News

April 15, 2026

State Offering Free Water Sampling Program for Child Care Facilities

The Shapiro Administration is launching a free water sampling program for eligible schools and child care facilities to test for lead in drinking water.

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The initiative – through the state’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) – is funded by the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation (WIIN) Act’s Voluntary School and Child Care Lead Testing and Reduction Grant Program.

The program – which is in partnership with Terraphase Engineering – offers no-cost water testing and, for those with elevated lead levels, grant funding to support lead-reduction activities, such as installing hydration stations.

Eligible applicants could receive up to $3,000 per installed hydration station. The program’s aim is to protect children’s health and make sure they’re drinking safe water.

Schools and child care centers that meet the criteria are encouraged to apply. Applications must be submitted online through the state’s electronic application. Enrollment is open and will remain so until funds are exhausted.

More information can be found on the DEP’s website.

News

April 14, 2026

TEACH Scholarship Application Available for Fall Semester

Early childhood educators who want to advance their education while continuing to work can now apply for the TEACH scholarship for the fall.

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The scholarship is aimed at supporting both staff retention and program quality by enabling working educators to advance their education.

Those interested in receiving a scholarship for the fall semester, which begins in mid- to late August, should apply by Friday, July 11.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but priority consideration is given to complete applications that are submitted by the deadline. Late or incomplete applications may experience processing delays.

TEACH is supported by the state’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the state’s Department of Education. The licensed program is administered by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA).

For information on eligibility, program requirements, how to apply, and how to download an application can be found on PACCA’s website.

News

Pitt Launches Online Graduate Certificate in Infant Mental Health

The University of Pittsburgh’s School of Education has launched a new fully online graduate Certificate in Infant Mental Health.

The certificate, which is designed for working professionals, is aimed at addressing a nationwide shortage of trained infant and early childhood mental health professionals.

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Nearly 50,000 infants and toddlers were served through early intervention in Pennsylvania between 2022 and 2023, but a 2025 analysis by Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children found that mental health and behavioral services remain a significantly underutilized component of that care. This gap was described as “concerning considering the growing emphasis on mental health.”

Addressing the shortage requires a trained workforce that is equipped with specialized knowledge and skills to support the social-emotional well-being of young children and their families, the University of Pittsburgh noted. The state’s early intervention and home-visiting programs are seeking practitioners trained in relation-ship based, attachment-focused approaches to supporting infants, toddlers, and their families.

“Our new online certificate in infant mental health equips Pennsylvania’s early childhood workforce with accessible training that integrates both cutting-edge research and best practices to strengthen families and their communities,” said Eboni M. Zamani-Gallaher, the Renee and Richard Goldman dean of Pitt’s School of Education. “Drawing on our faculty’s deep expertise and our long-standing commitment to early childhood education, we are addressing a growing statewide need and enhancing outcomes for all children through evidence-based research and practical application.”

The Infant Mental Health certificate is a fully online, graduate-level credential. Online programs at the university are developed and supported by the University Center for Excellence in Digital Education, which partners with Pitt schools and units to ensure that online students receive the same high-quality academic experience as those on campus.

The certificate’s curriculum is aligned with the learning domains required for endorsement through the Pennsylvania Association for Infant Mental Health and the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health.

Tuition for the certificate is $750 for credit hour. More information on the certificate is available on the University of Pittsburgh’s website.

News

April 13, 2026

Child Mind Institute Resources Focus on Executive Function Issues in Children

Executive functions are mental skills such as organization, problem-solving, and planning that we use daily.

However, some children struggle with them, which can result in their having trouble keeping track of their schoolwork or items (such as bags or jackets), remembering assignments, or following directions.

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In a series of new resources, the Child Mind Institute notes that it is important to investigate the root cause of why some children can become distracted or disorganized.

Executive function issues are most common in children with ADHD, the Child Mind Institute notes, but children without that diagnosis can have them as well.

The institute offers support for children who struggle with staying organized in school and those who need help with working memory – or, keeping track of the information they need to finish a project or solve problems.

The institute’s resources explore whether a child’s disorganized behavior could indicate other underlying issues, such as anxiety, depression, or a learning disorder.

Strategies for staying organized can’t address an undiagnosed learning disorder or help children who have experienced trauma. These children may appear forgetful or distracted, but may need different types of support, such as a neuropsychological examination.

The Child Mind Institute’s resources include:

News

Thriving Kids Episode Focuses on Building Stronger Relationships with Children

To build a stronger relationship with a child, caregivers should slow down and reflect on their own history and motivations as a caregiver.

The latest Thriving Kids podcast episode suggests that doing so can often yield better results than giving in to the temptation of jumping straight into skills and communication strategies.

