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Send us Fan Mail In October at our All Staff Meeting, we recognized five DECAL employees with Spirit of DECAL Awards.  More than 800 employees nominate their peers who personify one or more of the five DECAL Values , which are Delivering Stellar Customer Service, Exhibiting Organizational Excellence, Creating Positive Relationships, Always Valuing Others, and Leading the Way. Then Commissioner Jac...

Send us Fan Mail The Board of Early Care and Learning is DECAL’s 14-member advisory board that meets quarterly to help support the agency’s mission and vision throughout the year. Governor Brian Kemp appoints members to the board based on the congressional districts where they live. Joining us to talk about their new roles on the Board of Early Care and Learning is Maria Franklin from Adairsville,...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s increasingly digital world, safeguarding personal data and securing online assets are more critical than ever. As cyber threats continue to evolve, the demand for legal experts who can navigate the complexities of cyber security and privacy law are on the rise. Joining us to talk about the complex world of cybersecurity and privacy is Sarah Dixon-Morgan, our new Cyberse...

Send us Fan Mail When the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation in 2023 focused on improving literacy among students kindergarten to third grade, they called for the appointment of a Statewide Literacy Coach to serve the Georgia Council on Literacy. They found this person in a longtime educator who has served as teacher, administrator, and Literacy Master Teacher with the Atlanta Public Scho...

Send us Fan Mail DECAL has named its Georgia’s Pre-K Teachers of the Year for the 2024-2025 school year and it was just in time for our 14th annual Georgia’s Pre-K Week. We name a winner from a public school and private school, and this year’s winners are from Lincolnton and Watkinsville. Joining us on the podcast this week is public-school winner Elizabeth Arthur from Lincoln County Elementary Sc...

Send us Fan Mail If you’re looking for financial assistance, food pantries, medical care, child care and more, there is a one-stop shop for community resources near you! It’s called Find Help Georgia, a comprehensive online directory to help strengthen families. And we're coming up soon on our second annual Find Help Georgia Forum. Joining us to talk about Find Help Georgia is Amy Roys, CAPS...

Send us Fan Mail Last month more than 800 DECAL employees gathered at the Cobb Galleria Center for our All Staff Meeting. This event officially celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, as well as the 10th anniversary of our longest serving Commissioner, Amy Jacobs. That seemed like a great time for another Chat with the Commissioner.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail Open Enrollment for the State Health Benefits Plan runs now through November 8. It’s a very important time of the year, as many employees are re-evaluating their health needs and seeking to protect their financial well-being. Joining us to talk about Open Enrollment is Sabrina Henry, Senior Manager of Human Resources.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail From Calhoun to Savannah, our Quality Rated and CAPS teams have been holding stakeholder meetings all across Georgia to highlight policy revisions happening with both programs beginning this month. With pandemic relief funding ending, DECAL has faced some difficult choices focused on ensuring that the needs of families, providers, and the child care workforce are considered. Joini...

Send us Fan Mail As the foundation of a child’s educational journey, early childhood education is pivotal, yet the professionals who dedicate their lives to this field often face unique challenges that require our attention.  Recently DECAL’s Workforce Supports and Learning Division formed a Workforce Task Force aimed at understanding the needs, struggles, and aspirations of early childhood educat...

Send us Fan Mail Today we’re unpacking a critical issue that touches nearly every family in Georgia: the State of Child Care.  Recently our Child Care Services Division completed a comprehensive study on the current state of child care across the state, especially after a worldwide pandemic...and there were some surprises. Joining us this week to talk about the State of Child Care in Georgia is Pa...

Send us Fan Mail Voices for Georgia’s Children and DECAL are proud to announce that the 14th annual Georgia Pre-K Week is set to take place from October 7th to 11th, 2024. This event celebrates the 32nd year of Georgia’s Pre-K Program and highlights the importance of early childhood education across the state. Joining us to talk about Georgia Pre-K Week 2024 is Susan Adams, Deputy Commissioner for...

