FACCM Online Child Care
Professional Training Services
FAACM is pleased to launch the FACCM Professional Development Portal in partnership with the following organizations: Smart Horizons, a division of Advanced Systems Technology, Inc. and the ChildCare Education Institute (CCEI)

Enter the Smart Horizons Portal >>

Enter the CCEI Portal >>

Faith Based providers may wish to visit www.cdealliance.org for professional development opportunities

Florida Association for Childcare Management Partners with Exchange
To promote the professional growth of our members, FACCM has entered a partnership with Exchange providing you with these valuable resources at discounted rates throughout the year. To take advantage of these Exchange savings, visit www.childcareexchange.com/faccm. A special online “Welcome Page” for FACCM members will provide details of the benefits along with instructions on how to access them.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

FACCM is supporting a legislative proposal to modify the size and duties of the Early Learning Coalitions. The bill does not eliminate them, but will standardize some of their administrative functions.
The childcare providers in Florida and the parents of the children we care for are the customers of the coalitions, and as such their services should be sensitive to our needs.
Some examples of the proposed changes include:
• Eliminating the possibility that the coalitions could develop a tiered reimbursement system tied to a local Quality Rating System.
• Reducing the number of coalitions to 20, which will save up to 4 million dollars annually; those funds can then be directed to reducing the waiting list for service.
• Standardizing the agreements and contracts between the coalitions and the providers for both VPK and School Readiness. It makes no sense that childcare centers in one part of the state have different requirements imposed on them in order to be a provider of VPK and school readiness. The funding is both state and federal and should be distributed under the same rules for everyone. The parents and children should have the broadest choice of providers as possible.
• Assuring that the monitoring and reviews conducted by the coalitions follow the same criteria in all parts of the state, similar to the DCF licensing monitoring. The rules and requirements should be standardized. In our reviews we have found great differences in the requirements and the degree of monitoring and duplication. The proposed legislation reduces that duplication, and frees us up to do the work of providing care and education to our customers, the parents and children. We find in some areas that coalition staff review every employee’s files for compliance, a job that is the responsibility of DCF. That represents wasted time on the part of our Centers’ staff and a waste of time of the coalition staff. We have found numerous examples of excessive demands of coalitions that are imposed on centers.
• Reduces the coalition’s membership, and gives voting rights to private and faith based providers. Currently we have no real voice in the decisions made by the coalitions, when the decisions directly impact us and our business.
• The legislation will permit the Agency for Workforce Innovation to provide more oversight and direction to the coalitions, but will still maintain the coalitions as a vital part of the Early Learning System, and continue the coalitions’ role in planning and designing services based on local needs.
• Does not in any way make FACCM an advisor to AWI, as was falsely claimed by the Children’s Campaign.

Remember FACCM’s role is to support our members in maintaining viable and profitable businesses; we are the core of the Early Learning Services, without us there would be no VPK or services to children eligible for School Readiness funding.
We urge you to review the senate bill 2570, which can be viewed on the senate web site www.flsenate.gov. and to speak to other center directors and help them to understand the need for this legislation.
FACCM IS NOT ANTI COALITIONS BUT RATHER PRO PROVIDERS. WE LOOK OUT FOR YOUR BEST INTERESTS.

QRIS FACCM Position Paper

Please click here to review a paper researched and prepared by Policy Matters. This paper describes the potential financial impact of QRIS.

The Florida Association for Child Care Management
10060 Amberwood Road, Suite #3
Fort Myers, Fl 33913
Tel: 1-877-634-9874
Fax: 239-561-7545