ABSTRACT

Cherish Child Care Center (CCCC) is a 150 capacity, licensed center providing an Early Head Start and Head Start program that has been working to address the needs of low-income children and families in Oakland County, Michigan since 2000. CCCC places a significant portion of its services in care and education for children 0-5 years, parent education, and family engagement. While State and Federal restrictions established to reduce the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has placed barriers on the direct services in education, health, mental health, and ancillary services for the 2019- 2020 fiscal year, our programs seeks to fortify the method by which services can continue. CCCC is seeking this $5,000 grant to provide professional development training and technical support to our staff in “Effectively Learning to Engage Children and Families Remotely.” With this grant application, CCCC plans to make significant changes to the existing program to better meet the needs of families that are “sheltering in place” and/ or unable to physically access local resource facilities.

With this proposed grant project, we propose to provide teaching staff and content staff with on-line guidance with planning, preparation, and strategies for delivering quality instructions and enrichment virtually. We will also enhance continuing education opportunities through web series and modules and provide on-going support with technology and software.