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In March, DECAL released the results of our most recent Economic Impact Study, which evaluates the importance of the early care and education industry to the state’s economy. This is the third Economic Impact Study we have commissioned, following the first in 2008 and the second in 2016. Like previous studies, this report is a collaboration between researchers at the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies and the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. Joining us to talk about the economic impact of the early care and education industry in Georgia is Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships, Rob O’Callaghan, Director of Institutional Research and Data Quality, and our special guests from the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, researchers Dr. Peter Bluestone and Nicholas Warner. Support the show

DECAL will celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week in Georgia May 6-10, 2024, as we have done for the last four years in the first full week of May. Similar to Georgia’s Pre-K Week, and Inclusive Early Learning Week, this special week in May reminds us that the early years in a child’s life provide a key opportunity to establish safe and secure relationships and support healthy social and emotional development. Joining us to talk about Children’s Mental Health Week is our own, Laura Lucas, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Director at DECAL and our guests: Lisa Pace, Director of Operations from Georgia Parent Support Network (GPSN), Erin Harlow- Parker, Manager of Child Advocacy Programs, Behavioral Mental Health from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) and Maria Ramos, Senior Program Specialist from Voices for Georgia’s Children. Support the show

Despite advancements in technology and all of the screen time each of us total up in a month, the public library continues to be a popular place for individuals and families here in Georgia. There are 410 public libraries across the state…and that library card holds more value than ever.  With National Library Week coming up April 7-13, this is a great time to talk about the Georgia Public Library Service with Julie Walker, State Librarian and Vice Chancellor for Libraries and Archives, and Evan Bush, Director of Youth Services for the Georgia Public Library Service.  Support the show

In December, DECAL and the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning announced our three winners for Georgia’s Early Childhood Educators of the Year for the 2023-2024 school year. Joining us today is Laura Wagner, Executive Director for the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning; Miranda Murphy is our Practice and Support Services Outreach and Project Manager.  And our very special guests….the Early Childhood Educators of the Year for 2023-2024, Noel Weimer from Water Oak Family Child Care Learning Home in Roswell is the infant teacher of the year; Bianca Brown from the Greenbriar School in Evans is the Toddler teacher of the year; and Chantelle Hester from Smart Starters Academy Family Child Care Learning Home in Savannah is the Preschool teacher of the year.  Support the show

Today they may be learning their colors, shapes, and letters…but before you know it, those four-year-olds in Georgia’s Pre-K Program will be all grown up and headed to technical school or college.  That’s why each year we join Path2College 529 Plan and the Georgia Student Finance Commission for our Pre-K to College Sweepstakes.  Joining us this week to talk about Pre-K to College is Mitch Seabaugh, Executive Director of the Path2College 529 Plan; Devon Porter, DECAL’s Summer Transition Program and Outreach Manager for Georgia’s Pre-K Program, and Nicole Lewis, the parent of Griffin Lewis, a Pre-K student at Baker Place Elementary School in Grovetown, one of our scholarship recipients from last year.  Support the show

During the COVID pandemic, DECAL offered POWER payments to all eligible early learning professionals and staff here in Georgia.  POWER stood for Providing our workforce essential recognition and at $1,000 per person in three rounds totaled over $118 million in supplemental payments from the American Rescue Plan. Today POWER has become POWER-ED, a wage supplement paid through DECAL Scholars to support early child care workers as they begin or further their education. Joining us this week is Abby Mozo, Professional Learning Operations Analyst here at DECAL, and Lindsey Peterson and Charlotte Pelz, both with Care Solutions, who help us administer the program. Support the show

DECAL's Thriving Child Care Business Academy opened its virtual doors in September 2023. The Academy offers a wide selection of free online trainings and educational resources to help owners and administrators of child care programs learn the best management practices that will help their businesses thrive. Joining us to talk more about the Academy is Quality Innovations and Partnerships Communications and Outreach Manager Sonja Steptoe and two of DECAL’s partners in the Academy, Gary Romano, president of Civitas Strategies; and Alyssa Foskey, Area Director with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center at Valdosta State University. Support the show

An Early Childhood Care and Education Student at Ogeechee Technical College in Statesboro has been named as the school’s 2024 GOAL Student. Ashley Ford is a mother of two daughters and a child care teacher at Kids World Learning Center in Statesboro. Ashley joins us for this week's podcast, along with Sarah Beverley, who is a Student Navigator and GOAL coordinator at the college, and Dr. Christi Moore, Professional Learning Director here at DECAL.  Support the show

This summer, kids throughout Georgia will continue to have access to free nutritious meals and snacks through Happy Helpings, Georgia’s Summer Food Service Program. Joining us today to tell us more about Happy Helpings are Director of Nutrition Services Tamika Boone, Marketing and Outreach Manager Cindy Kicklighter, and special guest Deborah Wilson, the founder and director of Georgia Nutritional Services and a Happy Helpings sponsor. Support the show

If you have been around DECAL for any time over our past 20 years now, you have heard the name Jennie Couture.  Jennie was our Director of Practice and Support Services who retired in 2022 after a 40 year career dedicated to special education, inclusion, and behavioral support. To honor Jennie and her love for inclusion, the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning began the Jennie Couture Legacy Scholarship Fund, a program that serves early childhood educators with professional development opportunities in areas so close to Jennie’s heart:  inclusion and social-emotional development. Joining us to talk about the Jennie Couture Legacy Scholarship is Laura Wagner, Executive Director of the Georgia Foundation for Early Care + Learning; our first recipient of the award, Tierra Faulcon with Faulcon Prep Academy in Smyrna, and of course the lady, the legend herself, Jennie Couture. Support the show

