March 9, 2021 Updated Pennsylvania Child Care Regulation Information Regulations for child care centers, group child care homes, and family child care homes in Pennsylvania were updated in the Pennsylvania Code to reflect December 2020 changes. About Updated regulations for child care centers in Pennsylvania are now available on the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) website. The webpage includes a list of regulations that pertain to the operation of a child care facility, a description of the regulation, and a link to the full regulation copy. The resource addresses the following topics: Licensure of Approval of Facilities and Agencies Child Care Centers Group Child Care Homes Family Child Care Homes What to Expect During an Inspection OCDEL Program Self-Assessment Checklists that Support Compliance Certification Inspection Instrument (CII) Needed Documents and Child Care Forms More Information To view the full list and access the resources listed above, visit the PA DHS website.
March 8, 2021 New Pre-k Report Highlights Needs for Pre-K Counts and Head Start Rate Increase In the last five years, Pennsylvania’s spending on pre-k has increased by $145 million for state-funded, high-quality pre-k programs including Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP). As the Commonwealth continues to increase public dollars for early childhood education, it is imperative that investments go towards increasing rates for publicly-funded programs to pay providers closer to what high-quality pre-k costs. Trying Together, in its role as a partner of the Pre-K for PA statewide advocacy campaign, released the report Invest in Quality: A Case for Paying Closer to What High-Quality Pre-K Costs in early March 2021. In this new report the campaign recommends maintaining the rate increase provided to Pre-K Counts and HSSAP in fiscal year 2020-21. According to the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER), Pennsylvania ranks 19 out of 28 in per capita investments of pre-k programs. Pre-k rates have not kept pace with inflation. Investing in quality through rate adjustments ensures pre-k programs can maintain high-quality and safe early learning experiences for children and families. According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the existing problem of the underfunded early childhood infrastructure. Early care and education is a critical piece to economic recovery. Pre-k will not only be essential to supporting the growth of our youngest learners who have missed out on months of learning opportunities, it will also serve as part of the infrastructure for getting families back to work. In addition to the typical personnel and operations costs, COVID-19 health protocol have presented a new set of costs for the PPE and sanitation materials to ensure the safety of children, staff, and families. The report maintains that Pennsylvania should allocate $9 million — consistent with the rate increase provided through the federal CARES Act funding — to specifically go toward a rate adjustment for both Pre-K Counts and HSSAP. The following allocations should be directly passed through to providers in order to meet the current needs: A $7 million allocation to provide rate adjustments of Pre-K Counts current base rate from $8,750 to $9,025. A $2 million allocation to provide rate adjustments of HSSAP current average base rate from $10,500 to $10,805. Read the full report: Invest in Quality: A Case for Paying Closer to What High-Quality Pre-K Costs
March 4, 2021 PA Allocation Plan Includes $303 Million for Child Care On March 2, Governor Tom Wolf announced allocation plans for more than $303 million in federal funds received to support child care providers in Pennsylvania. About This funding will be provided through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (CRRSAA) which was signed into law in December 2020. Recognizing that child care is both an important support for professionals in the workforce and a critical introduction to early education for young children, allocated funds will support the work and businesses of child care providers across the state. As Governor Wolf said, “Child care providers across our commonwealth have endured a year of challenges and changes – circumstances that have made doing business incredibly challenging. A healthy, vibrant child care industry is a necessity to help our economy recover and support parents returning to work.” Funding Channels Funding will be issued beginning April 20, 2021, and will be divided to support child care providers through multiple channels. These channels include: $140.7 million to support child care providers who are experiencing reduced enrollments. $64.6 million to help child care providers continue to account for increased costs that are necessary to operate safely. $87.17 million to support increased, regionalized base payment rates for child care providers participating in subsidized child care. $3 million to expand the number of child care professionals who can receive pandemic relief awards to an additional 5,000 people. An additional $984,000 will be issued to provide an administrative rate increase to Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs) across the state. Acting as OCDEL’s regional partners, ELRCs administer Child Care Works and distribute federal stimulus support to providers in their local communities. Roughly $7 million is reserved in case temporarily closed providers choose to reopen, which would then qualify them for support. Eligibility and Criteria Additional information, including information on eligibility criteria and timelines, will be shared on The Pennsylvania Key website on March 10, 2021. More Information For more information, read the full press release. For information on child care providers operating during the COVID-19 pandemic, visit findchildcare.pa.gov.
