To help slow the spread of COVID-19, all CCCC locations will remain closed through January.

Dear CCCC Families, Friends, and Partners:

I am writing to provide you with an update on the services we are providing during this pandemic. As covid-19 cases continue to increase in our county and we move toward winter months, our leadership team has reflected on our continued commitment to safety and our ability to best serve during this pandemic.

The decision regarding when to provide in-person services is a very complex and difficult one. We must balance the safety of children, families, and staff with the need for child care in our community. As you may be aware, Governor Kate Brown recently held a press conference during which she provided a new set of metrics for opening schools. Although the potential opening of local school districts is one metric that we take into consideration for in-person learning, it is by no means our only metric. We also base our decision on information shared by several sources including the Oregon Health Authority, the CDC, the Early Learning Division, the Office of Child Care, Healthy Families Oregon, and the Office of Head Start. At this time, news and guidance from these authorities continue to support virtual services as the safest option. For this reason, we are postponing the decision to provide in-person services until mid-January. We will monitor the news, guidance, and county circumstances until that time in order to make the best decision that we can.

In the meantime, we will continue to put our energies into serving children and families via our virtual services. Since the beginning of our virtual school year, we have provided early childhood education online, found individualized ways to connect with families to complete strengths-based home visits, and continue to plan to expand our virtual offerings in the coming months. Some of these plans include:

• Online Cooking Matters classes for caregivers and children to participate in together, supporting nutritious, kid-friendly meals on a budget
• Virtual, small-group Circle of Security parenting classes to support strong bonds between parents and caregivers and increase parenting satisfaction
• In-home learning kits with hands-on materials for children to supplement our online learning activities.

These are just a few of the exciting things that we have planned for families in these virtual times!

I will provide another update in January regarding any potential changes to our virtual and in-person programs. Until then, I am confident that our CCCC team will make the most of our time together, continuing to find innovative and creative ways to serve, connect, and grow with you.

As always…stay safe and be well,

Darcee Kilsdonk
Executive Director