COVID-19 Resources

General Resources

Forsyth County COVID-19 Helpline

(336) 582-0800

Forsyth County Stay at Home Order FAQ

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 Dashboard

Forsyth County COVID-19 Hispanic Outreach

call or text (336) 778-6905, or call (336) 703-3194

Forsyth County Stay at Home Order Support Webpage

At-Home Learning Activities for Children

California Science Center Resources

The California Science Center has a page for “Stuck at Home Science” with video lessons plus extension activities that can be done at home with household items. The activity information is available in English and Spanish. All times are Pacific Standard Time, not Eastern Standard Time.

250+ Creative Ways to Keep Your Family Sane During the COVID-19 Crisis

Stuck at home with your kids during the Coronavirus pandemic? KidsOutAndAbout.com provides over 250 ideas for making the most of your time together and avoid driving each other crazy.

COVID-19 and at-Home Resources

We’ve created and collected resources to help parents and educators keep kids active and healthy while schools are closed or doing online learning. Resources will be added continually, so check back often.

Childcare Resources

Hotline: Child Care Options for Children of Critical Workers

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has partnered with the North Carolina Child Care Resource and Referral (CCR&R) network to launch a hotline to provide child care options for children of critical workers who do not have access to typical care because of COVID-19 closures.

Families who have flexible working arrangements are encouraged to stay at home with their children. Workers who need care may call 1-888-600-1685 to receive information about local options for children from infants through age 12. The hotline is open Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Administration of Children and Families Office of Child Care: COVID-19 Resources

COVID-19 and State Child Care Assistance Programs: Immediate Considerations for State CCDF lead Agencies

The bipartisan Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was passed by Congress and enacted on March 27, 2020, includes resources specifically targeted to individuals and families with low incomes affected by the public health and economic crises. The package includes a number of provisions of particular importance to children and families and those who work with them, including policymakers and other stakeholders in child care and early education systems. (Click below to read more.)

Supporting Family Childcare in the Time of COVID-19

More children, including infants and toddlers, are cared for in home-based settings than in centers. These include Family Child Care and Family, Friend, and Neighbor options. Home-based settings offer many advantages for families such as cultural and linguistic affinity, non-standard work hour availability, care for mixed-age/sibling groups, and a home-like environment… (click below to read more)

Considerations for Infants and Toddlers in Emergency Child Care for Essential Workers

Policymakers face a fundamental tension between the fact that essential workers must have child care in order to continue to provide the services our communities rely on and the reality that any group care setting increases the risk of COVID-19 transmission. As states across the nation settle into this unprecedented time, leaders are facing difficult decisions about how to address the child care needs of essential workers while ensuring that the health and safety of children, families, and providers is prioritized. ZERO TO THREE recognizes that policymakers and state agencies are working hard to effectively respond to this crisis while navigating resource constraints, technical difficulties, and rapidly changing information. (Click below to read more.)

Resources for Parents and Caregivers

NEW POST! Healthy Boundaries for Families During COVID-19

While keeping healthy amid COVID is priority #1 right now, keeping socially distant at all times may not be an option for everyone, especially those who require after-school or in-home childcare. Many families rely on outside help for their unique household.

That’s why our team created the Healthy Boundaries for Families During COVID-19 guide, to support families who are struggling to balance socialization and safety.

This guide includes:

1. Socially distant activity ideas for kids
2. A guide for productive communication among families when tensions are high
3. Tips for staying safe if you choose to visit family or host them at home
4. Extensive resources to help those who are struggling

Emergency Financial Assistance for Families

Beginning April 1, a Critical Worker Emergency Child Care Subsidy program will provide financial assistance to parents/primary caregivers who are critical workers and who do not have other child care options. Families will need to complete a COVID-19 Parent Application for Emergency Child Care form.

This application will be online, and families will be able to print the form and bring it to the child care program when enrolling. Child care programs may also make the application available for families to fill out onsite.

Families must meet the following criteria in order for NC DHHS to cover the cost of care:

  • Gross income must be below 300 percent of the poverty line.
  • Must be a critical worker responding to the COVID-19 crisis or protecting the health and safety of communities.
  • Must have no other child care options available.

The Critical Worker Emergency Child Care Subsidy program will run for April and May 2020.

Child care programs may not charge families enrolled in the Critical Worker Emergency Child Care Subsidy program parent copayments.

How to Keep Kids Busy During Coronavirus Quarantine

As the novel coronavirus affects the globe, schools across the United States are shutting down in an effort to prioritize the health and safety of its students.

