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July 2015

OSSE and DHS Partner to Host
Town Hall Meetings on DC's Child Care Subsidy Program

OSSE and the Department of Human Services (DHS) held three Town Hall meetings to hear from providers and parents about their concerns and ideas for improving access to DC's child care subsidy program. Attendees provided excellent feedback and shared solutions on how the District can improve the subsidy program. We reviewed the roles and responsibilities of OSSE, DHS and the child development providers and parents that participate in the program. The meetings were held Tuesday, June 23 at National Children's Center, SE, Wednesday, June 24 at OSSE, NE and Thursday, June 25 at Watha T. Daniel/ Shaw Neighborhood Library, NW.
View town hall meeting materials. 
OSSE has partnered with First Book to bring more than 40,000 brand-new FREE books to early learning classrooms and resource centers in the District of Columbia to support educators and program leaders serving children in need. Signing up is free and only takes a few minutes to complete. A total of 2,000 registrations equals 40,000 books for our youth.
We are please to share that OSSE has selected three talented, diverse and highly qualified individuals to help lead OSSE's Division of Early Learning and help us improve outcomes for the District's youngest learners. 
  • Rebecca Shaw, Director of Operations and Management, assumed her new position on Monday, June 1, 2015. She can be reached at rebecca.shaw@dc.gov or 202-727-5045.  Rebecca was most recently the Financial Manager at the Office of the Chief Technology Officer.  Rebecca said she is, “looking forward to bringing the financial management skills she has acquired through the years and applying them to the Division of Early Learning and working for the program and being involved in policy decisions that affect the  important services OSSE brings to DC's youngest residents.”  
  • Renata Claros, Program Manager for the Quality Improvement Network (QIN), assumed her new position Monday, June 8, 2015. She can be reached at renata.claros@dc.gov or 202-727-8153. Ms. Claros was most recently the Senior Director of Early Childhood Programs at CentroNia and has been a part of its Early Childhood Program since 2004.  Ms. Claros said she is, “excited to be given the opportunity to work with the local government in supporting organizations to provide the  highest quality early care and education to children.” 
  • Clement Idun, Program Manager for Licensing, assumed his new position Monday, June 8, 2015. He can be reached at clement.idun@dc.gov or 202-442-4733. Mr. Idun was most recently the Director of the Quality Assurance Division at UPO where he was responsible for compliance, monitoring and performance management for many programs including OSSE’s child care subsidy program, Head Start/Early Head Start and the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). Mr. Idun wants to, “bring his extensive leadership and management experience, broad knowledge base, and demonstrated ability to develop and sustain cohesive and high functioning teams that support the Division in exceeding performance targets to have an even greater impact." 
We are excited they have joined the OSSE team to support our early learning providers in providing high quality services to the District's youngest learners. 
Click Here for New Funding Opportunity: Pre-K Enhancement and Expansion Grant
Professional Development
The Summer 2015 Professional Development Catalog is now available.
Click here to view all of the amazing training opportunities!
Events
July 3, 2015 
Government offices are closed in observance of Independence Day 
 
July 24, 2015
State Education Child Development Coordinating Council Meeting
John A. Wilson Building
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
10:30 am- 12:00 pm

August 8, 2015
Home Provider Meeting
Anacostia Library 
1800 Good Hope Road, SE
10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Register Now!

August 17, 2015
Level I Provider Meeting
OSSE
810 First Street, NW (Grand Hall)
1:00 pm- 3:00 pm
Register Now!

August 21, 2015
Level II Provider Meeting
OSSE
810 First Street, NW (Grand Hall)
11:00 am- 1:00 pm
Register Now!
Healthy and Happy Children
How Can We Improve  Our Kids' Nutrition?
Share with Parents: We are right in the midst of summer and with all of the sun shining, what better time to talk about the importance of ensuring infants and toddlers receive a healthy amount of vitamin D. 
Source: http://families.naeyc.org/families-today/how-can-we-improve-our-kids-nutrition
Did You Know?

Did you know that each staff member at your site must complete the Child Protection Registry (CPR) annually? The CPR forms should be completed in its entirety and submitted to Ramia Heard, Substance Abuse Specialist, at 810 First Street, NE  (8th Floor) Washington, DC 20002. Responses take approximately six weeks to return. If you have any questions regarding the CPR, please contact Ramia Heard. 
Provider Spotlight
DC City Wide Welfare Rights Child Development Center seeks accreditation to honor late director. Read More!

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