CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) RESOURCE CENTER Read More
Add To Favorites

CDSA seeks to recruit, honor child care workers

Enid News & Eagle - 6/8/2022

Jun. 8—CDSA Child Care Resource and Referral staff will host Reconnect and Recruit, a child care recruitment and retention event at Northwest Technology Center10 a.m. to 2 p.m June 25 in Alva. The event will honor current child care providers while working to recruit new ones in the area. Self-care training will be provided along side a Q&A session on the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS).

Sixty-two percent of Oklahoma ZIP codes are child care deserts, according to CDSA. A child care desert is defined as an area with census tracts of more than 50 children under the age of 5 where there is either no child care or so little that there are more than three times as many children as there are licensed child care slots.

Child care deserts especially affect families who live in rural areas, need non-traditional hours or need care for children with special needs.

The pandemic has further exacerbated this crisis, leaving many child care providers with staffing shortages, according to CDSA. This has forced many providers to turn away families, close rooms, and even close their doors permanently. To counteract this crisis, the Oklahoma Partnershipfor School Readiness is funding this statewide event, with events to be held in every region of the state. The goal of these events is to not only recruit new child care providers, but to honor the existing DHS licensed providers, who have worked throughout the pandemic with limited resources.

The event will celebrate current DHS licensed providers with free trainings and helping them with the new QRIS. Prizes will be awarded and lunch will be provided.

Potential providers will receive child care licensing information, help applying for licensure, and information on how to receive incentives of up to $10,000 by using the new QRIS.

For more information or to register for the event, call Cheila Armour at (580) 242-6131 or email Cheila.Armour@cdsaok.org.

King is an intern reporter for the Enid News & Eagle.

Have a question about this story? Do you see something we missed? Do you have a story idea for Jazz? Send an email to hking@enidnews.com.

___

(c)2022 the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.)

Visit the Enid News & Eagle (Enid, Okla.) at www.enidnews.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.