March 3, 2021 Early Childhood Professionals Prioritized for COVID-19 Vaccine National and state initiatives are prioritizing eligible teachers, school staff, and child care workers who want to receive a COVID-19 vaccination. On March 2, 2021, U.S. President Joe Biden directed all states to prioritize school staff and child care providers for the vaccine. On March 3, 2021, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf announced that the state would prioritize the use of the Johnson & Johnson (J&J) single-dose COVID-19 vaccine for pre-k to 12 teachers and other school staff, including early childhood educators and child care providers. Federal Pharmacy Program The Federal Retail Pharmacy Program for COVID-19 Vaccination is a collaboration between the federal government, states and territories, and 21 national pharmacy partners and independent pharmacy networks to increase access to COVID-19 vaccinations across the United States. The federal pharmacy program is prioritizing vaccinating all school staff, and child care workers during the month of March. In addition to their existing state and local COVID-19 vaccination sites, teachers and staff in pre-k to 12 schools and child care programs are able to sign up for an appointment at over 9,000 pharmacy locations participating in the program nationwide. Individuals who are interested in getting vaccinated at their local pharmacy should check the pharmacy’s website or visit VaccineFinder.org. The following pharmacies are participating in Pennsylvania: Rite Aid Topco Associates, LLC, which includes pharmacies in Giant Eagle and Weis grocery stores. CVS Pharmacy Walmart Learn more about the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program on the CDC website. Pennsylvania J&J Initiative The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention authorized the one-dose J&J COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use last week. Under this special initiative, pre-k to 12 school staff and child care program workers will be the first individuals in Pennsylvania eligible to receive the doses as early as mid-March. The state initiative includes early childhood educators and staff age 18 and older who are employed by a public or non-public pre-k to 12 school entity, and early childhood program workers age 18 and older who work in the following settings: Child care (includes relative providers) Part-day school-age programs Home visiting programs Early intervention Early childhood programs including Head Start/Early Head Start, pre-k, and family centers Surveys and Forms The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is asking ECE professionals, child care providers, and staff of community-based ECE providers to follow these TWO steps by March 12: Complete the Survey for Immunization Needs to provide a count of your program’s eligible and interested staff. Share the link to the ECE Registration Request Form with your eligible and interested staff and support them in registering. The Departments of Health and Education and Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) are working with the Intermediate Units (IUs) to set up dedicated vaccination sites for ECE staff who work in pre-k to 12 public and non-public schools across the state. There will be at least one vaccination site per IU region. School staff will be directed to the vaccination site in the region within which their school is located. Interest in this portion of the special initiative is being facilitated through a separate survey distributed by the PDE. Staff should not complete both surveys, as this will tie up the process. Allegheny County Early Learning Programs As the COVID-19 vaccine is now widely available to educators and child care providers, Allegheny County providers who were in communication with Trying Together in January 2021 regarding a vaccine rollout and coordination are encouraged to proceed with scheduling a vaccine via the federal pharmacy program or the state’s J&J vaccine initiative this month. Allegheny County providers who have questions about access to the J&J vaccine for ECE professionals should refer to this PDF of FAQs prepared by OCDEL or contact their Quality Coach at the ELRC Region 5. More Information Pennsylvania COVID-19 Vaccine Providers OCDEL Survey for Immunization Needs More information regarding the J&J Vaccine Special Initiative and ECE workforce can be found at www.pakeys.org or the COVID-19 Vaccine for Pre-K to 12 School Staff on the PDE website. J&J Initiative FAQ (PDF) COVID-19 Vaccine Information from the CDC
March 2, 2021 Study Opportunity: Parents Promoting Early Learning Are you interested in participating in a fun, compensated research study? Sign up for the University of Pittsburgh’s Parents Promoting Early Learning study! About Parents Promoting Early Learning studies how parents and their two-year-old children (up to 38 months) interact and how such interactions help prepare the child for school. Due to COVID-19, this study will be conducted online. Laptops and WiFi are available by request. Requirements Study participants will be compensated and must complete: two to three online video calls where the parent and child complete games and assessments, questionnaires and interviews about the child’s development and activities, and a one-year follow-up visit for more games and assessments. Enrollment If you are interested in enrolling, complete the study contact form. More Information For questions, please contact ppel@pitt.edu or 412.204.6845. Share this flyer with your network.
