NEW CASTLE (March 19, 2024) – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and Governor John Carney announced additional investments in child care for the upcoming year.

Building on the Governor’s Recommended Budget, which proposes expanding eligibility for Purchase of Care to 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and creating over 200 additional ECAP seats, the State will be taking the following actions this year:

• Cap family co-payments at 7% of family income and remove all co-pays for families below 150% of the federal poverty level, ensuring families will pay less out of pocket for child care.
• Increase compensated absence days from five to 10, providing child care centers and homes with additional stability and predictability in their budgets.

When combined with the proposed investments in the Governor’s Recommended Budget, these actions will help more families pay for child care.

“We know how critical the first five years of a child’s life are to future academic and career success,” said Governor John Carney. “Investing in our youngest learners has been a priority of ours from day one, and these investments further that commitment. I want to thank our child care providers for all they do every day to set our children up for future success.”

Since 2017, the administration has more than doubled investments in Purchase of Care and the Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP). The Governor’s Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2025 proposes investing $83 million in Purchase of Care, compared to $32 million in 2017 and $15.7 million in ECAP, compared to $6.1 million in 2017.

“From birth to 5, the first 1,825 days of a child’s life pave a foundation for the future. That’s why it is essential to support early education with policy and investments – it’s not only good for our kids, but also for our child care workforce and our state’s economy. Affordable child care is a necessity for families. These investments in Delaware’s early education sector show our commitment to families, providers, and the strength of our state,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long.

In addition to these investments, the State worked to keep child care providers open by investing more than $100 million during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are thankful for these additional investments which will help support our youngest Delawareans and families,” said Division of Social Services Director Tom Hall. “These program enhancements are a result of conversations and feedback with families, providers, and our federal partners. These investments will help make the purchase of care program more accessible and give providers the boost they need.”

For more information on child care, visit Delaware’s Child Care Consumer Education Website at https://www.mychildde.org/.

DOVER, Del. – Governor Carney on Tuesday announced the administration’s child care priorities and investments for the coming year. As outlined in last week’s State of the State address, Delaware will continue to make child care policies and investments a priority.

The State will be taking the following actions to support, enhance, and expand child care quality and access this year:

• Invest over $10 million to increase Purchase of Care rates to 100% of the 75th percentile of the 2021 market rate, to better support programs and children in need.
• Pursue a policy change to expand applicant eligibility for Purchase of Care to 200% of the poverty level, to reach more children.
• Double funding going to the Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP) to $12.2 million, to serve more 3- and 4-year-olds, and provide programs with more resources.
• Allocate funding for House Bill 33, to lower preschool special education student-teacher ratios.

Additionally, Delaware won an $8 million federal Preschool Development Grant, which will help the state be innovative in strengthening its early childhood infrastructure. For more information on Delaware’s grant, please visit the Delaware Department of Education’s website.

“We know how critical the early years are to a child’s success,” said Governor Carney. “We also know how important our child care providers are to our state. Today’s significant investments in Purchase of Care, ECAP, and our youngest learners with special needs are another step forward for child care in our state. I want to thank Lt. Governor Hall-Long and others for continuing to make child care a priority. And thank you to all of our child care providers for what you do every day.”

“Children are born ready to learn. By investing in our youngest learners we are preparing them for the most critical years of brain development and giving families the opportunity and support they need to thrive,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long. “As co-chair of the Delaware Early Learning Advisory Committee, I know that these investments directly target the key recommendations that we put forth. The data are clear; critical investments early in a child’s development lead to better academic and life outcomes as they mature. Giving children the foundation they need and empowering the workforce that cares for them strengthens our state’s economy and our future.”

“The State’s investments, policy changes, and Preschool Development Grant, when taken together, signify a historic investment in our youngest learners and their families,” said Secretary Mark Holodick and Secretary Molly Magarik of the Delaware Department of Education and the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, respectively. “From increasing Purchase of Care rates and expanding applicant eligibility, to better supporting our youngest learners with special needs, to a doubling of ECAP funding, to the Preschool Development Grant, Delaware is in position to make comprehensive change for the better.”

“Every child deserves to have nurturing interactions with caretakers from birth to adulthood, and the first five years of life leave an often-irreversible imprint that can set a child up to realize their fullest potential or leave them struggling to catch up developmentally,” said Senator Laura Sturgeon. “These investments will help us ensure that more Delaware children are given the chance to thrive socially, emotionally, and academically.”

