DECAL Download

DECAL's Thriving Child Care Business Academy opened its virtual doors in September 2023. The Academy offers a wide selection of free online trainings and educational resources to help owners and administrators of child care programs learn the best management practices that will help their businesses thrive. Joining us to talk more about the Academy is Quality Innovations and Partnerships Communications and Outreach Manager Sonja Steptoe and two of DECAL’s partners in the Academy, Gary Romano, president of Civitas Strategies; and Alyssa Foskey, Area Director with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center at Valdosta State University. 

An Early Childhood Care and Education Student at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro has been named as the school’s 2024 GOAL Student. Ashley Ford is a mother of two daughters and a child care teacher at Kids World Learning Center in Statesboro. Ashley joins us for this week's podcast, along with Sarah Beverley, who is a Student Navigator and GOAL coordinator at the college, and Dr. Christi Moore, Professional Learning Director here at DECAL.  

This summer, kids throughout Georgia will continue to have access to free nutritious meals and snacks through Happy Helpings, Georgia’s Summer Food Service Program. Joining us today to tell us more about Happy Helpings are Director of Nutrition Services Tamika Boone, Marketing and Outreach Manager Cindy Kicklighter, and special guest Deborah Wilson, the founder and director of Georgia Nutritional Services and a Happy Helpings sponsor. 

If you have been around DECAL for any time over our past 20 years now, you have heard the name Jennie Couture.  Jennie was our Director of Practice and Support Services who retired in 2022 after a 40 year career dedicated to special education, inclusion, and behavioral support. To honor Jennie and her love for inclusion, the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning began the Jennie Couture Legacy Scholarship Fund, a program that serves early childhood educators with professional development opportunities in areas so close to Jennie’s heart:  inclusion and social-emotional development. Joining us to talk about the Jennie Couture Legacy Scholarship is Laura Wagner, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning; our first recipient of the award, Tierra Faulcon with Faulcon Prep Academy in Smyrna, and of course the lady, the legend herself, Jennie Couture. 

DECAL’s Inclusive Early Learning Week will be celebrated the week of February 12-16, 2024. The mission of IELW is to promote inclusive practices within early learning environments across Georgia. This year we are also celebrating the Inclusion and Behavior Support Program’s 10-year anniversary at DECAL. Joining us to share more about inclusion and IELW, are Peggy Sutton, Inclusion and Behavior Support Regional Supervisor, Tabitha Howard, Center Director at YMCA Paulding Early Learning Center, Tina Holt, Georgia’s Pre-K Inclusion Lead Teacher at YMCA Paulding Early Learning Center, and Michele Biggers, whose 14 year old daughter Payton has written a book about inclusion called Autism Gives Me Superpowers. 

Since Fall of 2019, DECAL has had a group of volunteers working in their communities to share information with families about the resources available in our state. Our DECAL Family Peer Ambassadors are fathers, mothers, grandparents, foster parents, and other kinship caregivers of young children. They serve as leaders in their community, providing families of young children with information about child development and strategies they can use to support their children’s school readiness. Joining us today are Bridget Ratajczak, DECAL’s Child and Family Development Supervisor and CDC’s Act Early Ambassador to the state of Georgia; Jenny Semendy, DECAL’s Child and Family Development Training Specialist, and some of our Family Peer Ambassadors: Taquana Stubbs from Douglasville; Christina Sanchez from Atlanta, and Teyona Early from Warner Robins. 

Since 2016, DECAL has offered paid internships to students currently enrolled in a Georgia college, university, or law school with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. We took a break during the pandemic years of 2020 through 2022, but last year the interns returned. Joining us this week to talk about their experiences so far are two of our communications and government relations interns: Mackenzie Weston is a senior at Kennesaw State University, and Trey Freeman is a senior at Clayton State University. Working with the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning is Brianna Thomas, a graduate student from Kennesaw State University. Also joining us is Mark Dock, Senior Manager of Human Resources here at DECAL. 

The 2024 Session of the Georgia General Assembly opened recently with everything you might expect from the Wild Hog Supper to Governor Kemp’s State of the State Address. But what can we expect for DECAL and early childhood care and education in Georgia this session? Joining us to talk about the Georgia General Assembly, Governor Kemp’s State of the State address, and other topics is Polly McKinney, Advocacy Director for Voices for Georgia’s Children and a partner at Lexicon Strategies, and Rian Ringsrud, Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration for DECAL.

On this week's episode, Commissioner Jacobs flips the script on Host Reg Griffin and asks him the questions.  It's a chance to learn more about our Chief Communications Officer and the DECAL Communications Team.  

