Monroe, LA – Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana (CCNELA) held their Annual Meeting virtually on Wednesday, March 24, 2021. A few highlights from the year were:

• Over 150 child care programs received personal protective equipment (PPE) and cleaning supplies to assist them in reopening their centers.
• Since July 2020 in the midst of the pandemic, CCNELA has provided over 500 coaching sessions and trainings to child care centers throughout our region.
• More than 300 Al’s Pals lessons have been taught. This national program gives children tools to identify and manage their emotions.
• CCNELA has given hundreds of free gardening, activity kits, and school supplies to families in our community through our Drive-Thru Super Saturday events.
• Over 130 children have been served in our Early Head Start centers, and 15 teachers have graduated from our Ancillary Teaching Certificate program.
• 36 families have received an array of evidenced-based parenting services that support the development of healthy and caring behaviors in the Children’s Coalition Family Resource Center (FRC).
• Hundreds of middle school students have been trained in the Signs of Suicide (SOS) program. CCNELA trained over 450 students in this program just in the last month.
• There are 19 Student Ambassadors in our U-ACT program in Union Parish.
• The Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems program hosted a virtual baby shower with 60+ participants receiving vital information and gifts.
• Our Tulane Mental Health Consultation Team has been serving 17 child care centers.
• 20 children served in our Pre-K Expansion program this year.

During this online Annual Meeting event, staff members and community award winners were recognized as well as new Board members and officers were elected.

• Five-year staff members
  
  • Kelsey Brice, Larhonda Elzie, Aven Ford, Misti Guerrero, Sarsobu Jackson, Cara Johnson, Tamiko Johnson, Angie Naron, Ivy Parhms, and Roberta Walker.
• Ten-year staff member
  
  • Mary Barrios
• Award Winners 2020
  
  • Friend of the Coalition – Mike Walsworth
    
  • Volunteers of the Year – Sarah & Nathan Tremaine
    
  • Youth Volunteer of the Year – Hallie Winters
    
  • Saul Mintz Early Childhood Champion – Emily Williamson (posthumously)
• Award Winners 2021
  
  • Friend of the Coalition – Stephanie Herrmann and Union Parish Library
    
  • Volunteer of the Year – Gerry Binkley
    
  • Saul Mintz Early Childhood Champion – Drax Biomass
• Board of Directors 2021-2022
  
  • Cathy Agan, Kathryn Bagley, Denise Breard, Diana Breen, Caleb Burns, Tommy Carr, Stephanie Carter, Cathi Cox-Boniol, Andrew Dodson, Ashley Gilbert, David Hartt, Laura, Hartt, Leigh Hersey, Myisha Jackson, Jennifer Johnson, Lisa Kiper, Terry Matthews, Lisa Miller, Joe K. Montgomery, Alpa Patel, Cynthia Rodriguez, DeRon Talley, Patience Talley, and Mark Wilson
• Board Members Completing Their Years of Service
  
  • Janis Barraza, Mark Parrish, and Carmen Sims
• New Officers for the Board of Directors
  
  • Mark Wilson, President
    
  • Cynthia Rodriguez, Past President
    
  • Lisa Kiper, President-Elect
    
  • Alpa Patel, Secretary
    
  • David Hartt, Treasurer

“The support our center continues to receive from the Children’s Coalition during the COVID-19 pandemic has been immeasurable and unparalleled.” -Hillary & Don Liu, Ph.D., owners of Ruston Early Learning Center

“Child care is essential for pandemic response and economic recovery. Despite the key role child care providers are playing in support of other essential industries during the COVID-19 pandemic, the child care system as a whole is in crisis due to the economic impact. The Children’s Coalition for Northeast Louisiana has taken action and has successfully shifted to meet great needs and challenges during the pandemic and extraordinary weather events in our region.” -Leann Bond, Executive Director

The Children’s Coalition for NELA Lead Agency intends to submit the Coordinated Funding Request for the 2021-2022 school year on behalf of the following parishes:

• East Carroll
• Richland
• Morehouse
• Ouachita & City of Monroe

If awarded the funds requested will be used to fund early childhood seats for LA4, NSECD, and Preschool Development Grant Birth-3.

Each publicly funded early childhood program was provided equal opportunity to complete the coordinated funding request application for their network, funds were requested for eligible programs.  

