Health and safety have been a primary concern here at FHSA as we all face the nation's most devastating health crisis of our lifetime. FHSA hopes to provide you with information on how you can help protect your children, families, staff, and programs during these uncertain times. We have developed a COVID-19 resource page comprised of information from leaders fighting this virus as well as educational experts to help provide details on how to stay safe, protected, and provide a level of education and support your children and families count on from the Head Start community. Make sure you visit our COVID-19 resource webpage, which is regularly updated.

On Friday, March 27, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which provides over $2 trillion for "emergency assistance and health care response for individuals, families, and businesses affected by the 2020 coronavirus pandemic." The most notable provision for Head Start is the $750 M. Up to $500 M shall be made for the purposes for operating supplemental summer programs through non-competitive grant supplements to existing grantees determined to be most ready to operate those programs by the Office of Head Start and the reminder $250 M for other program costs. The Office of Head Start will be providing more information as it becomes available. Be sure to check your in-boxes for those updates.

Zero to Three hosted a conversation with Representative Rosa DeLauro last Friday who has been a champion of the needs of babies and families. To view a recording of the webcast, click here. Zero to Three also has a dedicated webpage regularly updated with policy and advocacy resources related to the COVID-19 crisis, including a summary of highlights of the CARES Act and the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) was signed into law on March 18, 2020.

NHSA will host it's 2020 Annual Conference virtually April 21-23 and will run from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm ET each day. You can find out more information about this event in the NHSA Updates section.

I would like to personally thank all of our Corporate Partners, Sponsors, Presenters, Exhibitors, Attendees, and Volunteers who made our 2020 conference, Head Start Leaders in Quality and Inclusion possible. It takes a lot of hands and partnerships to create an event like our conference, and without YOU, it would not have been viable. For those unable to attend, you missed a great one. We started the conference with NHSA updates and drove right into educational sessions. The following day came to Brocklin Qualls, who jump-started the day on a positive note motivating attendees to get out there and professionally tackle their day and be the ONE that makes the difference. Dr. Gilliam provided a thought proking powerful Plenary Sessions revolving around implicit biases and how it plays a role in child care and early learning settings. He offered some great strategies to promote more effective ways to address challenging behavior and to support high-quality child care programs through better teacher-child interactions. We wrapped up the conference with an uplifting musical number compliments of FHSA Choir and Comedian DJ Pryor. Attendees had a great time learning and networking with their colleagues. Presentations from presenters can be accessed by visiting the Conference Presentations Archives webpage.

We have never needed each more than we do today. I hope you will allow FHSA to help you through this unprecedented time and rely on us to help build and bigger and better Head Start community.

In partnership,

Wanda Minick
Executive Director
FHSA

Updates from the Office of Head Start

On March 31, ACF released Information Memorandum IM-ACF-OA-2020-01 dealing with grant flexibilities in conducting human service activities related to or affected by COVID-19.

The memorandum provides short-term relief for administrative, financial management, and audit requirements under 45 CFR Part 75 (the HHS implementation of 2 CFR Part 200), Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards, without compromising Federal financial assistance accountability requirements. These exceptions are time-limited and will be reassessed by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) within 90 days of the M-20-17 memo, dated March 19, 2020. If OMB extends the flexibilities contained in their M-20-17 memo, HHS and ACF will also re-evaluate the extension of the exceptions. Click here to read this IM in its entirety.

By now, I am sure most of you are all aware of the guidance sent out by the Office of Head Start concerning their regulatory flexibilities. You can find OHS updates by visiting their dedicated webpage on Coronavirus Prevention and Response via ECLKC.

In case you missed it, OHS leadership hosted a webinar to discuss the impacts of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on grantee operations. You can view the webinar here.

Rules 6M-4.740 Program Assessment Requirements for School Readiness Programs and 6M-4.741 Program Assessment Threshold Requirements for the School Readiness Program are tentatively scheduled to go before the State Board of Education (SBOE) on April 1, 2020. Below are the materials that have been submitted to the SBOE.