The strategy could have parents staying home for days or even weeks as the U.S. death toll from the virus, known officially as COVID-19, is now at 30.

Parenting expert Rachel Simmons appeared on “Good Morning America” Wednesday, where she explained how it’s important to follow a loose schedule even as families are quarantined.

Simple Activities to Keep Toddlers Busy for Hours (VIDEO)

Working and Learning from Home During the COVID-19 Outbreak

To help contain COVID-19, many schools are moving children to online learning at home. In addition, many parents are being asked to work from home. These forms of social distancing are needed to help slow the spread of the virus and prevent overloading the health care system.

Kohl's Cooks To Go: Food Bag Pick-Up

Kohl’s Cooks To Go offers FREE groceries to families with children who need them. Each bag includes:

  • Shelf-stable grocery items with recipes to make three
    complete dinner meals using these items:
    • Canned chicken
    • Mac & cheese, beans, pasta and rice
    • Canned fruit and vegetables
    • Oil and spices
    • Activity idea handouts and items to support families
      playing together inside and outside their home

Available while supplies last. View the flyer.

To register, click the button below or call 336.713.2348.

Postpartum Support International

(800) 944-4773

Information on Preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome

National Domestic Violence Hotline

(800) 799-7233

Coping with a Disaster or Traumatic Event

Homeschooling during COVID-19: Why all kids may not need eight hours of instruction a day at home

With the COVID-19 pandemic leading to school closures across the country, parents are now trying to manage the educational needs of their children at home. But parents are not teachers. They may have limited knowledge of how to meet these educational demands, and many have limited resources.

Being the principal, teacher, lunch lady and janitor all in one seems to be an impossible task, so many parents have turned to social media, using humor as a coping mechanism by creating memes with the popular hashtag #homeschool2020.

Working from home with kids feels unsustainable. Here’s how to ease the burden.

“Today I took 1/2 Xanax to lift the brick on my chest — does that tell you something?” wrote a mother in a parenting Facebook group on a thread about how working parents are coping with the increased demands of trying to entertain and educate their children while also holding down jobs. (Click below to read more.)

Disproportionate Impact

Coronavirus Shines a Light on Disparities for African Americans

Dr. Anthony Stephen Fauci is an American physician and immunologist who has served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984.

Equity And The Pandemic: States, Funders, And Advocates Must Tailor Resources For The Most Vulnerable Children, Families, And Communities

In the US, the coronavirus pandemic is laying bare our country’s rampant, institutionalized implicit bias and racism. As it puts a focus on the gaps that exist – by income, race/ethnicity, language, and culture — it reveals underserved populations that are most challenged when we as a nation are instructed to stay home, avoid crowds, and even just wash our hands. (Click below to read more.)

The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Racial Wealth Gap

The new coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, continues to spread quickly, threatening the health and economy of the United States. Since January, more than 8,300 Americans in 50 states; Washington, D.C.; and three territories have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. And many more cases have undoubtedly not been discovered due to a lack of testing. The outbreak of this deadly respiratory illness is especially worrisome for Black, Latinx, and other vulnerable communities. (Click below to read more.)

Exposing the Racial Fault Lines in Our Public Policy

For centuries, policies in the United States have perpetuated segregated cities, housing with unsafe and overcrowded conditions, inadequate public transportation, food deserts, and unhealthy air quality. Through policy and practice, we have excluded many from economic security without stable jobs that pay a living wage with benefits, including health care and paid leave. It is no secret that these policies and practices have negatively impacted communities of color, contributing to disparities in access to health care and disproportionate rates of asthma, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, and kidney disease. It should be no surprise that data now starkly show that communities of color—particularly Black, Latinx, and Native communities—are tragically and disproportionately dying from the COVID-19 virus. (Click below to read more.)

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information from the NAACP

Resources for Teachers

Support for Teachers During the COVID-19 Outbreak

Note to Teachers: This page is updated biweekly. The last update was April 8, 2020. News about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is evolving rapidly. Stay up to date using the New York Times Coronavirus Briefing, which is updated daily, or another trusted news source.

Teach from Home

A temporary hub of information and tools to help teachers during the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis.

Here is What I Want My Students to Know When We're Not Together...

If your students can’t hear you correct their grammar, are you even teaching? Being away from our students has been a rude awakening, and we’re feeling all kinds of emotions. So, we asked the teachers in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook to share their messages to students during COVID-19 school closures. (Click the button below to read more.)