News

April 8, 2024

Apply for Home Lead Paint Removal

Allegheny County families who rent or own a home can apply for free home repairs involving lead paint.

Learn More

The Allegheny Lead-Safe Homes Program tests homes for lead and removes, replaces, and covers all areas in a home with damaged lead paint. Services include repairing and repainting chipped and peeling lead-painted surfaces as well as window and door repair or replacement and covering lead paint on the outside.

Lead is a common ingredient in household paint in homes built before 1978. No level of lead is safe as it is toxic, especially for young children. Even low levels of lead can cause IQ loss, behavioral problems, developmental delays, and other health issues.

What It Takes to Qualify

Allegheny County homeowners might qualify if they have children, ages five or younger, or a pregnant woman living with or regularly visiting them. Renters might qualify if their landlord is willing to participate and give priority to low-income families with young children for a period of three years.

Other qualifiers include whether a home was built before 1978 or if a household’s yearly pre-tax income falls below these limits:

  • Family size of 1 – $56,250
  • Family size of 2 – $64,250
  • Family size of 3 – $72,300
  • Family size of 4 – $80,300
  • Family size of 5 – $86,750
  • Family size of 6 – $93,150

How to Apply

Those interested should contact the Lead-Safe Homes Hotline by calling 412-227-5700, by visiting its website, or by emailing alleghenylead@actionhousing.org

News

April 3, 2024

Submit a Comment: Child Care Development Fund

Members of the public are invited to review Pennsylvania’s 2025-27 Child Care Development Fund plan and submit comments online or in writing through the mail.

Child Care Development Fund Plan

Every three years, the state is required to submit a Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) plan that describes how CCDF money will be administered in the state’s child care system. 

The plan is a requirement for funding through activities prioritized in the Child Care Development Block Grant. The CCDF is one of the primary federal funding sources for monitoring regulated child care programs as well as providing child care subsidies through Child Care Works, improving child care quality through Keystone STARS, and offering professional development. 

Public Comment Period

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has finalized the first draft of the 2025-27 CCDF plan. The public comment period for the draft is now open.

Early childhood education professionals and partners can either submit a comment online or in writing through the mail to:

       OCDEL, Attention: Jessica Sands
       607 South Drive
       4th Floor Rotunda
       Harrisburg, PA 17120

The deadline for submitting comments is April 26.

Virtual Public Hearing

Those interested in submitting a comment may also do so by attending one of two CCDF State Plan Virtual Sessions. Members of the public can attend the virtual sessions without providing a comment, but they must still register for the session.

Registration is now open for the virtual session on April 15 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and for the session on April 17 from noon to 2 p.m.

Trying Together’s Office Hours

Trying Together will offer office hours in April regarding the Child Care Development Fund plan. Providers can attend any of the following Zoom meetings without registering in advance:

News

April 2, 2024

United Nations Designates June 11 as International Day of Play

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution to create a new International Day of Play. The day will take place on June 11 every year, beginning in 2024.

A Global Effort

The adoption of the resolution on March 25 follows a global effort led by a coalition of organizations – including Right to Play, a nonprofit with a mission to use play to empower children to rise above adversity. 

The coalition’s goal was to spotlight the importance of play in children’s lives, learning, and development. It also aimed to call attention to the need to protect and support children’s right to play.

Global research surveying more than 25,000 children across 36 countries revealed that as many as 73% of children don’t believe adults take the benefits of play seriously, according to Right to Play

“Play is powerful,” said Susan McIsaac, President and CEO of Right to Play International. “Through play, children explore and understand the world, learn how to collaborate and empathize with others, build the confidence to claim their rights, and develop a lifelong love of learning.”

Adam James Zahren, Program Director of Playful Pittsburgh,  applauded the UN resolution.

“I think the designation of an official International Play Day is essential because it showcases the necessity of playing for children and adults alike,” Zahren said. “Play is important for physical, emotional, and social development. It reduces stress and builds relationships. I’m thrilled to hear this news.”

Convention on the Rights of the Child

This is not the first time that the United Nations has recognized the importance of play. In 1989, the UN approved the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This international treaty set benchmarks against which a nation’s treatment of its children could be measured. One of its tenets was that “every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child, and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.”

Sign up for the Playful Pittsburgh newsletter to stay up to date on all things play-related in the region.

