News

Provider and Family Grant Updates

  For more information please contact the Early Childhood Services Bureau....

MONTANA CHILD CARE BUSINESS CONNECT SUMMIT 2024

BACK 2 SCHOOL BLAST 2024

Zero To Five Montana Newsletter

Read the Zero To Five Montana Newsletter...

Support Your ECE Friendly Businesses

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Summer Camps 2024

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Child Care Assistance for Child Care Workers

Montana Child Care Retention and Recruitment Child Care Assistance for Child Care Workers Are you a parent or guardian working in child care and need assistance paying for your own child/children’s care? A one-time only child care assistance program is available for eligible childcare employees through the Montana Bright Futures Birth to Five Grant (BF B-5). Applications...

Great Falls College Early Childhood Education

Early Childhood programs are designed to prepare students with the skills needed to be successful working with young children in infant/toddler and early childhood care settings. With three stackable degree options and evening classes, our graduates can move up the career and pay paths quickly while they are working. Graduates are prepared to: Know and understand young...

Violence Education & Support Group

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Scam Emails Going to Providers

Providers, DPHHS has notified us that there have been emails being sent to providers pretending to be DPHHS. Please note that any emails from the state should end in .mt.gov. Emails from CCUBS will be sent from noreply@mt.gov. Older notifications from CCUBS may come from oracle@app.hhs.mt.gov. Please be diligent in verifying the sender before opening any links. Thank...

Dolly Parton Imagination Library

Raising Readers of Cascade County Announces: Dolly Parton Imagination Library Free Books available to all Cascade County children, birth to their 5th birthday. Great Falls, Montana, April 19, 2023: Through the generosity of First Lady Susan Gianforte and the First Spouse’s Treasure State Foundation, Raising Readers of Cascade County is pleased to announce that Dolly Parton’s Imagination...

Raise Montana Emergency Preparedness

Raise Montana Emergency Preparedness Supplies Order Form: Enhancing Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Readiness for Montana RCE, FFN, Family, and Group Providers. Our primary objective is to support and enhance emergency preparedness and disaster readiness for Registered Childcare (RCE) and Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN), Family, and Group Child Care providers in Montana. We are pleased to offer...

Recalled Cinnamon Products

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: March 11, 2024 Contact: Jon Ebelt, Communications Director, DPHHS, (406) 444-0936, (406) 461-3757 | jebelt@mt.gov DPHHS Urges Consumers to Discard and Not Purchase Recalled Cinnamon Products Montanans advised to check their homes, discard recalled products The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is advising consumers to throw away and not purchase specific ground cinnamon products because...

Montana Early Childhood Project Newsletter

Read the Montana Early Childhood Project Newsletter...

CPR/FA Certification Fee Increase

RSV In Children

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) is recognized as one of the most common causes of childhood illness. More specifically, RSV is the leading cause of bronchiolitis and pneumonia in U.S. children aged less than one year, and especially infants born prematurely. Each year in the United States, approximately 75,000 to 125,000 children aged <5 years are hospitalized...

Possible Cases of Lead Poisoning in Children

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: Nov. 16, 2023 Contact: Jon Ebelt, Communications Director, DPHHS, (406) 444-0936, (406) 461-3757, jebelt@mt.gov DPHHS Urges Providers to Monitor for Possible Cases of Lead Poisoning in Children Montanans advised to check their homes, discard recalled products Federal, state, and local officials are urging medical providers to be on the lookout for possible cases of lead poisoning in...

Family Engagement Month Brain Building

Why Celebrate Brain Building? We celebrate Brain Building because: Children’s brains grow the most rapidly the first five years of life! 90% of brain growth happens before kindergarten, Parents are children’s first and most important teachers and Families have what it takes to be brain-builders! Celebrating Cultures and Traditions through Books Family Engagement Activities and Resources Child Care Aware    ...

Montana State Library Hot Spot Lending Program

Click here for more information....

Shelby Child Care Initiative

Regional Child Care Providers Encouraged to Expand Services to Shelby, Montana Shelby Promoter – For publication August 9, 2023 In an effort to meet the growing demand for quality child care services in Shelby, Montana, local stakeholders are encouraging regional day care providers to consider expanding their operations to this vibrant community. With a range of compelling...

CACFP Reimbursement Rates

The Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) is a federally funded program of the Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is the State agency which administers the CACFP in Montana and ensures that program requirements are followed. The...

Whooping Cough Confirmed in Montana

Early symptoms can last for 1 to 2 weeks and usually include: Runny or stuffed-up nose Low-grade fever (less than 100.4°F) Mild, occasional cough (babies do not do this) Apnea (life-threatening pauses in breathing) and cyanosis (turning blue or purple) in babies and young children. In its early stages, whooping cough appears to be nothing more...

Tax Help

TAX HELP MONTANA (THM) Tax Help Montana (THM) is a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) program made up of a coalition of community partners led by RDI, offering free tax preparation and filing services to seniors and low-moderate income families and individuals. A primary objective of the Tax Help...

Clarification regarding STARS Incentives

Date: December 30, 2022 Re: Updates and Reminders Clarification regarding STARS incentives: STARS incentives are contingent on funding and legislative approval and therefore are subject to change. However, for the current STARS period (FY 2022-2023), STARS incentives are not changing nor are they going away. There may have been some misinformation provided and we want to reassure...