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In the latest Thriving Kids, Dave Anderson, PhD, senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education at the Child Mind Institute, discussed the topic of building stronger bonds with children with Ruben Parra-Cardona, PhD, a family therapist and the Roger and Carol Nooe-endowed chair and professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Tennessee.

The discussion focuses on the ethics of raising another person, why encouragement can be harder to give than one might think, and how the process of learning to parent differently can also be a process of personal healing. Another topic is the balance of nurturing a child and holding them accountable.

Some of Thriving Kids’ tips for building a stronger relationship between caregivers and children include:

Be a good listener; often, children just want a caregiver who will give them undivided attention.
Make family time fun and make activities such as game nights, movies, or other activities routine.
Talk openly and honestly, but also set boundaries, so that children will feel safe and supported, all the while learning how to make responsible choices.
Respectfully agree to disagree. Acknowledge a child’s thoughts and feelings, even when you don’t agree. Showing respect for their opinions helps to build trust.

The Thriving Kids episode is available on the Child Mind Institute’s website.

News

April 10, 2026

Christian Kuntz Foundation Provides $10K Scholarship to Jeremiah’s Place

The Kuntz 4 Ki6s Foundation provided a $10,000 scholarship on Friday to the bridge scholarship program for Jeremiah’s Place, a 24-7 crisis center for single mothers, and Trying Together.

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The foundation – which is operated by former Steeler Christian Kuntz and his wife, Heather – promotes youth leadership and engagement, fosters mentoring relationships, and supports underserved communities. It also provides holiday joy to single mothers and their children.

While providing a check for the scholarship on Friday, Christian Kuntz told the Big News Network that he had a soft spot for Jeremiah’s Place, which is the city’s only 24-hour crisis nursery that provides emergency child care for families in need.

“We got linked with them a couple years ago through the Steelers for our nonprofit and we’re providing a scholarship of $10,000 that will act as a bridge for the moms to be able to go on job interviews and pursue opportunities that they wouldn’t be able to pursue because of their situation,” Kuntz said.

Kuntz, who grew up with a single mother, added that the scholarship would help about 50 mothers and children.

“With these bridge scholarships from the Kuntz 4 Ki6s Foundation, we hope they are just the kick-off to working together to support more young children and their families,” said Maria Pisano, Trying Together’s director of community relations. “As the lead organization for the Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center on Kelly Street, we know first-hand the positive difference that wrap-around supports make for families. As an early childhood advocacy organization, we also work daily to increase access to high-quality child care in our region and statewide.”

The bridge scholarship will be administered based on individual family needs to provide:

Immediate access to safe care
Gap funding for child care coverage
Wraparound stabilization support

“Access to high-quality child care is an ongoing constraint to the stability of families,” said Cara Ciminillo, Trying Together’s executive director. “While public subsidies exist, the process to apply, be approved, and find child care can be lengthy. In the meantime, caregivers often must pause their careers, resulting in delayed or missed job opportunities that contribute to financial instability, and inconsistent care and education arrangements that do not best support their children’s healthy development.”

To learn more, read the Big News Network’s full story.

News

Rep. Lee Hosts Roundtable Discussion on the Importance of Head Start

U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-12th) hosted a roundtable discussion Friday on the importance of Head Start with educators, parents, providers, and early childhood advocates. Emily Neff, Trying Together’s director of public policy, helped facilitate the discussion, which was held at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit at The Waterfront in Homestead.

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At the event, Lee discussed the need to expand access to high-quality early childhood education for working families and highlighted her recently introduced Head Start for America’s Children Act, which would dramatically expand the program nationwide, raise wages for educators, and strengthen support services for families.

“Every child deserves not just a chance to survive, but a real chance to survive,” Lee said. “Head Start has opened doors for generations of children, giving them a strong start in the classroom and an even stronger foundation in life. In the richest country in the world, early childhood education cannot be a luxury for a lucky few. It must be treated like the public good it is.”

The event also included a tour of a local Head Start classroom.

The roundtable included representatives from early childhood education programs, public schools, advocacy organizations, and families directly affected by Head Start. Participants shared stories about the vital role the program plays in preparing children for school, connecting families to critical supports, and sustaining communities across the region.

“For 60 years, Head Start has served as a cornerstone program within the early childhood system, providing the essential education, care, and resources that families and young children need to thrive,” Neff said.

Neff noted that Friday’s roundtable was timely as early childhood educators prepare for the Week of the Young Child and Trying Together celebrates the Month of the Young Child in April.

“It is vital that we honor the educators who create high-quality early learning experiences and take steps toward investing in the critical work they do for our youngest children,” said Neff, who added that Lee’s Head Start for America’s Children Act takes necessary steps to prioritize competitive compensation for early childhood professionals.

