The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), Maryland Department of Health (MDH), and the Maryland Department of Human Services (MSDH), in partnership with Ready At Five, will hold a series of regional town hall meetings on the State’s early care and education system.

Maryland was recently awarded a $10.6 million birth-through-five grant to further strengthen the State’s early care and education system. Please join State and community leaders to learn more about the grant, as well as new State programs and initiatives. Come and share your insight into the needs of families and young children in your communities to inform a new early learning strategic plan for Maryland.

Each meeting will cover a variety of topics, for example:

• The availability of quality early care and education for all children in Maryland, including vulnerable populations and children living in rural areas and the barriers that exist to accessing quality care
• Promoting family engagement and supports, particularly focusing on the needs of working families
• Opportunities for enhancing collaboration between existing programs to maximize resources
• Universal Pre-K expansion
• Transition between early care and education and school entry
• Using Kindergarten Readiness Assessment (KRA) data to inform services in your community
• Strengthening the early care and education workforce through professional development opportunities

The Division of Early Childhood will award one (1) Professional Activity Unit (PAU) to child care providers who attend and participate in a regional town hall meeting. Each participant will receive a letter after the town hall meeting. Providers who are participating in the Maryland Child Care Credential program may submit the original letter with the credential application. Please keep a copy for your record.

A printable version of the town hall meeting schedule is available here.

The regional town hall tour completed on May 17, 2019. View the recorded meetings on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/MdEarlyChildhood/