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CAPS Policy – Overview No.: CAPS/00-1 Effective Date: 10/01/2016

Revised: 00/00/0000 Revision Effective: 00/00/0000

CAPS Policy Manual

Page 5 of 109 LEGAL AUTHORITY: CCDBG Act sec. 658A, O.C.G.A. Sec. 20-1A-1 et seq.; Federal Register: 45 Code of Federal Regulation (CFR) 98 and 99.

Note: Definitions of words or phrases in bold are located in Definitions and Acronyms. Only the first occurrence of the defined words or phrases are bolded.

1 OVERVIEW

Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) 1.1.1 Description Bright from the Start: Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning (DECAL) is responsible for meeting the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children and their families. The department administers the nationally recognized Georgia Pre-K Program, child care learning center and family child care learning home licensing program, Georgia’s Childcare and Parent Services (CAPS) program, federal nutrition programs, and quality enhancement programs. It also houses the Head Start State Collaboration Office, distributes federal funding to enhance the quality and availability of child care, and works collaboratively with Georgia child care resource and referral agencies and organizations throughout the state to enhance early care and education. DECAL's mission and vision is located online at www.decal.ga.gov.

1.1.2 DECAL Child Care and Education Program Information DECAL is focused on helping to meet the child care and early education needs of Georgia’s children ages birth to 18 and their families, with a strong emphasis on quality educational opportunities for children birth to five. It administers various programs and fulfills multiple responsibilities related to child care and early childhood education in Georgia. The following programs are administered by, or operate in collaboration with, DECAL: • Child Care Services Child Care Services licenses and monitors child care providers. For additional information about Child Care Services, visit http://www.decal.ga.gov/CCS/About.aspx.

• Georgia’s Pre-K Program The Georgia Pre-K Program is a lottery-funded educational program for Georgia’s four year old’s to prepare them for kindergarten. For additional information about this program, visit http://www.decal.ga.gov/Prek/About.aspx.

• Head Start State Collaboration The purpose of the Head Start State Collaboration Office is to build collaborative partnerships between federally funded Head Start programs and state-funded early childhood programs to improve the quality of services to low- income children and their families in Georgia. For more information regarding Head Start State Collaboration, visit http://www.decal.ga.gov/HeadStart/About.aspx. To find more information about Head Start, or a Head Start location, visit http://www.georgiaheadstart.org.

• Instructional Supports DECAL also administers and coordinates services and support to help early education programs meet high quality standards and to help early education teachers improve their credentials. This includes: o Professional Learning: http://decal.ga.gov/QualityInitiatives/ProfessionalDevelopment.aspx o Georgia Program for Infant and Toddler Care: http://decal.ga.gov/QualityInitiatives/InfantToddlerCare.aspx o Inclusion Services: http://decal.ga.gov/ChildCareServices/ProviderInclusion.aspx?r=QI

• Nutrition Services Nutrition Services administers the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) in Georgia. These federal nutrition programs are funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and ensure that children and adults throughout Georgia have access to nutritious meals while they are in a day care setting and during the summer when school is not in session. For more information about Nutrition Services, visit http://www.decal.ga.gov/Nutrition/About.aspx.

• Quality Rated: Georgia’s Quality Rated Improvement System (QRIS) Quality Rated is a systemic approach to assess, improve, and communicate the level of quality in early care and education programs. Similar to rating systems for other service-related industries, Quality Rated assigns a quality