Eligibility requirements are as follows:  

• LA4 - programs must be a public school system, rated proficient or higher on early childhood performance profile, use Tier 1 curriculum and have certified lead teachers. 
• NSECD - program must not be a public school, must be rated proficient or higher on early childhood performance profile, use Tier 1 curriculum and have certified lead teachers. 
• PDG - must be a publicly funded Type III early learning center, serve infants, must be rated proficient or higher on early childhood performance profile, use Tier 1 curriculum and have certified lead teachers. 

​
The funding requests have been posted for public comment on Children's Coalition for Northeast Louisiana website as of January 22nd - February 1st, 2021.  

Notice of public comment has been emailed to early childhood program partners and community stakeholders including Ready Start Advisory as appropriate for Morehouse and Richland and Children's Coalition Board of Directors.  

Comments may be submitted via email to Amy Clancy by February 1st, 2021.

The Louisiana Department of Education announced changes to the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which provides federal funds to help low-income working families pay for child care. The changes, approved during today’s Board of Elementary and Secondary Education meeting, enable more Louisiana families to afford and qualify for child care assistance. 

​Effective February 1, 2021:

• CCAP daily reimbursement rates will be increased to reflect the state’s current market rates for child care, significantly reducing out of pocket cost for working families and increasing family choice.
• Income eligibility will be increased to 65% of the State Median Income (SMI) in order to align with other child care programs, allowing families to make more income and still qualify for child care subsidy (CCAP).
• Providers will be reimbursed at the state’s newly established daily reimbursement rate irrespective of their own rates to assist with paying toward the true cost of quality child care.

“To reach our goal of ensuring all students are ready for kindergarten, it’s vital that we increase access to high-quality child care for Louisiana’s most vulnerable children,” said State Superintendent of Education Dr. Cade Brumley. “This shift puts higher quality programs within the reach of families who need them.”

Historically, families receiving child care assistance have been limited in their options by what they can afford with the help of child care assistance. Current CCAP reimbursement rates provide access to approximately one in four centers. The rate increase will allow CCAP-eligible families to choose between three in every four centers. This change will help ensure that more low-income families that are working, in school or actively seeking work can access high-quality child care for their children.

This will expand options for families who couldn’t previously afford the gap between what a provider charged and what the state pays, and thereby, open the door to families who could not previously afford child care at all.

“These necessary updates to the CCAP program help to address the real financial needs of low-income families regarding child care,” said BESE President Sandy Holloway. “Raising the reimbursement rates and expanding income eligibility will greatly increase the number of quality child care options for more families across the state that need assistance, and that ultimately leads to more children being prepared to learn on day one of kindergarten.”

“The proposed changes to the CCAP rates are one of the most significant and impactful measures we can take that will have lifelong impacts on our youngest learners,” said Alan Young, Owner of Southland Park Learning Center and Early Childhood Advisory Council Member. “These proposed changes will provide families access to additional high-quality early learning centers,ensuring every child is ready to learn when they enter kindergarten.”  

"The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children applauds the Louisiana Department of Education and BESE for making the necessary changes to both the reimbursement rates and eligibility criteria of the Child Care Assistance Program,” said Louisiana Policy Institute for Children Executive Director Dr. Libbie Sonnier. “These changes will help more Louisiana families get back to work to support our economy as well as support the growth and development of young children entering kindergarten ready to learn.” 

The income eligibility for CCAP is being increased to approximately 200% of the federal poverty level or $43,440 for a family of three. Along with making child care affordable for more families, this change also better aligns CCAP’s income eligibility with other early childhood programs like LA 4. 

​The policy changes are part of a broader effort by the Department — in collaboration with BESE, child care providers, advocates and families — to unify the system of early childhood education and to prepare all children for kindergarten by increasing access to and affordability of child care statewide.

Louisiana’s annual education conference is returning in 2021 with in-person and virtual options for educators from across the state. Registration is now open for the Louisiana Department of Education’s 2021 Teacher Leader Summit. The theme of this year’s event is Inspire. Innovate. Impact. The in-person Summit will be held May 25-27 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The Teacher Leader Summit: The Virtual Series will take place June 1-3.

