Child care providers: Deadline to sign-up for Parent Aware is Dec. 10
News | Published on November 25, 2024 at 12:31pm CST
Are you a licensed family childcare educator or childcare center, serving at least one child? Is your license active and in good standing? Are you interested in receiving grants for items in your childcare? Are you wanting free coaching? Or would you like resources and support from early childcare professionals? Are you interested in being able to accept early learning scholarships to help offset the cost of childcare for families?
Look no further! Parent Aware is a voluntary, free program, that may be a good fit for you!
Twice per year, before June 10 and December 10, early childhood educators can submit an application to join Parent Aware. There’s no better time than now, to get one in for the January 2025 cohort.
Parent Aware’s mission is to help families find the quality care and education their children need to succeed in school and life. These childcare programs all volunteered to go above and beyond basic health and safety requirements and use best practices to support child development. The experiences children have during their first years of life will shape the adults they become, making it especially important for all children to have access to quality care and early education.
Parent Aware is a voluntary quality rating program with no fee for the early childhood educator. Parent Aware also offers four different level of star ratings, one to four. Each star rating has different best practices, and additional training that is required beyond what is expected for licensing. However, our Quality Coaches and Professional Development Staff are there to support the provider every step of the way.
Those choosing to go the full-rating pathway, receive three to 15 hours of technical assistance, ongoing professional development advising services, collect and submit documentation for their rating and receive a rating that is good for two years.
Once rated, early childhood educators can receive a grant ranging from $1,500 to $4,000. If they choose to join Building Quality, prior to their full-rating, an additional $1,000 grant is available. Providers can actually complete two rounds of Building Quality. Building Quality provides 20 to 30 hours of coaching to help implement the best practices, professional development advising services and additional time to complete training requirements.
“There’s no better time than now, to call me and chat about the benefits Parent Aware has to offer for your program,” Alicia Bauman, Parent Aware Recruiter, for the Northwest District stated. “Our Quality Coaches and Professional Development Advisors are eager to help make sure you have practices in place to prepare children for school and life, and to build on currently established practices.”
With few exceptions, any licensed child care provider is eligible to go through the Parent Aware process and receive a rating. They receive coaching, training, grants, higher Child Care Assistance reimbursement rates, and the ability to accept Early Learning Scholarships. Over 2,900 programs in Minnesota are rated. A full list of rated programs is available through an online search at www.ParentAware.org.
