May 15, 2024 Trying Together’s Strategic Roadmap Dashboard is Live Trying Together has launched a new interactive dashboard to highlight the ongoing process of meeting its strategic goals as well as the impact the organization has had on the young children, families, early care and education professionals, and communities it serves. The Roadmap’s Goals The goals of Trying Together’s five-year strategy roadmap include being: A trusted source of collaboration for families regarding their child’s early experiences An experienced facilitator of inclusive learning opportunities for educators that aims to ensure that every child has access to high-quality early care and education A collaborative convener that coordinates and connects systems to support early care and education A committed advocate mobilizing for policy change alongside communities to elevate the needs of children, families, and educators for an equitable early care and education system An accountable nonprofit that prioritizes ethics when fundraising in support of its mission and provides transparent stewardship to its donors The roadmap also addresses how Trying Together will sustain an inclusive culture of belonging through recruitment and retainment of staff and board members who represent those the organization serves and those who are most affected by early education policies. Learn More To learn more about Trying Together’s goals, read its 2023-2027 Strategic Roadmap. Also, frequently drop by the interactive dashboard to view new stories of impact and quantitative outputs that will be updated on a quarterly basis. To share a story about an experience you have had with Trying Together or to get more information, email info@tryingtogether.org.
WIC Supplemental Nutrition Program Seeking Feedback on How to Improve The Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is calling on residents who use the program to provide feedback by the end of the month. Voice Your Opinion Those who use WIC are asked to provide suggestions on how to improve the program. All comments must be received by May 31. Options include: Calling 717-783-1289 Emailing ra-wicprogram@pa.gov Writing to: Department of Health Bureau of Women, Infants and Children (WIC) 623 Forster St., 7 West, Health & Welfare Building Harrisburg, PA 17120 2024 WIC Fact Sheets Thriving PA recently released its 2024 state and county fact sheets for the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The fact sheets provide comprehensive data on WIC eligibility and participation.
Interactive Maps Demonstrate Unmet Child Care Needs at County Level Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, a Start Strong PA campaign partner, has created interactive maps and fact sheets demonstrating the unmet need and availability of high-quality child care to meet those needs at the state, county, and legislative district levels. Access By County Each county-level assessment examines workforce issues – such as average wages – as well as the amount of access to and quality of child care. Access to high-quality programs was a challenge for families in numerous Pennsylvania counties. Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children provided fact sheets and maps for: Allegheny County (65% of children under age five and 70% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Armstrong County (90% of children under age five and infants and toddlers were unserved) Beaver County (78% of children under age five and 82% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Butler County (87% of children under age five and 90% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Fayette County (80% of children under age five and 82% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Greene County (83% of children under age five and 85% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Indiana County (86% of children under age five and 85% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Lawrence County (76% of children under age five and 79% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Washington County (83% of children under age five and 87% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Westmoreland County (83% of children under age five and 86% of infants and toddlers were unserved) Start Strong PA Campaign The Start Strong PA campaign is asking the General Assembly to include in its 2024-25 state budget: Support for the Shapiro administration’s proposal to increase subsidy rates to the 75th percentile of the current price families pay for child care services. This increase will help alleviate rising facility, food, utility, and supply costs for providers participating in Child Care Works. A $284 million investment in new and recurring state funding to implement a child care teacher recruitment and retention initiative. This will help alleviate the ongoing staffing crisis that is causing classrooms and programs to close, leaving working families without access to child care.
May 14, 2024 Thriving PA Releases 2024 Fact Sheets for WIC Supplemental Nutrition Program Thriving PA has released its 2024 state and county fact sheets for the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). The fact sheets provide comprehensive data on WIC eligibility and participation. Learn More WIC plays an important role in providing essential nutrition to infants, toddlers, and pregnant and postpartum mothers. Children need access to nutrition to ensure that their growing bodies remain healthy and develop as they should. Key data points from the 2024 fact sheets include: Total WIC participation statewide is 180,885 individuals, or 61% of the eligible WIC population. WIC participation rates have continued to grow since the program’s low in February 2022, when only 50% of eligible participants were enrolled. Children ages one to five account for 55% of WIC participants, followed by infants at 23%. WIC Anniversary The release of the 2024 fact sheets coincides with the 50th anniversary of WIC in Pennsylvania. Services were first offered in Allegheny County in May 1974. Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration recently celebrated the anniversary declaring May 2024 as WIC month in Pennsylvania. For more information, view WIC state and county fact sheets on Thriving PA’s website.