The current registration is for the in-person Summit. Information will be released at a later date for the virtual event. In-person registration information is as follows:
Early Bird Registration (January 8 - March 1) 

• One Day Ticket: $55 
• Two Day Ticket: $108

Regular Registration (March 2 - April 12) 

• One Day Ticket: $71 
• Two Day Ticket: $140

Regular Registration (March 2 - April 12) 

• One Day Ticket: $71 
• Two Day Ticket: $140

Both the Department and the Morial Convention Center are taking measures to promote the health and safety of all participants. As a result, overall capacity will be reduced. Due to social distancing parameters, the Department has allocated a specific allotment of seats to each school system and early childhood lead agency for the in-person event. There will be no onsite registration this year. All registrations must be completed in advance of arriving at the event.

The Department has notified each system of their total number of seats and each school system has been issued a unique registration code for all tickets during the registration process. It is up to each school system or each early childhood lead agency to determine the best path for disbursing seats across their schools, sites and educators. 

Additionally, the Department will host the Teacher Leader Summit: The Virtual Series on June 1-3. The Virtual Series allows the Department to reach more Louisiana educators and deliver even more content.

To best assist schools systems and school leaders in determining to whom they should distribute their allocated seats, the Department has released a one-pager outlining which content will be delivered in-person and which content to expect to be delivered virtually. General Summit information can be found in the 
overview document posted to the Teacher Leader Library. Please contact [email protected] with questions. 

In addition to in-person registration, the Department is also accepting exhibitor applications for the resource fair and design concepts for the annual Summit t-shirt.

If you or someone you know needs disaster assistance information, please click on the buttons below to find out more as well contact information if you have more questions. 

A quick fix may change the decision if you applied for FEMA help following Hurricane Laura and you disagree with your determination letter.
 
Everybody has a right to appeal. There are common reasons why FEMA may have denied your application. Read your determination letter carefully to understand FEMA’s decision and know exactly what you need to do for your appeal. Often, applicants just need to submit some extra documents for FEMA to process their application.
 
FEMA can reconsider you in some cases if you:

• Submit insurance documents. Provide documents from your insurance company that detail your coverage or settlement is insufficient to make essential home repairs, provide a place to stay, or replace certain contents. FEMA cannot duplicate homeowner or renter insurance benefits.
• Prove occupancy. Provide documents that prove the damaged home or rental was your primary residence by supplying a copy of utility bills, driver’s license or lease.
• Prove ownership. Provide documents such as mortgage or insurance documents, tax receipts or a deed. If you don’t have a deed handy, contact your local or parish officials about obtaining a copy.

 
There are many other reasons you may disagree with FEMA’s decision. If you feel the amount or type of assistance is incorrect, submit a signed, written explanation outlining why you believe FEMA’s decision is incorrect and copies of any documents supporting your appeal, including proof of your disaster losses.
 
Your full name, your FEMA application number and disaster number, your pre-disaster primary residence address and your current phone number and address should be included on all submitted documents. Application and disaster numbers are printed on page 1 of your determination letter, above your name and address.
 
Instructions to submit your appeal documents:
There are four ways you can submit your letter and documents. Be sure to include the cover letter you received from FEMA when you submit them.

1. Mail documents and your letter within 60 days of receiving your determination letter to the address below. Your letter with accompanying documents must be postmarked within 60 days of the date on your letter from FEMA regarding your eligibility. FEMA National Processing Service Center P.O. Box 10055, Hyattsville, MD 20782-7055
2. Fax them to 800-827-8112.  
3. Upload them online at www.disasterassistance.gov if you have a FEMA online account. To set up a FEMA online account, visit the site and click on “Check Your Application and Log In” and follow the directions.
4. Visit a FEMA drive-thru Disaster Recovery Center. The center operates under strict COVID-19 protocols to ensure the safety of all participants. Masks or face coverings are required for entry and service. You will remain in your car. A specialist wearing a face mask will receive your documents through the window and return them to you. Find your closest center by calling the FEMA helpline at 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585, going online to www.disasterassistance.gov or downloading the FEMA app.  

​You may see Disaster Survivor Assistance team members visiting door-to-door in your area. Check for official FEMA photo identification. They will be able to answer questions and update your records if you need assistance with documents.
 
If you have questions about submitting insurance documents, proving occupancy or ownership, or anything else about your determination letter, call the FEMA helpline 800-621-3362 or TTY 800-462-7585. Those who use 711 or Video Relay Service can call 800-621-3362. 
Toll-free numbers are open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Multilingual operators are available.
 
For the latest information on Hurricane Laura, click the button below. You can follow the FEMA Region 6 Twitter account by clicking the button below.