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The laptops donated by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation arrived at the U-ACT office to be distributed. One student received a gift card and other gifts to help him on his journey joining the military. The other eleven students received a brand new laptop, wireless mouse, Microsoft Office software, a flash drive, and a laptop bag with other gifts. The laptop bag contains several U-ACT gifts as well as gifts from Mrs. Jackie Hill with D.A.R.T., Mrs. Claudia Wade with Union General Hospital, and Stephanie Herrmann with the Union Parish Library. 

Thank you Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation and Union Parish community partners!

Bayou Life Magazine​ | As a parent or caretaker you have to practice effective communication and prepare yourself for conflicts and disagreements. The key to building a positive relationship and sorting out any communication difficulties with your teenager is to keep the channels of communication open. We can get locked into unhelpul ways of communicating, that once we're in are hard to avoid. Your teenager still needs to know you are interested but watchful, that you care and are on their side, even if you don't always agree with them. You need to have the skill and the emotional resilience to go on offering help, even in the face of indifference and opposition. 

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Bayou Life Magazine​ | Managing stress is an important part of building resilience. Having a range of healthy coping skills to turn to allows young people to bounce back from challenges. We hope our children will come to us to talk about the stress in their lives. The reality is they often attempt to manage stress on their own. And in their attempts to reduce discomfort, teens often turn to things that make them feel better quickly. This may include taking part in risky behaviors like drinking or drug use. These short-term "fixes" are often misguided attempts to deal with stress. Equipping teens with a wide range of healthy coping skills reduces the need to turn to worrisome behaviors and supports emotional and physical health.

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The Louisiana Department of Education today announced it would award nearly $11 million in federal funding to child care providers in a third round of grants to offset the financial impacts of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The funding is intended to support early learning sites that safely remained open or reopened during this unprecedented time. This round of grants will include an additional amount for providers serving children in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP).

The funding stems from the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act. The awards will benefit nearly 700 child care providers statewide who participate in CCAP, and in turn, serve over 46,000 children birth through age 13.

"For many in Louisiana, quality child care is the key factor in returning to work and providing for their family," said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. "These funds help support those educators who care for our youngest children. Our early childhood centers have been serving our essential workers, who in turn are on the frontlines of our health crisis. It's only right that we are there for them."

The grant awards represent the third round of this particular aid. These grants are available as the state continues forward on its Roadmap to a Resilient Louisiana, the Governor's plan for safely reopening the state.

Though early learning centers were not required to close under Louisiana's stay-at-home order, which went into effect in March, more than 70 percent of providers closed their doors. Those that remained open primarily served the children of workers on the frontlines of the response effort. Seventy percent of providers are now offering services, compared to 30 percent in April.

The latest round of grant funding builds on steps Louisiana has taken to support child care providers. The Department has:

• Paid providers based on the enrollment of students receiving a subsidy, not attendance, to help ensure centers made closure decisions based on safety alone;
• Issued rapidly-evolving health and safety guidance, including reopening guidance, for child care centers;
• Connected child care workers to the important feeding programs run by school systems to ensure the people who care for children did not have to worry about putting food on the table for their own and those they educate; 
• Enabled essential personnel to go to work with confidence their children are in good hands by opening, and then extending, the CCAP to essential workers across the state;
• Released a suite of resources and additional funding opportunities to ensure a strong start for every child in every community; and
• Equipped every child care provider with high-demand supplies to ensure a safe and health reopening.

While these efforts have provided much-needed support, more must be done, according to a recent report by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children. The report shows early care and education providers, some of whom risk permanently closing, need support to reopen, and parents will have even more difficulty affording early care and education due to COVID-19 precautions. It emphasizes critical investments must be made in early care and education for employees to return to work and the Louisiana economy to fully reopen.

Last month, the Louisiana Department of Education released guidance how schools across the state can reopen for the 2020-2021 school year, by taking actions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The guidelines were developed with input from public health officials, education leaders, and other key stakeholders. In addition to the reopening guidelines, our Strong Start page is updated with additional resources and a dynamic frequently asked questions document. We will continually update this FAQ, as I know you all have questions about reopening.
 
This guidance builds upon our previously released guidance for safely operating summer schools and camps as well as the Office of Public Health Guidelines for Child Care. 
 
Even with these guidelines and resources, there are many unknowns. This is uncharted territory for us in care and education. I understand your concerns.
 
The Department will conduct a COVID-19 Update webinar on Thursday, July 16. Please follow the instructions below to access the webinar. During this time, we will address the upcoming LaCAP relief grant, discuss of reopening guidelines, and answer questions from providers about reopening.

• Webinar Date and Time: Thursday, July 16 at 1 p.m.
• Webinar Link: https://ldoe.zoom.us/j/99767619848
• Phone Number: +1 (312)-626-6799
• Meeting ID#: 997 6761 9848

 
The following resources are linked in this newsletter:

• COVID-19 FAQ for Early Childhood Providers
• Office of Public Health Guidelines for Child Care
• Child Care Decision Tree
• School Reopening Guidelines and Resources
• Open Child Care Facilities by Parish
• Schools Serving Meals by Parish

 
For more information regarding COVID-19, please visit the LDH website and CDC website. Additional information can be found on the Department's COVID-19 Update page.