Dear Early Learning Providers,

We wanted to share this important information with you as quickly as possible. It is our understanding that the Office of Early Learning will be sending an email to you directly.

Please understand this is subject to change until you receive it directly from Office Early Learning.

If you have any questions after reading the update below or need further clarification, please reach out to our Provider Services team at [email protected] or by calling the Provider hotline: 1.877. 767.4659.

Sincerely,

The Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County

Dear School Readiness and VPK Providers,

We wanted to provide you with an update on reimbursements for the July and August service periods for both School Readiness (SR) and VPK providers along with information on new grant opportunities to support your centers/programs.

This continues our efforts to help financially support your day-to-day operations, including paying teachers’ wages or incentives to retain your work force.

SR Providers Open in July and August

1.       For the July and August Service Periods, SR Providers will continue to be reimbursed based on enrollment rather than attendance even if you have intermittent closures due to COVID-19.

2.        For July and August, no parent copayments should be collected.

3.       SR providers will also continue to be eligible for the bonus for serving first responders until they have reached the maximum amount of $12,000. We are phasing out this program July 31 which means no new referrals will be accepted. However, families currently served under this program can continue to have their current referrals renewed by their employer.  More information about that program is here.

Summer and School-Year VPK Providers Open in July and August

1.       Summer VPK Providers will continue to be reimbursed for the July Service Period based on enrollment rather than attendance even if you have intermittent closures due to COVID-19.

2.       School-Year VPK Providers will be reimbursed for the August Service Period based on enrollment even if you have intermittent closures due to

COVID-19. 

CARES Act Grants Available from Your Coalition

The Office of Early Learning, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Education, is directing Florida allocations from the CARES Act to SR and VPK providers who need support to remain open or to re-open. Allocations were made in two phases.

 

Phase I : Emergency Child Care Relief Grants for Providers is for providers that were open on April 30, 2020 . Providers may have had intermittent closures; however, providers who were closed permanently after April 30, 2020 are not eligible for these funds. 

Phase II: High-Quality Reopening Support Grants for Providers is to reopen providers that were closed April 30, 2020 and have either reopened or are planning to reopen .

To be eligible, providers must have a CLASS score of 3.5 or above or hold Gold Seal status. If providers have not reopened by the projected date in their application, the coalition may recoup these funds. 

Please contact your local coalition regarding information about these grants, which are also available to private providers without contracts with their early learning coalition.

Resources and Supports

Resources for providers to support families to engage with children at home include:

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Guidance

Please also note that we are continuing to strongly recommend SR and VPK providers adhere to the CDC’s guidance for higher-risk populations. More information is available here .

Conclusion

The Department of Education and the Office of Early Learning remain committed to providing up-to-date information and guidance to our early learning community to address concerns of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The health and safety of our children, families, and providers’ staff continues to be of utmost importance.

Early Learning/Child Care Providers that contract with multiple coalitions will be paid by the coalition where the provider is physically located ("home" coalition).

Non-contracted providers will be paid by the coalition that serves the physical location of the provider.

Duplicate grants will not be offered.