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New Policy Report on Environmental Health in the Child Care Setting

SOTU: Let's create opportunities that lift families

FAQ:Grant and Technical Assistance Process

New Policy Report on Environmental Health in the Child Care Setting

A new report by the Environmental Law Institute and the Children's Environmental Health Network examines state policy addressing environmental health in child care facilities. The report focuses on several key indoor environmental exposures, providing an overview of state laws and regulations and highlighting examples of notable policies and programs. The report includes chapters on: radon, carbon monoxide alarms, pesticides, and several other key indoor environmental exposures.

The report, Reducing Environmental Exposures in Child Care Facilities: A Review of State Policies, can be downloaded here.

SOTU: Let's create opportunities that lift families

Matt Josephs, LISC's Senior Vice President for Policy weighs in on the recent State of the Union Address.

When President Obama laid out his vision in last week's State of the Union, he addressed many themes important to low-income families, paying particular attention to what they need to thrive. From good jobs to affordable child care, LISC is already working across the country to help meet the Administration's ambitious goals. Continue reading HERE.

About RICCELFF

The Rhode Island Child Care and Early Learning Facilities Fund (RICCELFF) is an innovative public-private partnership dedicated to expanding access to quality child care and early education opportunities throughout Rhode Island. The RICCELFF provides the capital and technical expertise that child care and early learning centers need to improve the quality and capacity of their physical space. The RICCELFF provides a combination of training, technical assistance, grant funding and flexible, affordable financing for a wide range of indoor and outdoor projects including minor renovations or construction of new, state-of-the art facilities and playground spaces. Click the logo below to learn more about what the RICCELFF can offer your program.

In case you missed the news, early learning facility grants are now available. Learn more about the grants and about the application process on our website.

The deadline for Wave 1 funding is February 6, 2015. The deadline for Wave 2 funding is March 6, 2015.

Like Us on Facebook!

Every Friday, beginning on January 30, 2015 and running until February 27, 2015, we will be randomly selecting one person who has "Liked" our Facebook page to receive a token of thanks for helping us get our message out to more people. We will be sharing lots of helpful information, updates and ideas through social media so please encourage your friends to join us too! And be sure to follow us on Twitter, too.

Megan Ressler, our Grants and Contracts Coordinator (left) and Mary Fasano, Program Office for Real Estate and Lending (right) selecting the January 30th "Thank You" recipient who received a great book- "Caring Spaces, Learning Places: Children's Environments that Work".

Rhode Island LISC is hiring!

You can view available positions HERE.

Frequently Asked Questions on the Grant and Technical Assistance Process

Please be sure to visit our online forum for the most up-to-date questions and answers on the grant process, technical assistance and a variety of other facility-related topics. If you have questions please feel free to post them there! Here are answers to some common questions and some helpful tips:

If you need to develop a plan for your space, for example you know that you need to re-do your playground but you need a comprehensive plan, cost estimates, etc., then you should apply for a planning grant. Our technical assistance will not result in full plan drawings such as those that can be secured with the resources available through planning grants. If you have additional questions or are unsure of which application to complete please contact us at riccelff@lisc.org.
One center can submit multiple applications (for example you can apply for both a planning and a capital grant, or you can apply for technical assistance and a planning grant, etc.). In addition, organizations operating multiple centers can submit applications for each of their individual centers. Once you have registered for an account you are able to submit multiple applications under this registered user name and password. If you experience any technical difficulties please contact Megan at mressler@lisc.org.
We cannot provide you with specific contractor recommendations. However, we do encourage you to visit our resource library and explore the "selecting professionals" section of our website where you will find information on how to go about selecting a contractor as well as a link to a list of contractors who are licensed to perform work in the State of Rhode Island.
Do you just need to bounce a couple of ideas off someone? Need to ask a question to be sure you are on the right track with your application? Not sure which application to complete? E-mail us at any time at riccelff@lisc.org or call 401.331.0131.