From the State Library

The State Library of Ohio is pleased to announce a new online training opportunity on Reimaging School Readiness.
 
Do you wonder what research really says about how to support school readiness?
 
The Reimagining School Readiness Toolkit is a suite of research-backed resources created for library staff to help families prepare children ages birth to 8 years for success in school and in life.
 
Through an online? interactive presentation with hands-on activities, this training will introduce library staff to the research, practical implications, and resources offered in the toolkit.
 
The workshop topics include:

• key findings from current cognitive and developmental psychology research
• the implications of those findings for library staff’s daily work
• practical ready-to-implement ideas for activities
• resources for staff training and for parents/caregivers

This training is for library staff who work with children from ages 0 to 8 and their families.
 
Registration and more information can be found the State Library of Ohio’s website.
     The online workshop will be offered twice this spring.
 
One day session will be held on April 22, 2021 (Registration closes April 1)
10 a.m. – 3 p.m. includes a lunch break.
 
Two session will be held on May 11 & 13, 2021 (Registration Closes April 15)
10 a.m. – 12 a.m. each day
 
Contact Penelope Shumaker at pshumaker@library.ohio.gov with any questions.

Temporary COVID-19 Waivers
This week, the USDA announced that its temporary COVID-19 waivers for child nutrition programs are extended through September 30. During the public health emergency, the USDA has temporarily suspended certain rules through a series of waivers intended to facilitate food distribution within public health and safety guidelines. These waivers allow for non-congregate feeding (meals may be picked up “grab & go” style), flexibility in meal times, parent/guardian pick-up of meals, and – importantly – flexibility in area eligibility. These waivers are currently in place through September 30, 2021. See the USDA website for details.
 
What this means for us is that libraries that serve as Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) sites – or are interested in doing so – can to distribute meals to-go in ways that are convenient for families and that meet public safety guidelines. It also means that the usual site eligibility guidelines continue to be relaxed, so many more communities and libraries are eligible to be SFSP sites in 2021 than before 2020. According to the Children’s Hunger Alliance, if your service area includes a school that is participates in the National School Lunch Program, you are likely eligible to be an SFSP site under the current waivers.
 
For detailed information on the SFSP and how to become a site, or to support other sites in your community with library resources, see the Collaborative Summer Library Program’s “Libraries and Summer Food” guide:
www.cslpreads.org/libraries-and-summer-food/
 
and for Ohio-specific information, see “Summer Food Service Program: How Libraries can Help” on the State Library website:
https://library.ohio.gov/summer-food-service-program/