DECAL’s Inclusive Early Learning Week will be celebrated the week of February 12-16, 2024. The mission of IELW is to promote inclusive practices within early learning environments across Georgia. This year we are also celebrating the Inclusion and Behavior Support Program’s 10-year anniversary at DECAL. Joining us to share more about inclusion and IELW, are Peggy Sutton, Inclusion and Behavior Support Regional Supervisor, Tabitha Howard, Center Director at YMCA Paulding Early Learning Center, Tina Holt, Georgia’s Pre-K Inclusion Lead Teacher at YMCA Paulding Early Learning Center, and Michele Biggers, whose 14 year old daughter Payton has written a book about inclusion called Autism Gives Me Superpowers.  Support the show

Since Fall of 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 information about child development and strategies they can use to support their children’s school readiness. Joining us today are Bridget Ratajczak, DECAL’s Child and Family Development Supervisor and CDC’s Act Early Ambassador to the state of Georgia; Jenny Semendy, DECAL’s Child and Family Development Training Specialist, and some of our Family Peer Ambassadors: Taquana Stubbs from Douglasville; Christina Sanchez from Atlanta, and Teyona Early from Warner Robins. Support the show

Since 2016, DECAL has offered paid internships to students currently enrolled in a Georgia college, university, or law school with a grade point average of 3.0 or higher. We took a break during the pandemic years of 2020 through 2022, but last year the interns returned. Joining us this week to talk about their experiences so far are two of our communications and government relations interns: Mackenzie Weston is a senior at Kennesaw State University, and Trey Freeman is a senior at Clayton State University. Working with the Georgia Foundation for Early Care and Learning is Brianna Thomas, a graduate student from Kennesaw State University. Also joining us is Mark Dock, Senior Manager of Human Resources here at DECAL. Support the show

The 2024 Session of the Georgia General Assembly opened recently with everything you might expect from the Wild Hog Supper to Governor Kemp’s State of the State Address. But what can we expect for DECAL and early childhood care and education in Georgia this session? Joining us to talk about the Georgia General Assembly, Governor Kemp’s State of the State address, and other topics is Polly McKinney, Advocacy Director for Voices for Georgia’s Children and a partner at Lexicon Strategies, and Rian Ringsrud, Deputy Commissioner for Finance and Administration for DECAL.Support the show

On this week's episode, Commissioner Jacobs flips the script on Host Reg Griffin and asks him the questions.  It's a chance to learn more about our Chief Communications Officer and the DECAL Communications Team.  Support the show

Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind…unless you’re talking about this episode of DECAL Download where we count down the top episodes of 2023 in this look back on our top stories of the year.  As in past years, episodes about COVID money continue to be among the most popular….but also new initiatives like Community Transformation Grants and the Thriving Child Care Business Academy. Since we started this podcast in September 2018, we have had close to 77-thousand downloads. So just like Ryan Seacrest or Casey Casem, we are counting down the Top Ten episodes of DECAL Download from 2023.Support the show

Earlier this year, DECAL awarded new EXPAND Grants to seven child care providers and six nonprofit and government organizations.  Supported by research and analysis showing that the availability of high-quality child care and early education plays a key role in Georgia’s workforce development and economic growth, DECAL created the EXPAND Grants with the growing need for childcare outside traditional hours in mind. Here to talk about the new EXPAND grants is Jill Taylor, Director of Community Partnerships and 2Gen Outreach; Shayna Funke, Director of Research Partnerships and Business Supports; and Dr. Bentley Ponder, Deputy Commissioner for Quality Innovations and Partnerships.Support the show

In May, 2019, Dennis Brice joined DECAL as our Chief Information Officer, coming to us from McKesson where he served as Vice President of Human Capitol Management and Corporate Applications.  About nine months later, COVID became our new reality and, like the rest of the world, DECAL had to shift to more online offerings to keep the agency moving forward.  On this episode we check in with Dennis on new DECAL projects, the challenges of AI, and why Commissioner Jacobs sometimes thinks we should go back to "memos and landlines."Support the show

It's our annual Holiday Episode as we unwrap stories, explore traditions, and embrace the magic that makes this time of year truly extraordinary.  As usual, we are joined by members of the DECAL team to discuss great gift ideas for children birth to five, some healthy recipe ideas, and holiday traditions from the DECAL team.  Joining us on this episode is Pre-K Program Specialist Alice Lasseter, Nutrition and Physical Activity Supervisor Diana Myers, and a special guest from the North Pole! Georgia's Pre-K Program Specialist Megan OBara and CAPS Consultant Latisha Lewis provide holiday music.Support the show

Early care and education professionals in Georgia have a true partner in Georgia Public Broadcasting.  GPB’s education division provides FREE digital media and content for Georgia educators and students, starting with preschool and Pre-K, and going up through middle and high school. They are developing some innovative and groundbreaking programs with app and web-based learning for children as young as four years old.  Joining us on this week’s podcast is Laura Evans who recently became Vice President of Education for Georgia Public Broadcasting.   Support the show