Call for Participation Open for Meaningful Play 2024 The Center for Transformational Play is now accepting applications for volunteers to help with the Meaningful Play 2024 conference. Learn More Meaningful Play 2024 is a conference about theory, research, and game design innovations, principles, and practices. It brings scholars, industry professionals and games practitioners together to understand and improve upon games to entertain, inform, educate, and persuade. The conference is looking for volunteers to help run the Full Papers track. It welcomes contributions from researchers and practitioners in industry and academia who advance the understanding of meaningful play. The purpose of the track is to present the community’s understanding of the current state of the art, practice, science, and/or discipline of meaningful play. Submissions should present original, unpublished research or design work that is not currently under review by any other venue. Game exhibition and competition The Meaningful Play Game Exhibition and Competition invites academic, independent, experimental, serious, transformational, and/or student game developers to showcase and gain recognition for their innovative work in game design and development. Analog and digital games are welcome. The purpose of the games and prototypes track is to highlight the things that the community has built and allow attendees to play with each other’s work. Games and prototypes at Meaningful Play will be showcased in an exhibition during the conference. Attendees will have opportunities to play them. Microtalks The microtalks track encourages individuals to submit proposals to discuss any of the subtopics related to the conference. Its aim is to present perspective or pose challenges to the community toward energizing new or ongoing work. Content that is insightful, speculative, or creative is encouraged. Hosted sessions The hosted sessions track invites submissions of engaging interactive sessions to be organized by members of the community. Its purpose is to provide opportunities for community building and community engagement around topics of interest to the broader community. These sessions could take the form of a panel or roundtable discussion among community members, a game play session, or an interactive workshop to get people working together. More Details Those interested in participating should fill out a volunteer form. For more information, visit Meaningful Play’s website or email meaningfulplay@andrew.cmu.edu. The submission deadline is June 5. The conference will take place from Oct. 16 to 18 at Carnegie Mellon University.
May 13, 2024 Nearly Half of Eligible Pennsylvania Children Do Not Have Access to Pre-K A total of 145,010 Pennsylvania children, ages three and four, are eligible for high-quality pre-kindergarten. However, only 46% of them have access, according to 2024 Pre-K for PA fact sheets. Learn More Of the eligible children – who comprise 52% of all children in that age range statewide – a total of 66,839 have access to high-quality pre-kindergarten. But 54% of eligible children – a total of 78,171 – do not have access. An additional 7,817 pre-k staff would be required to serve the remaining eligible children. Pre-K for PA defines high-quality, publicly funded pre-kindergarten as: Head Start (state- and federally-funded) Pre-K Counts School district pre-kindergarten Philadelphia pre-K (PHLpreK) Child care provided in Keystone STAR 3-4 centers and group child care homes participating in the Child Care Works subsidized program for preschool age children. Four types of high-quality providers are eligible to receive Pre-K Counts funding to support a pre-k program: Head Start Keystone STAR 3-4 child care centers or group child care homes Private academic nursery schools School districts Breakdown by County Currently, there are 3,212 eligible pre-k locations in Pennsylvania, of which 74% are receiving public funds for pre-kindergarten. There are also 1,035 Pre-K Counts