May 29, 2020 Guidance for Businesses in Counties Moving to Green Phase On May 29, 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that a number of Pennsylvania counties will move to the “green phase” of the state’s Reopening Plan beginning June 5. On that date, all counties in the state will be in the “yellow” or “green” phases. This means that all child care programs within the state that can comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may reopen. Business Guidance In entering the green phase, all businesses must continue following CDC and Pennsylvania Department of Health guidance for social distancing and cleaning. Businesses are also encouraged to adhere to the following guidelines: Continued telework strongly encouraged Businesses with in-person operations must follow updated business and building safety requirements All businesses operating at 50% occupancy in the yellow phase may increase to 75% occupancy Child care may open complying with guidance Congregate care restrictions in place Prison and hospital restrictions determined by individual facilities Schools subject to CDC and Commonwealth guidance Counties in the Green Phase As of May 29, 2020, counties that are in the green phase are Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango, and Warren. On June 5, 2020, counties that will transition to the green phase are Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clinton, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Lycoming, Mercer, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland. Governor Wolf warned that future COVID-19 outbreaks remain possible and if an outbreak occurs, counties might need to revert back to more restricted phases. Because of this, all community members and businesses should continue social distancing, practicing safe hygiene, and limiting contact with others as much as possible. If your county remains in the yellow phase, view a news post from Trying Together about business guidance. To learn more about what the red phase, yellow phase, and green phase entail, visit the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania page. Guidance for Child Care In the green phase, child care providers should continue to follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning. Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open (CDC) For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258. More Information To learn more about Pennsylvania counties moving into the green phase, read the full press release from Governor Wolf.
May 21, 2020 New Portal Helps Allegheny County Families Find Child Care Caregivers and parents of young children can now search available child care spots at Allegheny County early learning programs in real-time with the Allegheny Child Care tool. Emphasizing Access Child care needs for families are varied, and may change at any time. The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created a situation where many early learning programs have had to close abruptly or drastically adjust their operations. In turn, this has left many families without continued care and education for their young children. From the COVID-19 crisis, Allegheny Child Care is a unique pilot project that has been developed to support the child care needs of families. The Partners That Made This Possible The child care initiative will be managed by Trying Together in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, with additional support from the City of Pittsburgh, and was developed in collaboration also with Child Care Aware of America, the Endowments and technology partners Bowtie, BrightHive, and BridgeCare. More Information The Allegheny Child Care tool may be accessed online. For more information about the launch of Allegheny Child Care, read the full press release. Additional support for finding and/or funding your child care needs can be found at the Early Learning Resource Center Region 5 website or by calling 412.350.3577.
CARES Act To Fund Nearly 7,000 Child Care Centers In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf announced on May 20, 2020 that an initial distribution of $51 million of funding from the CARES Act will support child care providers in Pennsylvania. Distributed in partnership with the General Assembly, this initial funding will reach nearly 7,000 early learning programs. The governor asserted that a healthy child care system was essential as Pennsylvania reopens. Eligibility The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) determines eligibility and the amount of award based on provider type, Child Care Works (CCW) subsidy enrollment, and regional capacity. CARES Act funds will be distributed to eligible, certified child care providers through regional Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs) and will be available in June 2020. Additional actions are required for child care providers. Funding Information In total, PA received $106 million in funding that will be distributed in two waves. The first wave of $51 million will be distributed per the conditions outlined above, to help providers prepare to reopen as counties move to the yellow phase. The remaining funding will be allocated following the completion of a study assessing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Pennsylvania’s child care providers. Guidance for Child Care In the Yellow Phase, child care providers are permitted to reopen without a permit so long as they follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning. Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open (CDC) For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258. More Information For more information about Governor Wolf’s announcement, read the full press release. The attestation form and process for the CARES Act funds for child care providers can be found online.