News

Allegheny County Offering Free Soil Screenings for Lead

The Allegheny County Conservation District is performing free soil screenings for lead between April 3 and 7.

Learn More

Contaminants are common in urban soil and can be hazardous to health when ingested or inhaled during gardening or outdoor activities. Soil testing is a method of reducing the risk of exposure to contaminants.

Registration is required and can be found online. The conservation district will contact those who register via email with detailed instructions on how to collect, label, and drop off soil samples. Any soil samples submitted with incorrect bagging or labels will be discarded.

Samples can be dropped off at any partner sites during open hours between Wednesday, April 3 and Sunday, April 7. Pittsburgh drop-off site addresses will be provided during registration.

Results will be sent back within approximately two weeks via email, along with information on how to understand and act on the results.

News

April 1, 2024

DHS Warns of Potential SNAP Scam

The state Department of Human Services (DHS) is warning state residents of a potential scam targeting individuals who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

Learn More

The SNAP benefits scam involves a social media post directing individuals to an offer for emergency SNAP benefits. It provides a link to a website, where it obtains their personal information, said DHS Secretary Dr. Val Arkoosh.

The scam, primarily found on Facebook, includes a link to a Google form, beginning with a “sites.google.com” address. It implies that SNAP recipients may be eligible for $750 in emergency benefits if they fill out personal payment information.

The post also states that there is an application deadline. However, SNAP benefits never include such a deadline.

“DHS will never ask for personal information on Facebook, on a Google site, in an unsolicited email, text message, or phone call,” Arkoosh said in a news release. “If someone is claiming to be from or affiliated with the department and they are asking you for your personal information, it is a scam.”

DHS will send informational texts and phone calls to recipients of SNAP, Medicaid, and other benefits from the number 1-833-648-1964. However, these messages and calls will not include:

  • Details from a person’s benefits, such as the amount of SNAP they are authorized to receive
  • A request for specific personal information
  • Links to unofficial sites; most DHS texts will direct people to dhs.pa.gov, COMPASS, or a site ending in .gov or .org.

Reporting Scams

Those who have encountered scams of this nature should call the DHS fraud tip line at 1-844-347-8477 (TIPS).

Reports can also be made to the Office of the State Inspector General’s. Residents can also contact the Public Assistance Fraud Tipline at 1-800-932-0582.

Pennsylvanians with questions about whether a call, text, or other communication is legitimate should contact DHS’s Office of Income Maintenance.

Applications for Public Assistance

Applications for public assistance programs can be securely submitted online at www.dhs.pa.gov/compass. On-site County Assistance Office (CAO) services are available if clients cannot access online services or need assistance that cannot be accessed through the COMPASS website, the MyCOMPASS PA mobile app, or by calling 1-877-395-8930.

News

Buzzword Day at the Theater

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Education department invites families to request complimentary tickets for a performance of “Dog Man: The Musical.”

The production is based on the worldwide bestselling series from Dav Pilkey, the creator of “Captain Underpants” and “Cat Kid Comic Club.”

How to Sign Up

Families can request up to five complimentary tickets to the 2 p.m. show on Saturday, April 13. The last day to register is Friday, April 5 by 5 p.m.

About the Show

The show follows the story of best friends and long-time comics creators George and Harold. Now in fifth grade, they decide to become more ambitious by writing a musical based on their favorite character, Dog Man, a crime-fighting sensation who is half-man, half-dog.

Dog Man, who loves to fight crime and chew on furniture, must save the city from Flippy the cyborg fish and his army of Beasty Buildings. He must also catch Petey, the world’s most evil cat, who has cloned himself to exact revenge on Dog Man.

This epic musical adventure features the hilarity and heart of Dav Pilkey’s beloved characters. The show was written by Kevin Del Aguila and Brad Alexander, who collaborated on the Emmy-winning series “Peg + Cat” on PBS as well as TheaterWorksUSA’s “Click, Clack, Moo” and “Clifford the Big Red Dog” on PBS and Amazon. Jen Wiseman is the play’s director and choreographer.

The show, which is recommended for ages four and above, runs for approximately an hour. It will be performed at the Byham Theater, located at 101 6th Street in Pittsburgh. For more information, call the box office at 412-456-6666.