ELC IN THE NEWS 

Find the latest news about our work in the child care sector, below.

Passionate about high-quality early education and wish to support Pinellas’ child care community? Please scroll down
to view resources to share with others. To learn more about how to help, click here.

Looking to interview someone from the Early Learning Coalition or to request a speaker? Email whall@elcpinellas.org.

RECENT NEWS

Learning happens anywhere a child goes, but parents may not always know how to support their learning. A new outdoor trail may be the answer for families
looking for fun activities to help their child learn.

Early education professionals are saying a “child care crisis” is underway in Tampa Bay. Some of the most important years for a child’s social, emotional and language development occur before they enter grade school. More than 90% of a child’s brain will have developed by the time most enter kindergarten.

The “Rebound and Recovery” program will be incorporated into a county-wide initiative for the coalition, Behavior Boot Camp. This initiative offers training and interventions to improve safety, connection, problem-solving and behavioral and social-emotional learning skills in preschool settings. The goal of Behavior Boot Camp is to reduce or eliminate preschool expulsions due to behavioral issues.  

The child care industry is facing unprecedented times. Listen below to ELC CEO Lindsay Carson and other early learning leaders as they speak about barriers to access and quality.

 

YESTERDAY’S NEWS

The nation’s private child care industry was already struggling with high turnover and tight margins before the pandemic. Now, it is dealing with staffing shortages, constant disruptions from coronavirus quarantines and threats to workers’ health from the virus. Worsening issues have meant even fewer open seats and continued uncertainty for parents searching for care.


CLEARWATER, Fla. —
According to Bay Area child-care providers, young children are continuing to struggle emotionally because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That’s why some teachers are learning tools to help their students cope. At Hope Academy International in Clearwater, they’ve invested in mental-health training for her teachers.

LAKELAND, Fla. — The pandemic hit the child care industry hard.  In Lakeland, Karina Sloan was forced to temporarily shut down one of her centers because of the virus. Families were not coming. Now, her child care centers are back open, but Sloan has lost close to $50,000 trying to operate.


Read More  >

Early learning educators and advocates are worried after seeing a decline in enrollment for Florida’s voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) program. The Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas tells 8 On Your Side they are seeing roughly about a 20% decline.
Read More  > 

 

 

Media Resources & More

Please use the resources below to help spread the word about the work we do to support high-quality, equitable child care in Pinellas County. If you have questions about the resources or need different formats, please email whall@elcpinellas.org.

The ELC E-News 

To subscribe to the ELC E-News, please email the Communications Manager at whall@elcpinellas.org.

 

2536 Countryside Blvd Suite 500, Clearwater, FL 33763

Hours of Operation: M-F, 8:00am – 5:00pm

Processes and Procedures


A. Placements

I. General: 

  1. Appointment Phone Script and Process
  2. BG1-11 Outreach and Enrollment Process
  3. Placement 30-30 Plan
  4. Browsing
  5. Keying Placements
  6. Sib-Adds
  7. Interview Flow
  8. Terms and Conditions in the Family Portal Account


II. Waitlist:


III. CCAA Process:


B. Enrollments


C.
Redeterminations

I. Processing Redeterminations: 


II. Rejections for Redeterminations:


III. Other/General Redetermination Information:


D. Reestablishment Periods/Reviews


E. Transfers


F. Suspended Enrollments


G. Coalition Transfers


H. Social Security


I. SR Plus-Local Funding

Annual Report

Annual Report