Send us Fan Mail When you think about DECAL, you think about CAPS, Child Care Services, Georgia’s Pre-K Program, Nutrition…but we also hope you think about our support services like SEEDS which stands for Social Emotional Early Development Strategies.  This is a program designed to increase social and emotional development among our youngest learners and decrease challenging behaviors in early chi...

Send us Fan Mail This week we’re highlighting early childhood workforce development opportunities in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health space. Joining us is DECAL’s Laura Lucas, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Director, Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner of Quality Innovations and Partnerships, and our guests from Georgia State University’s Georgia Association for Infant Me...

Send us Fan Mail Since Fall 2019, DECAL has had a group of volunteers working in their communities to share information with families about the resources available in our state. Our DECAL Family Peer Ambassadors are fathers, mothers, grandparents, foster parents, and other kinship caregivers of young children. They serve as leaders in their community, providing families of young children with info...

Send us Fan Mail The third week in September is Care Seat Safety Awareness Week which focuses on the proper use of car safety seats for children. The national campaign urges parents and caregivers to protect their children making sure they secure them in the correct car seat for their age, height, and weight. Joining us to talk about Car Seat Safety is Traci Reese, Program Manager with the Child O...

Send us Fan Mail Licensed Family Child Care Learning Homes and Child Care Learning Centers in Georgia who are two or three-star Quality Rated are eligible for grants aimed at fostering early language and literacy skills of infants and toddlers. The LITTLE grants, standing for Lifting Infants and Toddlers Through Language-Rich Enviroments, equips providers with increased knowledge and skills in bui...

Send us Fan Mail New data from the CDC here in Atlanta show that vaccinations among kindergarteners has declined to its lowest level in decades and an estimated 750,000 young learners entered kindergarten during the COVID-19 pandemic who were not up to date on their school vaccinations. Joining us this week to talk about immunizations is Kathleen Holmes, Public Health Analyst with the CDC, and Bri...

Send us Fan Mail The second class of a two-generation academy created by Commissioner Jacobs has now graduated. The Georgia 2Gen Academy is presented each year by the Georgia Children’s Cabinet and facilitated by the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. Twenty-six representatives from state agencies, including DECAL and advocacy groups for children and youth, participa...

Send us Fan Mail As the new school year approaches, thousands of children across Georgia are getting ready to take their first steps into the world of structured learning in Georgia’s nationally recognized Pre-K Program. It’s an exciting time, but it can also be overwhelming for both parents and children. Joining us to talk about preparing for Georgia's Pre-K Program are two Georgia’s Pre-K P...

Send us Fan Mail For nearly a decade, Richard Woods has served as State School Superintendent here in Georgia. He has over 30 years of experience in public education, from Pre-K through 12th-grade. He was a high school teacher for 14 years, serving a​s department chair and teacher mentor….he has also served in administrative roles like principal, assistant principal, Pre-K director, and alternativ...

Send us Fan Mail You’re getting two topics for the price of one on this week's podcast. First, it’s never too soon to start saving for your child’s college education. DECAL and Path2College 529 Plan are making that easier with the We Care Child Care Sweepstakes. And then, careers at DECAL…this year we celebrate 20 years as one of the few state agencies in the nation dedicated entirely to earl...

Send us Fan Mail Last month, we looked at the impact on DECAL of the $36-million Fiscal Year 2025 budget signed by Governor Kemp in May. There several bills passed by the Georgia General Assembly and signed by the Governor that took effect July 1 and have an impact on DECAL. Joining us to talk about these new laws taking effect is Rian Ringsrud, Deputy Commissioner of Finance and Administration, a...

Send us Fan Mail Open Records play a crucial role in promoting an open government by providing citizens with the tools to engage with and understand the workings of their government. The concept of Open Records in grounded in the principles of transparency and accountability, ensuring that the public can obtain information about government operations, decisions, and expenditures. Joining us to tal...

Send us Fan Mail Last year, DECAL took over the provider management function of the CAPS Program, something previously handled by our contractor, Maximus. We implemented these changes to offer more streamlined and effective services to child care providers who play a crucial role in supporting children and families. A major component of offering more streamlined and effective services is a new sys...