locations, of which 505 (or 49%) are in high-quality child care programs. Allegheny County has 271 eligible pre-k locations, of which 205 (76%) are receiving public funds for pre-K. It has 88 Pre-K Counts locations, of which 28 (32%) are in high-quality child care. Data in other counties includes: Armstrong: 15 eligible locations (12, or 80% receiving public funds); six Pre-K Counts locations (one, or 17%, in high-quality child care) Beaver: 33 eligible locations (32, or 97%, receiving public funds); 15 Pre-K Counts locations (five, or 33%, in high-quality child care) Butler: 25 eligible locations (18, or 72%, receiving public funds); six Pre-K Counts locations (three, or 50% in high-quality child care) Fayette: 25 eligible locations (20, or 80%, receiving public funds); 15 Pre-K Counts locations (six, or 40%, in high-quality child care) Greene: 10 eligible locations (all receiving public funds); five Pre-K Counts locations (none in high-quality child care) Indiana: 22 eligible locations (18, or 82%, receiving public funds); 12 Pre-K Counts locations (2, or 17%, in high-quality child care) Lawrence: 27 eligible locations (22, or 81%, receiving public funds); 14 Pre-K Counts locations (seven, or 50%, in high-quality child care) Washington: 48 eligible locations (39, or 81%, receiving public funds); 22 Pre-K Counts locations (nine, or 41%, in high-quality child care) Westmoreland: 80 eligible locations (62, or 78%, receiving public funds): 38 Pre-K Counts locations (17, or 45%, in high-quality child care) Addressing the Crisis As part of the 2024-25 state budget, the Pre-K for PA campaign is asking the General Assembly to support an investment of $30 million in Pre-K Counts to increase the per-child rate to address workforce challenges and inflationary pressures. The campaign notes that additional investments would be needed in future years to further prevent teacher shortages as well as provide greater access to eligible children.
Carnegie Library Names 12 Best Books for Babies for 2024 The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has named its 12 Best Books for Babies for 2024. The list marks the 25th anniversary of the library’s nationally recognized guide to assist parents, teachers, and caregivers in selecting quality materials to share with babies, ages birth to 18 months. Learn More This year’s selection committee consisted of librarians, a local author/illustrator, an early intervention specialist, a PRIDE professional from the Office of Child Development at the University of Pittsburgh, and others interested in promoting literacy and learning. The 12 books were chosen from thousands that were published in 2023. More than 25 criteria went into the selections – including how they sound when read aloud; clear, uncluttered illustrations; diverse and authentic representation of race, gender, ability, culture, and family structure; durability; age-appropriate subject matter or theme; and design for an infant audience. This year’s selections were: Alma, Head to Toe/Alma, de Pies a Cabeza (Juana Martinez-Neal) Babies (Fiona Munro) Babies and Bunnies Book (John Schindel and Molly Woodward) Good Night, Baby (Little Bee Books) Hello, Baby (Little Bee Books) Good Night, Little Fish (Lucy Cousins) Leo on a Hike (Anna McQuinn; illustrations by Ruth Hearson) Look, It’s Hoot Hoot Owl (Camilla Reid; illustrations by Clare Youngs) Look, It’s Moo Moo Cow (Camilla Reid; illustrations by Clare Youngs) My First Lift-the-Flap Nursery Rhymes (Ingela P. Arrhenius) See Touch Feel: Tummy Time (Roger Priddy) Train (Sebastien Braun) More Details Throughout the year, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh will host Best Books for Babies storytimes, during which families will receive one free book from this year’s list. In addition to the list, the Best Books for Babies Committee shared tips for caregivers to make the most out of time spent reading together. Those tips and more information on this year’s selections can be found on the library’s website.
