Providers from all across the state are welcome. Whether you are just getting started or have an established child care business, if you are staff, or simply interested in the childcare field, CASY CCRR's Child Care Provider Fair is a great opportunity to connect with other providers and staff, meet state support agencies, connect with community organizations, and access resources that will support your business. Providers across the state are invited to attend.

There will be an opportunity for you and staff to receive free fingerprinting from IdentoGo. Visit the CASY website to view the list of state partners that will be there.

While this is not a training event, it will provide opportunity for networking and meeting other child care provider professionals like yourself. There will be a Family Child Care Network meeting for Family Child Care Home directors during the fair. If you are a home provider, please watch for a special invitation to the Central Family Child Care Network.

Register for the Provider Fair and/or free fingerprinting here.

Are you ready to thrive in your family child care career? Join the Family Child Care Network now to connect with other providers and take your business to the next level. Share strategies for operating your business, get support from like-minded child care pros, discover exclusive training opportunities and resources, gain the recognition you deserve, and ensure children in your care are learning and thriving. Home providers play a vital role in Indiana’s child care landscape. Family Child Care Networks provide a supportive community, professional development and introduce new opportunities.

Email Trisha Guinn tguinn@casyonline.org to join your local Family Child Care Network today.

Learn more here.

In honor of Provider Appreciation Day, the winners of our 2024 raffle are:

Cookie Jar Daycare in Clinton

Precious Playmates in Martinsville

The Growing Garden Learning Center in Mooresville

You can now apply for the Child Care Management System (CCMS) program, provided by the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning. CCMS offers solutions to streamline your essential business operations.

View SPARK Learning Lab webinars and tutorials on six different topics:

1. Unlock Efficiency: Your Free Child Care Management System (CCMS)
2. Take Charge of your Program with a Free Child Care Management System
3. How to apply for a Child Care Management System (CCMS)
4. Meet Alliance CORE
5. Meet brightwheel
6. Meet Playground

Talk to a SPARK Help Desk representative about any of the CCMS options available to you, call

1-800-299-1627 or email BusinessSupport@indianaspark.com. Be sure to apply for this opportunity before July 15th to transform your child care operations through CCMS.

The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning (OECOSL) recently announced it will transition to an enrollment-based voucher payment model. This will help lower process burdens and increase financial stability for providers while enhancing service experiences for families.

Provider involvement is required throughout this process. Attend an upcoming webinar to learn more about these changes, the impacts and benefits to your program, and how you can begin preparing for the transition.

• Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. ET — Register Here (Español)

• June 25th 1:30-2:30pm ET Registration link
• June 26th 6:30-7:30pm ET Registration link
• June 27th 1:30-2:30pm ET (Spanish) Registration link

• July 15th 1:30-2:30pm Registration link
• July 16th 1:30-2:30pm ET (Spanish) Registration link
• July 17th 6:30-7:30pm ET Registration link

Update your program anytime with this link or the QR code below.

Join the Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) and internationally renowned literacy experts Matt Glover and Kathy Collins for summer sessions focused on early reading and writing with children.

Sessions for early childhood educators and administrators will be available June and July from noon to 1 p.m. ET in the Indiana Learning Lab. June sessions include:

• June 10 | Reading Aloud to Children to Build their Vocabularies with Kathy Collins

• June 11 | Reading Aloud to Children to Build their Background Knowledge with Kathy Collins
• June 17 | Ideas for Supporting Young Children as Readers Before They Can Read Words in Books with Kathy Collins

You must have a Learning Lab account to participate. Contact IDOE's Office of Kindergarten Readiness with any questions.

Many organizations take the same approach to their job postings and rarely make changes. Have you noticed fewer applications coming in than expected? When was the last time you revitalized your hiring methods? Your job postings may be turning away top talent.

Join lead facilitator Natalie Wenzler (Institute for Workforce Excellence) for a free, interactive Attract the Right Talent virtual workshop. Learn how a skills-based hiring approach can help you stop missing out on quality talent!

Skills-based hiring is for all roles regardless of educational attainment level. It can give you a competitive advantage by reducing turnover, increasing diversity and improving time to hire. Research shows job descriptions that use more inclusive language lead to a 42% increase in responses and a two week faster hiring time.

Register Here

August 8

1 – 4 p.m. EDT

Join the Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children (INAEYC) for technical assistance sessions to help you reduce turnover and foster a sense of belonging and purpose at your organization.

The virtual four-part series includes:

• Session 1: Reasons for Turnover and How It Affects Your Program
• Session 2: How's the Weather? Looking At Your Organization's Climate (Part 1)
• Session 3: How's the Weather? Looking At Your Organization's Climate (Part 2)
• Session 4: Recruitment, Interviewing and Onboarding in Your Organization

Sessions will take place each month on the fourth Wednesday and Friday.

Connect with your Workforce Coordinator today to learn more.

Are you an Indiana educator or program lead interested in taking your career to the next level?

Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children's (INAEYC) Workforce Coordinators can provide individual or program-wide support for:

• Coaching on higher education and career navigation
• Applying for education scholarships
• Connecting with other experienced educators
• Reviewing Paths to QUALITY™ and accreditation education requirements for your program
• Creating professional development plans (program-wide or individual)

Find your Workforce Coordinator's contact information on the INAEYC website. Support can be provided by phone, virtually, or onsite. INAEYC also offers monthly career coaching opportunities through the Workforce Wednesdays program.

View the Training Calendar

Register for a Cohort

Get to know Town Square

Paths to QUALITY support

Where to get help and other resources

Juneteenth is a time for celebration and reflection with the whole family. For young children, the abstract concept of freedom and the hard history of slavery can be challenging to grasp. NMAAHC's early childhood education team offers the following resources to support young children's understanding and celebration of Juneteenth: a guide on how to talk about slavery and freedom in age appropriate ways, an activity to inspire hope and activism, and a children's book and online resources list.

FSSA will host a public hearing on Tuesday, June 20 at 1 p.m. ET. During the hearing, FSSA will briefly describe the state plan and take public comments. Access the hearing via Zoom or watch the simulcast on FSSA’s YouTube channel. All comments received will be summarized and posted publicly online.

Families may apply here.

If you could not attend the recent OECOSL town hall on legislative updates or if you would like to review it, you can watch the recording here.You can also visit this OECOSL webpage to learn about the latest legislative updates. This webpage includes FAQs that will be updated with new questions and information as they become available.

OECOSL is proactively supporting the implementation of these changes as part of its goals to increase child care access, affordability, and quality for Hoosier families while bolstering Indiana's workforce.

Please direct any questions to oecoslproviderinquiry@fssa.in.gov.

Families, teachers and children are better together. That’s why the Child Care Resource and Referral Network is proud to serve as a navigator for families, expertly assisting them in finding high-quality child care and connecting them with additional opportunities to meet their needs.

Is your family struggling to make ends meet? Could you or someone you know use assistance with paying for utilities, accessing a food pantry, or connecting to job training or employment services? Call 800-886-3952, ext 2. to learn more!