Letter from Kelsey Thomas
Dear Providers,
We are experiencing an unprecedented situation globally, nationally, and locally with the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of many businesses closing, DHS is asking that providers do their best to remain open during this time to continue to provide care for children of families that do not have an option to stay home. In addition to providing a healthy environment for yourself and children, you are also going to be providing a calm and safe environment for children who do not have any concept of what all of this means.
Many of you may be concerned about how to adapt to this new situation and keep yourself and your own families as healthy as possible. You’ll find many resources included in this newsletter that you can use to guide your practices and decision making throughout this turbulent time. Included in the resources will be what we, as Delaware Child Development Centers, have developed to support our staff, children, and families at this time as well as legal guidelines from our attorney.
Our support as Resource & Referral is going to look a bit different in our effort to minimize exposure. Because we travel and come into contact with many people and locations during traditional technical assistance and training, we will be cancelling all training until further notice. On-site technical assistance is going to be minimized to ensure the well-being of all involved.
However, that does not mean that we will not be available to support you. Our R&R and Infant/Toddler specialists will all be available via phone, facetime, and email. We will be sending out a survey weekly via email to check-in with you all about how you are dealing with COVID-19. The team will also be checking in via phone calls and texts to stay in touch with you all. One of the purposes for our weekly check-ins will be to see if centers and homes are still open to care for children. This will help our referral center make accurate referrals when parents call looking for child care.
As always, we are also still working on general provider updates that we do twice a year. If you haven’t, please fill out the online survey or call your specialist to update your provider information.
During this chaotic time, I wish you all health - physical, mental, and emotional, as we navigate this difficult time together.
Sincerely,
Kelsey Thomas
Director of Education & Training
Delaware Child Development
918-977-6758
kthomas@delawarechild.org
