[Summit] State Press Releases -- Latest Data, Reopening of State Parks, SNAP (food stamps) & June Reopening of Child Care [Covid News no 189]

Sat May 2 03:04:39 UTC 2020

Press Releases

Plan Announced for Phased Reopening of Parks; RIDOH Updates COVID-19 Data

Governor Gina M. Raimondo and Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) provided updates on Rhode Island's response to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) today.

Those updates included the announcement that the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) will be reopening state parks in a graduated manner during the first phase of reopening Rhode Island's economy. While DEM will be staggering park openings, reducing the size of parking areas and restricting hours of operation and activities to prevent crowds, many diverse and varied outdoor spaces will be open for Rhode Islanders to safely enjoy while adhering to public health guidance on gathering and social distancing. DEM hopes to reopen all parks by the end of May. A second phase will involve the saltwater beaches. DEM's announcement is available online (see link below).

COVID-19 Data Update Rhode Island has 341 new cases of COVID-19. This brings Rhode Island's count to 8,962. Rhode Island also has 13 new fatalities to announce. Rhode Island's number of COVID-19 associated fatalities is now 279. A full data summary for Rhode Island is posted online.

Related links

   - Parks Announcement

   - Department or agency: Department of Health
   - Online: http://www.health.ri.gov

|  |  | 
State of Rhode Island: Department of He...
 |

   - Release date: 05-01-2020

NEW: SNAP Increases Also Being Issued in May

In March and April, SNAP households that were not already receiving the maximum SNAP benefit amount for their household size received an increase to their benefits to bring them to the maximum amount.

The Federal government has approved a similar increase for May. The Department issued these additional benefits on May 1.

To see a table of the maximum benefits per household size, please go to the "What's New" page linked below.

Related links

   - What's New Page

   - Department or agency: Department of Human Services
   - Online: http://www.dhs.ri.gov/
   - Release date: 05-01-2020

State Extends Mandated Closure of Child Care Sites, Family and Center, through May 31, 2020: Providers to Submit COVID-19 Plans to Reopen for June 1, 2020

As announced by Governor Gina Raimondo in today's press conference, a reopening for child care providers under new regulations is planned for June 1, 2020.

Accordingly, the State extends its mandated closure of child care sites, family and center, through May 31, 2020 and the Department of Human Services (DHS) will continue its suspension of all child care licenses issued through that date as well pursuant to R.I. General Laws § 42-12.5-1 et seq. DHS is issuing this emergency suspension pursuant to R.I. General Laws § 42-35-14.

The State's plans to reopen child care for June 1st is aligned with the Governor's broader Reopening RI, a phased and flexible plan (see link below) to safely bring Rhode Island and its economy into a place that is stronger and more resilient with fewer restrictions. It is important to note, timelines for Reopening RI are entirely dependent on the status of the COVID-19 crisis and guidance from our public health experts.

The Department's first priority is to protect the health and safety of all children and families served in child care programs statewide. We also recognize the need to reopen child care in a way that is economically viable for child care providers who are small business owners.

Our Department will continue to take steps to help position you to reopen. The Department will continue to honor the following CCAP payment practices until June 1st during the state's mandated closure period.

• Reimburse CCAP subsidies based on enrollment, not attendance

• Waive the allowable absence policy for CCAP families

• Waive all family copays (DHS to cover the cost of these copays in provider payments)

Our Department recognizes the need to thoughtfully reopen safe and developmentally appropriate child care to both support working families and ensure the economic viability of our valued providers. Based on recommendations from our public health experts, RI is exercising additional precautions to protect the health and safety of children and ensure child care programs adhere to public health protections to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

We are asking all providers to develop and submit a COVID-19 plan to the DHS Child Care Licensing team by May 22, 2020 in preparation for reopening on June 1, 2020. To assist you, DHS is having a child care reopening webinar in English on May 6, 2020 at 1PM and in Spanish on May 7, 2020 at 1PM.

For more information, including the application and some answers to questions you may have, go to our Child Care Provider Resources page (see link below).

Related links

   - RI Reopening
   - Child Care Provider Resources Page

   - Department or agency: Department of Human Services
   - Online: State of Rhode Island: Department of Human Services

| 
| 
| 
|  |  |

 |

 |
| 
|  | 
State of Rhode Island: Department of Human Services

State of Rhode Island: Department of Human Services
 |

 |

 |

   - Release date: 05-01-2020

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://sna.providence.ri.us/pipermail/summit_sna.providence.ri.us/attachments/20200502/f6f88bf2/attachment.htm>