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…unless you’re talking about this episode of DECAL Download where we count down the top episodes of 2023 in this look back on our top stories of the year.  As in past years, episodes about COVID money continue to be among the most popular….but also new initiatives like Community Transformation Grants and the Thriving Child Care Business Academy. Since we started this podcast in September 2018, we have had close to 77-thousand downloads. So just like Ryan Seacrest or Casey Casem, we are counting down the Top Ten episodes of DECAL Download from 2023.

Earlier this year, DECAL awarded new EXPAND Grants to seven child care providers and six nonprofit and government organizations.  Supported by research and analysis showing that the availability of high-quality child care and early education plays a key role in Georgia’s workforce development and economic growth, DECAL created the EXPAND Grants with the growing need for childcare outside traditional hours in mind. Here to talk about the new EXPAND grants is Jill Taylor, Director of Community Partnerships and 2Gen Outreach; Shayna Funke, Director of Research Partnerships and Business Supports; and Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships.

In May, 2019, Dennis Brice joined DECAL as our Chief Information Officer, coming to us from McKesson where he served as Vice President of Human Capitol Management and Corporate Applications.  About nine months later, COVID became our new reality and, like the rest of the world, DECAL had to shift to more online offerings to keep the agency moving forward.  On this episode we check in with Dennis on new DECAL projects, the challenges of AI, and why Commissioner Jacobs sometimes thinks we should go back to "memos and landlines."

It's our annual Holiday Episode as we unwrap stories, explore traditions, and embrace the magic that makes this time of year truly extraordinary.  As usual, we are joined by members of the DECAL team to discuss great gift ideas for children birth to five, some healthy recipe ideas, and holiday traditions from the DECAL team.  Joining us on this episode is Pre-K Program Specialist Alice Lasseter, Nutrition and Physical Activity Supervisor Diana Myers, and a special guest from the North Pole! Georgia's Pre-K Program Specialist Megan OBara and CAPS Consultant Latisha Lewis provide holiday music.

Early care and education professionals in Georgia have a true partner in Georgia Public Broadcasting.  GPB’s education division provides FREE digital media and content for Georgia educators and students, starting with preschool and Pre-K, and going up through middle and high school. They are developing some innovative and groundbreaking programs with app and web-based learning for children as young as four years old.  Joining us on this week’s podcast is Laura Evans who recently became Vice President of Education for Georgia Public Broadcasting.  

This week’s podcast is a little unusual.  Normally we might talk with one, two, or three guests.  Today we have around 700 special guests.  We are at the DECAL 2023 All Staff Meeting at the Cobb Galleria Centre. It is our first in-person All Staff Meeting since 2019 before the pandemic. Come join us! 

Some big changes in store for Georgia’s CAPS Program beginning November 15.  The program that assists low-income families with the cost of child care will now administer the provider management function of the CAPS Program…work previously performed by our contractor, Maximus.  We’re making these changes to provide more streamlined services and to increase service levels for the child care providers who support CAPS parents and children. Here to explain the changes happening at CAPS is Kay Mayfield, CAPS Provider Relations Director, and Aleshia Golden, CAPS Provider Relations Quality Assurance and Payment Manager.  

It’s been called an epidemic but also Georgia’s most solvable problem. We’re talking about the fact that according to the Georgia Department of Education, only about a third of most children in Georgia are reading on grade level by the third grade. That has ramifications on the future as experts say it won’t support the workforce and Georgia’s growing economy. Joining us to talk about the new Georgia Literacy Council and the work being done right now  is Scott Johnson, chairman of the Georgia Literacy Council, and Dr. Gary Bingham, a member of the council who  also serves as director of the Urban Child Study Center and a professor in the Department of Early Childhood and Elementary Education at Georgia State University. 

Last month, two Georgia Pre-K teachers had surprise visits from Commissioner Jacobs, CALi, and other special guests when it was announced that they are our new Georgia’s Pre-K Program Teachers of the Year for 2023-2024. The public-school winner is Charlotte Richards from Chattahoochee County Pre-K in Cussetta and the private child care center winner is Merodie Brown from New Odyssey for Children in Hoschton.  They join us for this week's episode of DECAL Download.

When you think about child care in Georgia, you probably picture infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and Pre-K students.  But a large number of families rely on child care for their school-age children attending elementary and even middle school. In these cases, child care providers offer homework help, tutors, STEAM activities, health & fitness, character development, crafts, and more. Joining us to talk about school-age children served by Georgia’s child care industry is Michelle Garris, DECAL School Age and Youth Program Specialist, and Brittany Sams, CCS Director of Administrative Services and Special Operations. 

This month, DECAL is offering child care tuition assistance for early educators in Georgia to help the child care industry recruit and retain professional staff. Using funds from ARPA, this program will support the cost of child care for children of individuals working at 30 licensed child care programs in Georgia. Joining us to talk about tuition assistance for early educators is Dr. Christi Moore, DECAL Director of Professional Learning, and Shenae Holmes is our Workforce Development Specialist.