Renewal Recognition

A HUGE shout out to those early care and education providers in Region 5 that renewed their commitment to the health and well-being of our community for renewing their Montana State Child Care license in December! We thank you for your dedication in ensuring the safe and healthy care of our youngest citizens and supporting...

Immunization Requirements for Licensed and Registered Childcare Providers

DATE: October 31, 2022 AGENCY: Department of Public Health and Human Services Early Childhood & Family Support Division Childcare Licensing Program SUBJECT: Enforcement discretion regarding immunization requirements for licensed and registered childcare providers Administrative Rules of Montana (ARM) 37.95.141 Montana Religious Freedom Restoration Act, §§ 27-33-101 through 105, MCA ACTION: Notice of Enforcement Discretion SUMMARY: This notification is to inform the...

CPR / First Aid Requirements

CPR / First Aid Requirements for Child Care Licensing: Just a friendly reminder – when renewing your CPR/FA certification, you must complete a hands-on CPR component and your card must state “Pediatric First Aide” to be in compliance with Montana Child Care Licensing regulation and rule....

Early Childhood Essentials Class

The Early Childhood Essentials class will be offered online only going forward. To enroll, visit ChildCareTraining.org, (or create a new account), and click on Course Catalog to view all available courses....

Child Care Licensing Assessment

We are excited to share the Child Care Licensing Assessment with you! The Early Childhood Services Bureau (ECSB) is conducting a child care licensing improvement project to optimize licensing’s regulations, policies, processes, and data reporting. Thank you to everyone who participated in the assessment process! More than 700 child care owners and staff, parents, employers, partners, and...

Check Cupboards for Recalled Infant Formula

Important: Infant Formula Recall DPHHS Urges Montanans to Check Cupboards for Recalled Infant Formula Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) officials announced today a voluntary recall of several specific products for infants and babies has been issued by Abbott, the maker of Similac formulas and other nutritional products, due to a concern over possible contamination...

Fingerprinting Locations

Fingerprinting locations for Region 5 counties of Cascade, Chouteau, Fergus, Glacier, Judith Basin, Liberty, Petroleum, Pondera, Teton and Toole; and Region 6 counties of Blaine, Daniels, Dawson, Garfield, Hill, McCone, Phillips, Prairie, Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Valley and Wibaux. Fingerprinting locations for all counties in Montana by county from the US National Background Information website....

USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant

The USDA Rural Development Community Facilities Direct Loan & Grant program provides affordable funding to develop essential community facilities in rural areas. Funds can be used to purchase, construct, and/or improve essential community facilities, to purchase equipment, and to pay related project expenses. More information can be found here....

Montana ESSER After School Grant

The Montana Office of Public Instruction is pleased to announce the Montana Afterschool Grant. The $3.8 million fund was designated by the Montana Legislature through House Bill 362. Leveraging the State's Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funding, the Afterschool Grant is intended fulfill the afterschool plans articulated in the State’s ARP ESSER Plan to enhance and expand...

GRANTS FOR LICENSED & REGISTERED CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

Licensed and Registered child care providers are eligible to apply for funding to stabilize their child care business. This includes support to maintain or resume offering child care services. Funds can be used for operating expenses like personnel costs, rent and utilities, health and safety training, facility maintenance, equipment and more. Providers could receive 80 - 100% of their operating expenses. Applications...

Free private parenting coach!

Interested in a free and private parenting coach to help you navigate parenting challenges? As Montana parents, we want the same things for our kids. We want them to be confident, respectful, and make healthy choices. As our kids grow up, there are always new challenges. Figuring out how to handle them doesn’t come easy. There are...

Montana Early Care and Education Job Board

One of the major issues facing child care and education is the shortage of quality staff and the high rate of staff turnover.  The Montana Early Care and Education Job Board is a central place where program owners can post job openings and staff can find employment opportunities.  Currently, providers post their job openings on...

Child Care and Development Fund State Plan for FFY 2022-2024

Dear early childhood stakeholder, The draft Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Plan for Montana will be available for public review and comment beginning this Friday, April 23rd.  This Plan describes the Child Care and Development Fund program to be administered by Montana from October 1, 2021, through September 30, 2024. The Montana Early Childhood Services...

NAEYC – Navigating Relief for Child Care Programs & Providers

Do you need more information about help available to child care programs and providers? The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) recently published a document on February 2021 titled:  Navigating Relief - An Overview of the Help that may be Available for Child Care Programs & Providers. This document is designed to help child care center...

Provider Portal User Guide

The Provider Portal User Guide is located on the Provider Portal Login screen. This is where providers can find instructions on how to sign in (Page 4-5 of 55), request a new password (Page 6-7 of 55), and content in the Provider Portal (Table of Contents, Page 2 of 55). Tips: • The User ID is the person’s...

Child / Infant CPR Steps

FDA Warning About the Dangers of Hand Sanitizers With Methanol

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning to consumers and health care providers about hand sanitizer products that are labeled as containing ethanol (also known as ethyl alcohol) but that have tested positive for methanol contamination. Methanol (i.e., methyl alcohol or wood alcohol) is a substance that can be toxic when absorbed through...

Individual and Family Emergency Preparedness

Your ability to recover from an emergency tomorrow may depend on the planning and preparation you d today. Click here to learn tips which all individuals and families, and the people who assist and support persons with disabilities, children and others with access and functional needs, can take to prepare for emergencies before they happen....