’s event. Children’s Week is moving to February 25 – March 1, 2024. This move will allow us to ensure the proper space, community engagement, and opportunities for our partners, children and families, legislators, and other attendees.

Although the 2024 dates for Children's Week have changed, our mission to speak out as “One Voice” in support of children and families remains the same! We hope you will join us at the State Capitol to see advocacy efforts in action and participate in educational fun for all ages.

Click the buttons below to learn how you can become involved in Children's Week Florida^TM. Together, we can #DreamBigCWFL and deliver the message that every child should be healthy, ready to learn, and able to achieve their full potential.

We are excited to announce that Kyle Baltuch and Eddie Gonzalez Loumiet have joined the Children's Forum Board of Directors!

As the Senior Vice President of Equality of Opportunity at the Florida Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Kyle oversees the Prosperity Project, Business Alliance for Early Learning, and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Project. These projects are critical components to ensuring Florida is the 10th largest economy in the world by 2030.

Eddie is the CEO of Ruvos, a leading data, security, and cloud computing company. As an award-winning information technology expert, mentor, and recognized speaker, Eddie is also an adjunct professor at Florida A&M University and Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health.

We are thankful for Kyle and Eddie and all of our Board members who guide our vision and bring a unique perspective to our work.

The Gold Seal Quality Care Program acknowledges child care facilities and family day care homes who have gone above the required minimum licensing standards to become accredited by recognized agencies. These standards reflect quality in the level of care and supervision provided to children.

Recently, the Florida Statutes changed its rules regarding eligibility and class violations when applying for/maintaining Gold Seal designation. The new rules state that a provider must be operational and attended by children for one year and not have any class I violations, three or more of the same class II violation, or three or more of the same class Ill violation that remain uncorrected within one year after the date of each citation.

If you were denied the Gold Seal designation due to violations prior to July 1, 2023, please submit a new application. You may be eligible for the designation with the new rule changes.

Listed below are some of the benefits associated with Gold Seal designation:

• Marketing tools and opportunities to increase awareness of your business to prospective families and communities
• Sales and tax exemptions for school materials and property taxes
• An increased reimbursement rate for School Readiness providers
• Satisfies program eligibility requirements for license exempt programs that provide Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK )

For more information about becoming a Gold Seal Quality Care designated provider, contact the Gold Seal Unit at [email protected] or 850-487-6300.

The One Goal Summer Conference is one of our favorite events of the year! Designed to share information on best practices in the field and to build common frameworks of knowledge, One Goal brings together early educators, providers, and leaders from around the state.

The Forum is a proud partner and member of the One Goal Summer Conference planning committee. We enjoyed meeting program participants, networking with colleagues, making new friends, and educating conference attendees about our programs and services.