The FCCC Main Office will be closed starting Monday, March 30th. The staff will be working from home, if you need assistance please reach out through e-mail. We are still working with community partners to develop emergency care for essential personnel and will announce when that becomes available. We hope you and your families are staying safe and healthy.

On Monday March 23, Governor Ralph Northam extended his order that all public and private K-12 schools in Virginia close for the remainder of the school year in response to the continued spread of COVID-19. Recognizing the significant impact of this school closure on families around the Commonwealth, the Governor simultaneously called on communities to provide emergency child care to young and school-aged children of essential personnel during this unprecedented pandemic.

We at FCCC are committed to providing care in the community for essential personnel that are in urgent need of child care.  School divisions have been notified of a variety of options for the ways in which they may choose to offer emergency child care services to essential personnel at this time, however the use of any school facility remains a local decision.  We have been in contact with Fauquier County Public Schools requesting the use of one location to provide child care for essential personnel, unfortunately we will not be able to utilize space in the schools.  We are continuing to reach out to various community centers, churches, rental properties, etc. in hopes of finding an alternate location in which to operate.  As is expected, many locations are temporarily closed for the foreseeable future.  If you know of any locations that will allow us to operate please contact us immediately.

We are also trying to assess the need for child care for essential personnel as group size limitations are 10.  If you fall into any of the categories below and are in urgent need of child care please let us know so we can add you to our list.

Here are examples of essential personnel:

• Providers of healthcare including, but not limited to, workers at clinics, hospitals, Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), nursing homes, long-term care and post-acute care facilities, respite houses, designated agencies and emergency medical services;
• Essential government employees including public health employees and employees who oversee or support all the other functions included in this list;
• Criminal justice personnel including those in law enforcement, courts, and correctional services;
• Police, firefighters, and military;
• Employees who operate shelters or other essential services for adults, children and families;
• Employees who ensure continuity of basic services such as electricity/gas, water, internet, plumbing, sanitation and garbage removal;
• Employees who ensure essential transportation including public transportation, trucking and health care-related transportation;
• Employees who ensure essential food, pharmaceutical and supplies access (e.g., grocery, food bank, feeding programs, drug store, hardware store); and
• Staff and providers of child care and education services (including custodial and kitchen staff and other support staff) for children of other essential personnel.

The following retail businesses are considered essential and may remain open during normal business hours:

• Grocery stores, pharmacies and other retailers that sell food and beverage products or pharmacy products, including dollar stores, as well as department stores with grocery or pharmacy operations;
• medical, laboratory and vision supply retailers;
• electronic retailers that sell or service cellphones, computers, tablets and other communications technology;
• automotive parts, accessories and tire retailers, as well as automotive repair facilities;
• home improvement, hardware, building material and building supply retailers;
• lawn and garden equipment retailers;
• beer, wine and liquor stores;
• retail functions of gas stations and convenience stores;
• retail within health care facilities;
• banks and other financial institutions with retail functions;
• pet stores and feed stores;
• printing and office supply stores; and
• laundromats and dry cleaners.

Note that these examples are not exhaustive and the definition of essential personnel may evolve as needed to respond to the crisis.

We miss you all and hope that we are able to see you again soon.  Until then FCCC staff are spending our time helping community partners and we are here if there is anything we can do to help you and your family during these difficult times.  We will continue to post updates on Facebook and stay tuned for more staff videos with fun ideas for the kids.