May 7, 2024 Department of Human Services Debuts Summer Child Nutrition Program A new, permanent federal child nutrition program known as SUN Bucks aims to keep children fed during the summer months when they are not in school. Through the program, also called Summer EBT, eligible children will receive an EBT card that can be used to purchase groceries. Learn More The program will be run by the state’s Department of Human Services, with support from the Department of Education. Children who are eligible and automatically signed up for SUN Bucks include: Children ages 6 to 18 who receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), or medical assistance with qualifying income during the school year or summer 2024. This includes home-schooled and cyber-schooled children. Children who attend schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program and either: Applies for and is approved for free and reduced-price school meals during the school year Receives SNAP, TANF, or medical assistance with qualifying income at any time during the school year or summer Is directly certified for free school meals as a foster child, migrant, or someone experiencing homelessness Children who attend schools that participate in the National School Lunch Program and whose families meet the income guidelines for SUN Bucks but were not automatically enrolled in the program by being in one of the categories listed above may be eligible. However, they would need to apply directly to receive SUN Bucks. The monthly household gross income limit for SUN Bucks is: $2,248 for a household of one $3,041 for a household of two $3,833 for a household of three $4,625 for a household of four $5,418 for a household of five +$8,732 for each additional family member More Details The benefit amount for summer 2024 is $40 per summer month per child. Payments will be made as one payment of $120 by September 30, 2024 at the latest. This timeline will be updated as DHS gets closer to implementing the program. Qualifying families who already receive SNAP benefits will see the benefit added to their card. For those who do not receive SNAP benefits, an EBT card will be mailed to them. Those interested in the program should make sure that their child’s school has a current mailing address. Additional information on how to activate the EBT card, how to check the card’s balance, and how the card can be used to buy food is available online.
Seeking Input on Recess and Play for Advocacy Toolkit Trying Together and Playful Pittsburgh are seeking input on recess and play for the creation of an advocacy toolkit on the topics. Learn More As part of their play advocacy research, Trying Together and Playful Pittsburgh are asking parents and caregivers of children, teachers, school administrators, and community members for input. In the survey, participants will discuss how their child’s school perceives and implements recess. Collected input will go toward devising a comprehensive, community-based Play Advocacy Toolkit that will be widely shared and easily accessible. The deadline to complete the survey is June 21. The survey is now available to complete. Community Conversations on Play Parents and caregivers of children, teachers, school leaders, and community members are also invited to join Trying Together and Playful Pittsburgh for upcoming community conversations on play. Physical movement, the freedom to play, and playful learning during the school day improves a child’s social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills. However, many American children engage in less than one hour of unstructured play per day. The conversations will focus on how play is an important part of a child’s school life. The events will help attendees learn how to advocate for play and developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood. In person event Thursday, May 30, 2024 | 5 – 7 p.m. Spartan Community Center of Hazelwood, 134 East Elizabeth Street Registration is now open Dinner and child care will be provided. Virtual event Monday, June 10, 2024 | 7-8 p.m. Zoom Registration is now open.
Child Care Providers Invited to Participate In “Imagine a Day Without Child Care” Throughout May, the Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA Provider Advisory Board is inviting Pennsylvania child care providers to participate in Imagine a Day Without Child Care. Inspired by the national “A Day Without Child Care,” which takes place every year in May, Imagine a Day Without Child Care offers advocacy activities to engage families, teachers, and staff in early learning programs. Imagine a Day’s Origins Since 2022, Start Strong PA and the Provider Advisory Board have drawn attention to the importance of early care and education providers by strengthening the policy-to-practice feedback loop, and growing the network of providers willing to mobilize and advocate on behalf of the early childhood field. Inspired by the national Day Without Child Care movement, the board introduced A Day Without Child Care to enable child care providers to close on May 13 to advocate for their programs and encourage families to raise awareness for the day. PAB’s Toolkit To support provider participation in Imagine a Day Without Child Care, the Provider Advisory Board releases an annual toolkit that includes: Information on how to reach out to state legislators Samples of prompts to post on social media to raise awareness for the day Tags to include in social media posts Information on how to set up a family engagement station for parents or caregivers to take quick action during drop-off or pickup. Stations can include printable temples that families can use to share their stories. Printable grab-and-go stickers that can be worn on Imagine a Day Without Child Care Learn More On May 13 and throughout the month, Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA are encouraging child care providers to use their voices to advocate for increased funding in the state budget to provide higher wages for early childhood educators. When posting to social media, be sure to tag Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA so these organizations can elevate provider posts and ensure elected officials receive a collective message. Families can also sign a petition to tell their elected officials that they rely on child care and support increased investments in child care wages. To learn more, visit Start Strong PA’s website.