6M-4.741 FAC Program Assessment Threshold Requirements for SR SBOE

6M-4.740 FAC Program Assessment Requirements for SR SBOE

Form OEL-SR 740 Program Assessment Requirements Handbook SBOE

What's Happening Around the State

Article from the Florida Center for Early Childhood

Helping your child and family navigate COVID-19

As we move from our normal daily routines into uncharted territory, The Florida Center for Early Childhood encourages families to view the current COVID-19 crisis and subsequent self-quarantine safety precaution as an opportunity for parents to bond with their children. They can also continue to stimulate their development through a variety of online resources, enrichment activities, and mindfulness practices that can be easily completed at home.

These activities and practices are recommended by our team of early childhood experts and can help children with developmental delays or disabilities continue to learn and grow despite being unable to participate in normal appointments or activities with their teachers and therapists. Click to read the article in its entirety.

The 2020 Florida Legislative Session came to a close later than expected as lawmakers hurriedly trying to complete last-minute funding in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) for the state's response to the coronavirus. The bill we were mostly watching this session was the Early Learning and Early Grade HB 1013 | SB1688. This bill passed the House successfully but failed in the Senate Education; Appropriations.

Legislators unanimously adopt a record $93.2 billion fiscal year 2021 budget. The budget HB 5001, which takes effect July 1, was approved in a 104-0 vote by the House and a 32-0 vote by the Senate. The budget earmarks $300 million for reserves to address the COVID-19 outbreak. The budget also includes $25.5 million requested by Governor Ron DeSantis from this year's budget and $27.3 million in federal assistance to combat the coronavirus.

Teacher Pay - $400 million for base teacher pay increases and $100 million for veteran teachers and other school workers
Base Student Allocation (BSA) - An additional $340 million increases the BSA by $40 per student
Florida Education Finance Program (FEFP) - $17.7 billion, a 3.64% increase from FY 19-20
School Mental Health Funding - Additional $23 million for a total of $100 million
Voluntary Prekindergarten (VPK) - $413.8 million, an increase from $402.3 million in 2019-2020
Medicaid - $29.7 billion for Medicaid to serve 3.8 million adults and more than 600,000 children in KidCare.
State Opioid Response Grant - $81 million
Mental Health Services Through Telehealth - $4 million

Don't forget! Presentations are still being accepted

The ONE GOAL: BUILDING THE FUTURE TOGETHER, "PUTTING FAMILIES AND CHILDREN FIRST" Summer Conference will be celebrating 34 years of bringing together early education and care providers and leaders from around the state. It is especially important that we all work together, to collaborate, and share how we can do more with less in our programs, practices, and techniques to improve the services and outcomes for all Florida's young children.

The conference will be held at the Hilton Tampa Downtown in Tampa, Florida, on July 22-24, 2020. The conference will include general sessions, concurrent presentations, and exhibits of appropriate materials.

You are invited to submit a proposal to present. An electronic version of the Presenter Proposal Form is located on the conference web site. The deadline for proposal submission is April 3, 2020. The Planning Committee will review all proposals.

COVID-19: We are excited about the 2020 One Goal Summer Conference and recognize that the pandemic has caused angst and concern regarding the future. The Conference is not until July 22-24, 2020, and we are hopeful that we will be passed this critical period by that time. Therefore, we are proceeding with our plans. If circumstances change, we will let you know, but for now, the Planning Committee is continuing to work hard to provide you with a fantastic educational experience.

We look forward to seeing you at the 2020 One Goal Summer Conference!

NHSA Updates

The 2020 National Head Start Conference and Expo will not take place in person as they are in the process of transitioning to an entirely virtual experience. The conference will take place April 21-23 and will run from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm ET each day. NHSA is gathering input from the field about the best options and formats for creating a valuable learning opportunity. If you would like more information on this event, you can sign up here. If you have additional questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to contact the NHSA events team at [email protected].

Each Wednesday, NHSA will host Kitchen Table Talks, until the threat of COVID-19 has subsided. NHSA wants to hear from you, share updates and resources to help you navigate this ever-changing situation, and provide a forum for you to interact with and support your colleagues in the Head Start community. To register for these talks, you can sign up here.

NHSA is calling for the Head Start Community to share their stories on the innovative ways your programs are staying connected and supporting families and staff during COVID-19. To share your stories, please contact NHSA at [email protected].