“For our youngest and most vulnerable learners, so much of their future academic success hinges on their experience in their earliest school years. By making these meaningful investments in our early education system, we can ensure our students get the services and interventions they need to set them on the right path,” said Representative Kim Williams. “I commend Governor Carney for recognizing the importance of quality early childhood learning and care and I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues in the General Assembly to make this a reality for Delaware families and students.”

“Investments in early education are necessary to support working families and to promote early learning and literacy. By ensuring our most vulnerable families have access to child care, we move closer to providing an equitable start for all Delaware’s children,” said Senator Kyle Evans Gay. “But early education is also critical infrastructure, and these investments will support our economy and workforce. I applaud the Governor for his continued commitment to local economic success and making Delaware the best state to raise kids.”

“These new state and federal investments create exciting opportunities for Delaware to increase access to more families and improve the state rate for early care and education,” said Delaware Early Childhood Council chair Madeleine Bayard. “The funding will advance recommendations from the Delaware Early Childhood Council, which represents parents, community organizations, early educators, schools, and state agencies. We thank the Governor for his leadership and investments in Delaware’s workforce of today and workforce of tomorrow, and we are excited to work together to better serve new parents, early educators, and young children.”

“The administration has shown that family child care providers are essential to the Delaware workforce. We currently work 12-14 hour days to provide high-quality care and education to our children,” said Rhondalin Cannon-Tingle, family child care business owner and educator of Rhonda’s Little Angels Daycare & Preschool and Family Child Care Educator of the Year. “We desperately need increased POC rates and this additional Preschool Development Grant funding in our programs to continue to provide high-quality educational learning environments for all of our children.”

“These proposed investments in our state’s early care and education supports will bring Delaware in line with the federal recommendation, will enable child care providers to compete for workforce, and will ensure our most vulnerable children and families can access care,” said Jamie Schneider, President of the Delaware Association for the Education of Young Children. “During the pandemic, Governor Carney recognized that child care providers were essential workers, and took swift action to ensure that families had continued access to care. With his proposed budget, Gov. Carney is proving once again that he supports our youngest learners and their families.”

By Delaware Education Secretary Mark A. Holodick, Ed.D.

Education has seen many challenges over the past two years.  Students and families have had to deal with interrupted learning due to the pandemic as well as limited access to summer programming.  According to independent studies and student achievement data, this has resulted in notable learning deficits among many of our youth.  Some people call those deficits learning loss.  Some call it unfinished learning.  Regardless, the effects are evident, and we, as a state, are working diligently to do something about it.  The Department of Education has been working in tandem with individual school districts and charter schools to ensure that summer learning plans are in place throughout the state.

Recognizing that all students, especially disadvantaged students, have been adversely affected by the pandemic, these plans are in place to provide opportunities for robust learning to continue to occur at scale throughout the summer.   We at the department have coined this summer, the Summer of Opportunity.  We want students to continue to stay involved with one another and supported by skilled individuals, so that they continue to grow and thrive while waiting for the 2022-2023 academic year to begin.  This means, regardless of a child’s zip code, all students will have the opportunity to participate in a summer program that is interesting, exciting, and helps them grow academically, socially, and emotionally.  This year’s summer programs, as always, will focus on literacy and mathematics but there will also be various opportunities for students to experience activities that they may not have had access to previously.  Those activities may include drama, the playing of an instrument, art classes, dance, and more.  They may also include the use of local resources such as our state and national parks where there are opportunities for hiking, biking, fishing, and swimming.  As a state, we hope to effectively address students’ academic and social and emotional learning in an authentic manner, allowing for as much flexibility as possible regarding pace, selection of material, content, topics, and student voice and decision-making around what interests and inspires them.   And we have all come to realize that kids being engaged and involved is not only good for personal growth but also mental health and well-being.

Measuring student progress is challenging, especially during the summer months when children are accessing different programs and activities.  For some students and families, a half day program works better than a full day program and vice versa.  Some students will attend summer programs that exposes them to a lot of different content, topics, materials, and experiences while other may choose to focus on a particular topic, subject, or skill.  Providing children and families with many options is a good thing.  However, the greater the differential in programing the more challenging it is to measure growth.  Thus, the Department of Education is working with partners to measure growth in specific summer programs using both qualitative and quantitative data.  In doing so, we can determine what programs had not only the high participation rates but also produced the strongest results.

