The International Institute of Lowell’s Child Care Micro Enterprise Program is designed to help refugee and asylee families start a family child care business.

Through their program the participants attend, free of charge, classes in early education; health; safety; basic business and marketing and learn how to operate a  family child care business.

They are now reaching out to family child care professionals in the Commonwealth to offer grant money for business owners who are or were refugees or asylees.

Grant money is available to pay for anything that will improve your business, including college classes or upgrading your libraries and toy collection.

Read more here!!!

To thank providers, your local CCR&R,  Child Care Aware Training Academy™ and our training partner, Smart Horizons, will offer free online training on Friday, May 11, Provider Appreciation Day.

Registration instructions for the 2-hour course, Promoting Nutrition & Physical Activity in Child Care, will be posted here on May 11th.

The course will be available beginning early Friday, and remain available until midnight.

This course is comprised of two classes: Physical Development & Outdoor Play and Nutrition & Menu Planning.

Participants can print a certificate of completion when they finish each class.

The course focuses on strategies providers can use to create a healthier child care setting in light of the growing problem of childhood obesity. The course includes printable resource guides, family letters, activity ideas and planning forms.

To learn more about registering for the free training, click here

 For more about Provider Appreciation Day, click here

You must currently have a minimum of a Bachelor’s degree to participate.

The course will be meeting throughout June in the Hawes Building on the Wheelock Brookline campus.

This course will support program leaders to utilize assessment data and tools to individualize instruction and link it to curriculum and documentation. Additionally this course will focus on on-going program improvement and the sharing of information about children’s growth and development with familes.

To obtain additional information on  Leadership in Assessment, Curriculum and Program Development, or to register for this course visit: www.wheelock.edu/case

How Do I Apply?

• ***NEW MANDATORY REQUIREMENT*** Applicants must have an EEC Professional Qualifications Registry Number to be considered for the ECE Scholarship.
  Applicants who do not have an EEC PQ Registry Number will need to follow this link to the PQ Registry:

• File the 2012-2013 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Look for events at your local library, school, museums and other community organizations.

Some ideas include having your local officials sign a proclamation or organizing a community event at your local library, school or museum. Click here for additional ideas.

Join Let’s Move! Child Care on Friday, March 30, for a free webinar that will focus on the tools and resources available to help providers meet the five Let’s Move! Child Care goals and earn the Provider Recognition Award. This webinar, for trainers and proviers, will review the Checklist Quiz and share tips for creating an action plan to reach the goals.  

 Friday, March 30, 2-3 p.m., Eastern

Space is limited — register here

Subject to the availability of funds, the Department of Early Education and Care is considering an increase in the infant toddler rate.  Should this occur, only child care providers in Massachusetts who are participating by April 13, 2012, in the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) by having completed and submitted to “final” their on-line QRIS Program Manager application at least at a level 2 will be eligible to receive an increase in the infant toddler rate. 

All providers must be registered in QRIS by August 31, 2012, to ensure future funding. If you have not already done so, register today!   

The QRIS Program Manager (QPM) may be accessed through EEC’s Single Sign-In application, along with all of EEC’s online applications, at Online Applications for Authorized Users – Executive Office of Education – Mass.Gov

Date: Thursday, March 22 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern

RSVP: The webinar is free, but participants need to register  in advance.

This webinar for school administrators, teachers, parents and advocates will include important information on the following:

• Schools’ Title IX obligations to respond to bullying and harassment, including cyberbullying, and emerging law on balancing students’ free speech rights with those obligations. Devi Rao from the National Women’s Law Center will discuss these and other commonly asked questions about the law and bullying & harassment.
• Find out how Passage Middle School in Newport News, Virginia worked with the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities to implement “One Book, One School”, an intense anti-bullying initiative. Janelle Spritz from Passage Middle School and Ali Thompson from the Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities will discuss this initiative and explain their impressive results.
• Opportunity to ask questions.

Please join us by registering today! For more on NWLC’s work on bullying and harassment, visit our website.

• The Earned Income Tax Credit

• The IRS Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is available to certain lower income working individuals and families. The amount available for EITC increases with the size of your family. For 2011 tax returns, families can claim a maximum of $ 5,751 with three or more qualifying children.

• EITC is a refundable credit, meaning that not only does is reduce your tax liability down to zero, but any overage will be paid to you in way of a refund.

  In order to qualify for EITC, you must have earned income from employment, self-employment or another source. You have to have a valid Social Security number and you cannot file your taxes as married, filing separately.

• Child Credit
• If you are a parent with children living at home, you may be able to take advantage of a child tax credit. For each child, you can reduce your tax liability by up to $1,000 (as of January 2011). With this particular credit, the children must be under the age of 17 to qualify. You can also get a credit if you pay for child care.

The hit NPR radio program showcasing America’s best young classical musicians is seeking young musicians with military parents who are Active Duty, National Guard, Reserve or post 9-11 Veterans for its live show recording on June 27, 2012, at The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas. The show will be presented by the Military Child Education Coalition at its Annual National Training Seminar. For more information click here.

Get application Here!!!