Newsletter Archives - Page 2 of 33

Family Child Care Homes/Unaffiliated Centers Food Program (FCCH/UC)

Central Kentucky Community Action Council (CKCAC) is a proud sponsor of the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The CACFP is a federal program designed to promote the serving of nutritious meals and snacks to children and adults in the care of participating childcare centers, day care homes and adult day care centers. CKCAC currently sponsors Family Child Care Homes (FCCH) and Unaffiliated Day Care Centers (UC) in the following 18 Kentucky counties: Anderson, Boyle, Casey, Fayette, Franklin, Hardin, Jessamine, LaRue, Lincoln, Meade, Mercer, Nelson, Pulaski, Scott, Taylor, Washington, Wayne, and Woodford.

FCCH client Delane Green in Somerset, KY, Pulaski County retired after 30+ years at the end of May 2024. We will miss her but wish her the best. We recently added Stephanie Petrie in Springfield, KY, Washington County, so we are still currently sponsoring 24 child care homes.

The following recent changes with our center sponsorships brings our current UC sponsorship total to 22 plus 4 in the works for a total of 26 expected with the June/July reporting.

· Educating Butterflies in Springfield, KY, Washington County closed mid-April due to their landlord wanting to utilize the building for other purposes and the center owner being unable to find a location to relocate.

· Recently added client Stepping Stones Academy in Harrodsburg, KY, Mercer County has decided to end their sponsorship with their May 2024 report and begin a summer school program they feel will better suit their needs.

· Little Lambs in Frankfort, KY, Franklin County is under new ownership and will be called Rainbow Childcare Center. The new owners have asked Jamie Miller to continue as the center’s Director. He is currently working on refreshing the center and obtaining all the necessary items to reopen under the new name. We have met and have most of the preliminary items needed for state approval. We hope to complete the state approval process asap once they open.

· Safe Harbor Learning Academy in Nicholasville, KY Jessamine County is working on getting completed child CACFP enrollment forms to complete their CACFP application for sponsorship. We hope to get them started in the food program by July at the latest.

· Caritas House in Lexington, KY, Fayette County reached out to us requesting sponsorship in the CACFP. They are considered an Emergency Shelter so all the children in their care will be eligible for free meal reimbursement rates in the food program and do not require CACFP enrollment forms. They plan to have ten beds and expect to be full quickly once they are open for enrollment. They are slightly different than the homes and centers we are accustomed to sponsoring, but CKCAC is proud to be able to offer our sponsorship. They have been approved and will participate once they become an active shelter.

· Memorial Angels in Elizabethtown, KY, Hardin County is working towards providing meals to the children in their care (as opposed to parents/guardians providing bagged lunches, etc.) and has requested our sponsorship in the CACFP. They have had their Pre-Op visit and are obtaining CACFP enrollment forms for each child to finalize their application packet for state approval. We hope to get them approved to begin the food program by July 2024.

If you know of any Family Child Care Homes and/or Day Care Centers who are interested in finding out more about the Child and Adult Care Food Program and whether they are eligible to participate please have them contact CKCAC’s FCCH/UC Director Kathy Hagan at 270-692-2136 X501 or by email at kathy.hagan@ckcac.org.

Central KY Community Action Transportation Services (CKCATS)

The CKCATS team continues to work hard to provide services in all counties. Our newly added NEMT Medicare transportation is going well. We are pleased to be able to offer this service.

CKCATS held their annual Public Hearing meeting on February 28^th at 1PM EST at the CATS Central Office. This meeting is advertised and made available to the public each year to address the needs of the general public in all counties. Surveys are given to clients and Stakeholders in all counties and the information gathered is used for discussion to help improve transportation services.

CKCATS is gearing up for the Senior Celebration that will be held on May 23rd at the Pritchard Community Center in Elizabethtown. CKCATS will be providing transportation from the Senior Centers to Pritchard Community Center for all seniors who pre-register for the ride. CKCATS will also have a booth at the Senior Celebration and will be talking with seniors to make them aware of the services that we provide and will be able to sign seniors up for our III-B Senior trips on the spot.

CKCATS attended a meeting with Spring View Hospital (SVH) and Marion County’s EMT services. This meeting was held to help the staff at SVH hospital differentiate the services of CKCATS and EMT. This meeting was very informative and helped all in attendance establish each other’s rules and guidelines of transportation.

Several staff members of the CKCATS team will be attending the Community Action Kentucky (CAK) Conference in Lexington from June 11-15. Myself and two other staff members from CATS will be attending a training course in Lexington from June 5-8. This training is a complete deep dive into being a Transit Director or Administrator. As always, these conferences and training are a great way to learn valuable information and to network.

CKCATS is fully staffed at this time, but we are continuing to accept applications for future hiring. If you or anyone you know would like to join the staff at CKCATS please go to careers@ckcac.org to apply.