While planning for The Summer of Opportunity, we heard from our districts and charter schools as well as our community-based organizations (CBOs) and faith-based organizations that their greatest hurdle is staffing.  Finding committed and well-trained staff to work with young people is a real challenge right now.  We brought this challenge to the Governor’s Family Services Cabinet Council and brainstormed ways in which this could be addressed.  The answer is the creation of the Governor’s Summer Fellowship program.  High school students, especially those who are currently enrolled in the state’s Teacher Academy Pathway, are being identified and trained to support these summer programs in paid positions.  The Workforce Support Team at the Department of Education, the Governor’s Office, the United Way, other community partners, and our schools and districts have worked collaboratively to launch this initiative in short time.  In fact, we have already had more than 100 high school students in our three counties apply to take part.  All selected students will go through a full week of training in preparation for placement into summer programs in their communities.

While we all want for the upcoming summer to be back to normal and resemble the summers of the past, we must also recognize the opportunity that sits before us: an opportunity for our state to provide as many meaningful and exciting opportunities for growth as possible for our young learners, especially those who have historically been left out in the past.  A focused effort steeped in a lens of equity and access is exactly what’s needed as we move from pandemic to endemic and prepare for what will be a strong and more productive 2022-23 school year.

Find a searchable database of school and community-based partner summer offerings at de.gov/summerlearning.

Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

Delaware child care professionals now can submit to receive $1,000 direct payments from the Delaware Department of Education.

The state is using $10.6 million of its federal American Rescue Plan funding to pay for the bonuses, a first-of-its-kind initiative to show appreciation for and incentivize retention in a critical workforce.  Those professionals who are at least 18 years of age and work in licensed Delaware child care programs directly with children for at least 20 hours per week for at least 90 days are eligible.

“These professionals support our earliest learners and their families,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “COVID-19 highlighted just how essential their work is every day. Many of our licensed child care programs remained open throughout the pandemic, providing critical care for children and allowing their families to continue their work in our hospitals, correctional institutions, police and fire stations and other essential jobs.”

The Delaware Department of Education spent recent months building a secure data collection system, which will be used to collect employee information and verify eligibility. The application will be open for two months with all submissions due by July 29, 2022.

After being verified, licensed child care professionals can expect to receive their payments in up to 10 days if they choose direct deposit or up to 30 days if they choose to receive a check by U.S. mail.

Licensed child care professionals can find more information and apply online at de.gov/childcarebonus.

Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

El Gobernador también anuncia que el requisito de cubre bocas en escuelas terminara el 31 de Marzo

WILMINGTON, Del. – Este Lunes, el Gobernador John Carney firmó una revisión de la orden del Estado de Emergencia, revocando el mandato universal de cubre bocas para espacios interiores de Delaware que será efectivo a partir de las 8:00 a.m. del Viernes 11 de Febrero.

También en la modificación del Lunes, el Gobernador Carney extendió temporalmente el requisito de cubre bocas en las escuelas públicas y privadas K-12 y en las guarderías. Ese requisito, que aplica a los niños y niñas en edad de kínder y mayores, vencerá el Jueves 31 de Marzo a las 11:59 p.m.

La extensión temporal les brinda y permite tiempo a los padres para vacunar a sus hijos de edad escolar antes que expire el requisito estatal.

La fecha del 31 de Marzo también le permite a los distritos y escuelas tiempo para considerar los requisitos locales de cubre bocas y le brinda tiempo a la División de Salud Pública (DPH) y al Departamento de Educación (DOE) para trabajar con las escuelas sobre las actualizaciones de cuarentena y la orientación de rastreo de contactos.

Haga clic aquí para leer la revisión del Lunes.

Haga clic aquí para leer el Estado de Emergencia completo.

“En cuanto a casos de COVID-19 y hospitalizaciones durante el aumento de Omicron, estamos en un lugar mucho major de lo que estuvimos hace varias semanas,” dijo el Gobernador Carney. “Quiero ser claro en cuanto a esta cuestión: el COVID aun continua circulando en nuestras comunidades. Y el virus aún representa un riesgo de enfermedad grave, en particular entre aquellos que no están al día con sus vacunas. Sin embargo, tenemos las herramientas para mantenernos a nosotros mismos y a los demás a salvo. Háganse vacunar. Obtengan sus refuerzos. Es de especial importancia para los niños y niñas, donde seguimos viendo bajas tasas de vacunación. Para todos los padres presentes — la mejor manera de que sus hijos e hijas continúen dentro de la escuela aprendiendo y de prevenir de que se enfermen, es asegurándose de que estén vacunados. Es tan simple como eso. Quiero agradecer a todos los habitantes de Delaware por tomar en serio esta amenaza.”

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