May 15, 2020 Changes Made to Summer Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic On May 15, the City of Pittsburgh announced how summer activities will be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While many activities will be allowed, others will be cancelled or postponed. All decisions follow federal and state guidelines. About In a City press release, Mayor William Peduto praised Pittsburgh residents, stating, that “Pittsburgh residents have done a great job during these trying times staying safe and looking out for each other.” However, he recognized that the battle against COVID-19 is far from over, and social distancing and other measures must remain in place to win this fight. With a larger number of residents venturing outdoors as the weather warms, the City has outlined lists of activities that will or will not be permitted during the pandemic. Decisions on closures and activities may be revisited as pandemic circumstances and federal and state guidelines change. Permitted Summer Activities Activities that can safely comply with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) social distancing guidelines will be allowed. Permitted activities include the following: Drive-in movies (by the Special Events office) Farmers Markets Pickup of bulk trash Road closures in City parks (more information below) Tennis courts (singles matches encouraged) Pickleball courts (singles matches encouraged) Skate parks Fields (but not for organized group sports) Frisbee Golf Lawn Bowling Bocce Expanded summer food program (likely to begin June 15) City crews are working to reopen facilities starting May 15 and will continue their work into next week. Drive-in movies organized by the Special Events office will begin June 13. More information will be released later. Farmer’s Markets will begin June 3 in Carrick and begin in other neighborhoods thereafter. Social distancing and safe purchasing requirements will be in place. Non-Permitted Summer Activities Large group events that cannot safely comply with social distancing will not be allowed. Non-permitted activities include the following: July 4 fireworks City-sponsored concerts 5Ks, the Great Race and other races (though they can be held virtually) Summer Camps Citiparks summer youth baseball Summer Line Dancing Pistons in the Park Playgrounds, park shelters, and spray parks will remain closed until further notice. Swimming pools (including the Oliver Bath House) will also remain closed. While the CDC says that swimming itself is safe, the guidelines require at least six feet of distance between users and no more than ten people would be allowed at any time. It has been determined that city pool waiting areas, locker rooms, and lounging areas are too cramped to allow for appropriate distancing under these guidelines. Activities To Be Determined Final decisions on other activities and facilities have not yet been made, including decisions on the following: Recreation centers Senior Healthy Active Living centers Block party permits Mellon Tennis Bubble Art Cart Water fountains and water features Park restrooms Organized group sports including deck hockey, soccer, baseball, and basketball DOMI Task Force The City Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI) has established a task force to study methods of using some streets and sidewalks to allow for safe recreation and business activity. Its recommendations will be issued soon. In the meantime, plans are underway to close some streets in City parks to vehicular traffic. No timetables are yet set, but plans are for the following closures: Sheraden Park: Adon Street West End Park: West End Park Drive at Weaver and Herschel Highland Park: Reservoir Drive; Farmhouse Drive at Jackson Street/Connecting Road/Heberton/Grafton (These will be partial closures to allow for Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority access to facilities.) More Information For more information, read the full press release. *Information provided by the City of Pittsburgh
Guidance for Businesses in Counties Moving to Yellow Phase On May 15, Governor Tom Wolf announced that 12 counties in Pennsylvania will be moving to the Yellow Phase of the Governor’s Plan to Reopen Pennsylvania on May 22, in addition to the 37 counties that transitioned into the Yellow Phase on May 8 or May 15. With this, the Governor provided guidance on May 4 that details procedures businesses must follow to conduct in-person operations in counties operating in or slated to move to the Yellow Phase. All businesses, including nonprofits, permitted to conduct in-person operations are subject to this guidance. Guidance for Businesses Under the Yellow Phase of reopening, life-sustaining businesses that could not conduct either all or part of their operations via telework will continue to conduct their operations in-person, and many non-life sustaining businesses will be permitted to restart their in-person operations through the loosening of some restrictions under the stay-at-home and business closure orders. In counties that have been designated as in the yellow phase, all businesses, except those categories specifically listed as remaining closed in the Governor’s Plan to Reopen Pennsylvania, are permitted to conduct in-person operations, as long as they strictly adhere to the requirements of the guidance. The guidance includes specific information on cleaning and disinfecting premises, limiting the number of employees in common areas and customers on premises, providing masks and sanitizing supplies for employees, installing shields or other barriers at registers and checkout areas to physically separate cashiers and customers, and creating a plan in case a business is exposed to a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19, among other provisions. View the full guidance. Counties in the Yellow Phase As of May 15 at 5 p.m., the following counties are in the Yellow Phase of reopening: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Bradford, Butler, Cameron, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, Wyoming, Wayne, and York. Governor Wolf warned that future COVID-19 outbreaks remain possible and if an outbreak occurs, counties placed in the Yellow Phase may need to revert back to the Red Phase. Because of this, all community members and businesses should continue social distancing, practicing safe hygiene, and limiting contact with others as much as possible. For counties in the Red Phase, Governor Wolf encourages individuals to “make choices that will lead to fewer cases and a faster move to lifted restrictions.” To learn more about what the Red Phase, Yellow Phase, and Green Phase entail, visit the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania page. Guidance for Child Care In the Yellow Phase, child care providers are permitted to reopen without a permit so long as they follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning. Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open (CDC) For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258. More Information For more information, read the full press release. Businesses that have questions about whether this guidance applies to them may contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258.
May 7, 2020 Help Allegheny County Plan for the Future The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the lives of all Allegheny County residents. While we cannot be certain what the future holds, the Allegheny County Department of Human Services (ACDHS) is looking to prepare for different contingencies. By beginning their preparation now, ACDHS seeks to ensure its systems are ready to adapt quickly as the situation continues to progress. With this, ACDHS is seeking community survey responses to better understand residents’ experiences and challenges during this difficult time. Survey Opportunities ACDHS has created several opportunities for community members to share their ideas on how to help people in Allegheny County during COVID-19 and beyond. Opportunities include the following: How can ACDHS make the system better? What matters most? Is remote help working for you? More Information To learn more, visit their survey webpage. For more information on COVID-19, please visit our regularly updated COVID-19 news-feed.