Supporting Families Together Association Inc

WE OPTIMIZE THE OPPORTUNITY EARLY CHILDHOOD PRESENTS TO BUILD A STRONG FOUNDATION FOR LIFE.

QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATIONLICENSING PREPARATION--IN DELIVERING THESE SERVICES, SFTA ALSO PROVIDES CONTRACT MANAGEMENT, QUALITY ASSURANCE, AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT TO OUR REGIONAL CCR&R PARTNERS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO CREATE AND SUSTAIN A FIELD OF PROFESSIONALS THAT ARE QUALIFIED AND PREPARED TO PROVIDE LICENSED CHILDCARE. THE SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO SUPPORT QUALIFIED AND COMMITTED POTENTIAL CHILDCARE PROFESSIONALS IN PREPARING FOR THE LICENSING PROCESS BY ENSURING SAFE AND HEALTHY ENVIRONMENTS ARE ARRANGED AND APPROPRIATE POLICIES ARE IN PLACE. CHILDCARE RESOURCE AND REFERRAL (BASE CONTRACT)--INCLUDING BOTH COMPONENTS OF ADMINISTRATION AND OPERATIONS. WITH DEFINITIONS OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND DATA COLLECTION PROCESSES PRIORITIZED. EACH CCR&R GENERATED THEIR OWN CUSTOMIZED WORK PLAN BASED UPON NINE OPTIONS FOR SERVICES: TRAINING, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, ONLINE COURSE CONVERSION, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION OF REGULATED PROVIDERS, ENGAGEMENT OF AUTOMATED 2 STAR AND PROVIDERS NOT PARTICIPATING IN YOUNGSTAR, CUSTOMIZED SUPPORTS FOR 4 AND 5 STAR PROVIDERS, SCHOLARSHIPS AND STIPENDS FOR TRAINING, COHORT MODELS, AND COVID-19 SUPPORTS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO ADDRESS THE SYSTEMIC BARRIERS REGARDING ACCESS TO AND QUALITY OF EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION SETTINGS ACROSS WISCONSIN. THE SHORT-TERM OBJECTIVE IS TO INSPIRE, DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT INNOVATIVE STRATEGIES FOR IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION IN WISCONSIN IN WAYS THAT COMPLEMENT AND OPTIMIZE OTHER QUALITY IMPROVEMENT INITIATIVES, SUCH AS YOUNGSTAR. YOUNGSTAR--IN COLLABORATION, SFTA AND CCR&RS DELIVER A PACKAGE OF SERVICES INCLUDING TRAINING AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, RATING, AND MICRO-GRANTS TO SUPPORT THE QUALITY IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS OF CHILDCARE PROGRAMS. THE LONG-TERM OBJECTIVE OF THIS PROGRAM IS TO ENSURE THAT ALL OF WISCONSIN'S CHILDREN ARE RECEIVING QUALITY EARLY CARE AND EDUCATION SERVICES. CURRENT AREAS OF FOCUS ARE TO ENCOURAGE PROVIDERS WHO HAVE TAKEN AUTOMATED RATINGS TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN QUALITY IMPROVEMENT EFFORTS AND TO MOVE PROGRAMS UP IN STAR LEVELS.TECHNOLOGY ACCESS PROGRAMIN COLLABORATION, SFTA, THE CCR&R AND THE WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES (DCF) LAUNCHED A NEW PROGRAM TO FURTHER SUPPORT CHILDCARE BUSINESSES BY PROVIDING MUCH NEEDED TECHNOLOGY ACCESS. THROUGH THE FEDERAL CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE AND RELIEF SUPPLEMENTAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT (CRRSA) OF 2021, $10 MILLION IN FUNDS WERE DIRECTED TOWARD SUPPORTING CHILDCARE PROGRAMS THROUGH THE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS PROGRAM. DCF CONTRACTED WITH SUPPORTING FAMILIES TOGETHER ASSOCIATION (SFTA) AND KAPLAN EARLY LEARNING COMPANY TO OFFER ELIGIBLE REGULATED WISCONSIN CHILDCARE PROGRAMS THE OPPORTUNITY TO ORDER FREE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES AND SOFTWARE TO SUPPORT BUSINESS OPERATIONS.

STRONG FAMILIESPARENT EDUCATION INITIATIVETHROUGH FUNDING FROM THE CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION BOARD, SFTA BUILDS AWARENESS AND INNOVATIVELY SUPPORTS COMMUNITIES STATEWIDE THROUGH THE SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION AND SUSTAINABILITY OF EVIDENCE-BASED PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMMING. THIS IS A STATEWIDE INITIATIVE AND THE GOALS OF THE FAMILY STRENGTHENING CONTINUUM TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANT ARE 1) TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED/EVIDENCE-INFORMED PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMMING IN AN EFFORT TO ACHIEVE THE LONG-TERM GOAL OF STATEWIDE REACH 2) TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY-BASED AGENCIES IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-INFORMED PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAMS AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS FRAMEWORK TRAINING AND 3) TO BUILD AWARENESS OF THE FAMILY STRENGTHENING CONTINUUM AND THE NEED FOR COMMUNITIES TO HAVE PRIMARY CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT PREVENTION STRATEGIES. THE PURPOSE OF THIS GRANT IS TO SUPPORT EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN ALL WISCONSIN FAMILIES AND REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF CHILD ABUSE AND NEGLECT THROUGH STATEWIDE PREVENTION COORDINATION AND MONITORING CONTINUOUS QUALITY IMPROVEMENT.

HEALTHY CHILDREN WITH FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE UW SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH'S WISCONSIN PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM, PREVENTING EXPULSION IN EARLY CARE IS A FIVE GRANT WITH A GOAL TO PREVENT EXPULSION AND ELIMINATE THE DISPARITY IN EXPULSION RATES FOR CHILDREN 0 TO 5. THIS WILL OCCUR BECAUSE THE INNOVATIVE MODEL OF TIERED SUPPORT WILL BE ADOPTED STATEWIDE, SUPPORTING BOTH A CHANGE IN HOW THE FIELD OF EARLY EDUCATION APPROACHES CHALLENGING BEHAVIORS AND A NEW STATE-LEVEL POLICY ON EARLY EXPULSION THAT IS WELL-INFORMED, WELL-FUNDED AND DRIVEN BY FAMILIES AND EARLY EDUCATORS IN WISCONSIN.