Category One encourages early care and out-of-school-time professionals to participate in the Early Care and Education (ECE) and Out of School Time (OST) Workforce Survey.

The Allegheny County Department of Children Initiatives (DCI) has partnered with Category One Consulting (C1C), an independent research and consulting firm, to conduct the survey, which aims to gather your perspectives so they can be used to inform improvements for workers and the community.

 All responses will remain completely confidential and C1C will not share them with anyone at DCI or your organization. Findings will be shared in aggregate to inform overall improvements.

Survey participants will be entered into a drawing to win one of five $100 VISA gift cards. The survey is expected to take about 10 minutes to complete and will be open until Friday, November 17. Fill out the survey today!

Reading Ready Pittsburgh is a nonprofit organization that supports the healthy development of young children by increasing access to age-appropriate books and encouraging families to start reading young. Reading Ready Pittsburgh offers many useful tools and programs for families and caregivers to amplify the desire for kids to start reading.

Resources

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library:

The Dolly Parton Imagination Library is a program where families with children ages birth – five can receive a free high-quality book each month. This program is offered specifically to families living in the Mon Valley and the City of Pittsburgh. Learn more and register for this program.

Reading 4K:

Reading 4K is a program designed to offer helpful tips for parents or caregivers with young children on reading. when signing up for this program, caregivers will receive reading tips three times a week that are personally crafted for their child’s development. This program is offered to all caregivers in Allegheny County. Learn more and sign up for Reading 4K.

Raising A Reader:

Raising A Reader is a national program that is based on the idea of book-giving. Families receive a red book bag from their child care program that contains age-appropriate books and after a designated amount of time, the families will bring the books back and receive new ones. Caregivers, learn more about implementing the Raising A Reader program at your program.

Request Books From Reading Ready Pittsburgh:

If you are a facilitator, caregiver, or teacher in need of books, Reading Ready Pittsburgh will help start a library in your classroom. They will also provide books for playgroups and replace worn-out books. Apply for new books.

The Allegheny County Department of Children Initiatives (DCI) is seeking proposals for school-community partnerships. Through this opportunity, DCI intends to increase the number of available summer programming slots in Allegheny County for children completing kindergarten through seventh grade.

Learn More

DCI is interested in funding opportunities that create or strengthen school-community summer program partnerships in the Allegheny County communities that need them the most. DCI envisions funding a variety of proposals including, but not limited to:

• Start-up and operating costs to build a summer program in a community that lacks them, including costs associated with creating a school-community partnership, such as staffing, transportation, enrollment, and other coordination efforts.
• Funding for elementary and/or middle schools to expand work in summer partnership(s) with community-based organizations OR for community-based organizations to expand work in summer partnership(s) with schools.
• Systems-building efforts that result in additional school-community summer program slots. Programming should be responsive to the needs of the community and provide engaging activities that encourage regular enrollment and consistent attendance. The program should be easily accessible to all families and include a comprehensive schedule with limited barriers to attendance. 

A successful proposal must describe a plan for marketing and establishing formal referral pathways from the community and other partners. Proposers must design their proposed programming to serve a diverse population and with an explicit focus on equitable access for all children, including English learners, children with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs), children with medical or behavioral health needs, and families with transportation challenges. 

There is no limit to the total budget that applicants may propose; however, all costs must be justified and explained.

Apply

Access the RFP. Proposals are due November 29, 2023 at 11:30 a.m.

To view this RFP, submit questions, and/or submit a proposal, you must first register on Bonfire. If you have any questions or need assistance during the registration process, reach out to Bonfire Support via email at support@gobonfire.com.

Trying Together is in the process of creating an Early Intervention (EI) Toolkit to strengthen the collaboration between early intervention, child care, and families with young children. To guide that, Trying Together created a survey to learn more about day-to-day experiences and collaborations between early learning programs, EI providers, and families with young children.

About

EI services and supports are available to infants and young children (younger than age five) with developmental delays or disabilities and their families. Services may include but are not limited to: service coordination, special instruction, speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. EI services build upon natural learning opportunities that occur during a child’s everyday activities and routines. EI services are designed to be collaborative between the EI providers and the caregivers in a young child’s life

Survey feedback will directly support the development of an interactive and engaging EI toolkit to provide additional support, tools, and resources. 

Who is the Survey For?

• Early care and education programs (leadership and/or teachers) who have young children enrolled who currently receive OR have recently (within the past six months) received EI services while in your care.
• Early Intervention Providers/Therapists (part B and part C) who provide services to young children at early care and education programs.
• Service Coordinators (part B and part C) who coordinate EI services for families who utilize early care and education programs.
• Families whose young children receive EI services while attending an early care and education program.

Take the Survey

Take the online survey now. The survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. Ten respondents will be randomly chosen to win a $100 gift card. 

To schedule a phone interview to complete the survey or if you have any questions, please contact ashley@tryingtogether.org or call ‪412.567.4173.

On Wednesday, October 11, lawmakers with the state’s Basic Education Funding Commission (BEFC) heard testimony in Pittsburgh from education experts across a variety of topics.

The goal of BEFC is to review the distribution of basic education funding across school districts in Pennsylvania. Emily Neff, Director of Public Policy at Trying Together delivered testimony on early childhood education and the need to support workforce shortages.

Neff addressed the lack of funding and resources that are being put forth to support early childhood programs and educators and the implications it has on children, families, and our society.

Learn More

Read the full article: “Pa.’s school funding model inhibits career and technical education growth, educators tell lawmakers“

Read the full written testimony by Neff. 

Start Strong PA is working to help early care and education providers address issues related to waitlists, high cost of care, teacher shortages, closed classrooms, and low pay with its Speak Up! for Child Care campaign.

About

Start Strong PA has created a series of social media prompts, posters, and action alerts for early care and education professionals, families, and community supporters. The Speak Up! for Child Care campaign aims to help families and teachers tell their story and advocate for increasing state investments.

Materials are available in English and Spanish for:

• Families with children on program waitlists
• Families struggling to afford high-quality care
• Teachers who aren’t earning a livable wage
• Directors/teachers whose centers are short-staffed

For more information, visit startstrongpa.org/speak-up-posters-stickers.

Certified child care providers in Pennsylvania can still order two complimentary First Alert carbon monoxide detectors from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL).

The detectors are available to all certified child care providers in the state who want them. However, providers do not need to order or place the detectors.

Why is OCDEL offering carbon monoxide detectors?

In October 2022, a carbon monoxide leak occurred in a Pennsylvania child care facility. OCDEL is providing this opportunity for providers who want to increase the safety of their staff and the children in their care.

How do I order carbon monoxide detectors for my child care facility?

School Health, a national provider of health supplies, sent an email to all certified child care providers in Pennsylvania. The email, sent from reply@email.schoolhealth.com, included a unique promotional code and instructions on how to order the carbon monoxide detectors.

Providers interested in ordering the detectors should follow the instructions in the School Health email to place their orders. The provided promotional code will cover the cost of purchase and shipping for two detectors.

Please note:

• School Health promotional codes are unique. Child care providers should not share promotional codes or forward the School Health email to other child care providers.

• OCDEL will only cover the cost of this one-time purchase and will not cover any other costs. Additional costs not covered include costs to replace lost or broken devices.

Who can I contact with questions?

If you have any questions, or did not receive an email with a promo code, please contact Kristi Leahy from School Health at kleahy@schoolhealth.com or 630-339-7943.