Over the past 60 years, Head Start programs have provided high-quality early education and comprehensive services to more than 40 million children and families nationwide. Today, nearly 800,000 children receive early education, health and dental care, and nutritious meals through the program, while families also gain access to referrals for job training, adult education, nutrition services, and housing support.

Lee’s bill – which was introduced with U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) as the House companion to legislation by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) – would expand the program to serve more than 11 million eligible young children nationwide.

The Head Start for America’s Children Act would:

Fully fund Head Start for eligible children
Align program hours with working families’ schedules
Raise Head Start educator pay to at least $60,000 per year
Strengthen recruitment and retention
Expand partnerships with child care providers and college campuses
Improve mental health services
Invest in facility upgrades, including the removal of lead contamination in paint and water

Lee serves on the House’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Committee on Education and Workforce.

News

April 8, 2026

Thriving Kids Podcast Episode Focuses on Children’s Social Media Use

Adolescence has long been thought of as a time when friendships, social status, and identity are important to young people. But unlike previous generations, many of those experiences are playing out online.

The latest Thriving Kids podcast episode examines how social media affects children in these and other areas.

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In the episode, Dave Anderson, PhD, senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education at the Child Mind Institute, joins Linda Charmaraman, PhD, a senior research scientist at the Wellesley Centers for Women and founder and director of the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab, for a discussion on the matter.

Charmaraman’s research tracks children from middle school through high school and how social media shapes their lives over time. During the podcast, the discussion focuses on what young people say about how social media affects their well-being – from the ways it can help them find support and community to the pressures it can create around comparison, exclusion, and self-esteem.

Anderson and Charmaraman also talk about why prohibiting social media use entirely may not prepare children to manage online spaces later, and how caregivers can set limits while keeping communication open.

Strategies

Thriving Kids also provided some strategies that caregivers can use for helping young people navigate social media in a healthy manner.

Caregivers should model healthy behavior when it comes to devices. Children should be used to seeing their faces – not the top of their heads bent over a screen. Try to establish tech-free zones and hours in the home that apply to everyone, including caregivers.
If a child is on social media, it is reasonable to follow their accounts, but experts caution against going through texts without good reason. Starting from a place of trust strengthens a relationship and makes it more likely that a child will approach a caregiver when something goes wrong.
Activities that help children develop real-world skills – such as sports, music, volunteering, or creative projects – help to build a sense of self that doesn’t depend on likes or followers. When children feel good about what they do, rather than how they look online, they’re better prepared for challenges.

To learn more, watch the Thriving Kids podcast episode.

News

April 7, 2026

Child Mind Institute Resources Focus on Difference Between Bipolar Disorder and BPD in Youths

Bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder (BPD) can often be confused with each other. Both typically develop in adolescence, involve intense emotions and dramatic mood swings, and can lead to dangerous behavior.

Sometimes, teenagers might be misdiagnosed with bipolar disorder – which is more widely understood – when they might in fact be struggling with BPD.

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The Child Mind Institute has shared some resources about the key differences between BPD and bipolar disorder. For example, episodes of mania or depression last weeks or months with bipolar disorder and can arise without a clear trigger.

In BPD, emotional shifts are rapid and reactive, with moods lasting only minutes or hours and typically triggered by interpersonal stress, rejection, or disappointment.

The Child Mind Institute’s resources explain how to recognize the earliest signs of both disorders in teenagers and why it’s important to catch them as soon as possible. Treatment for the two disorders are very different, and the longer they go untreated or misdiagnosed, the more disruptive they can be to a person’s life.

The resources include:

News

Five Ways to Advocate for Early Childhood Education During Month of the Young Child

There are numerous ways to advocate for early childhood education during April, which is celebrated by Trying Together as the Month of the Young Child and includes a regional advocacy blitz.

It is an important time to collectively work together to create systemic and policy change for young children, families, and the educators who serve them. No action is too small and can be part of your day. Think of advocacy as educating policymakers on the reality of early childhood education and the families of young children to ensure their needs are met and to receive the resources and investments necessary for a thriving early childhood education (ECE) system.

April Advocacy Blitz

The Trying Together Policy team supports an April Advocacy Blitz, a regional advocacy effort that aims to amplify the voices of early childhood educators, families, and community partners across the Pittsburgh region, said Emily Neff, Trying Together’s director of public policy.

“Last year, we celebrated a major win – a $25 million recurring investment (in the state budget) for child care recruitment and retention, the first of its kind in nearly 20 years,” Neff said. “While that was a huge step, we’re just getting started.”

Neff noted that as the 2026-2027 state budget is being negotiated, it is a critical time for early childhood advocates in the region to come together to ensure that their voices are heard.

Neff outlined five things to do during April’s Month of the Young Child (MOYC) to advocate for early learning:

Sign Start Strong PA’s petition
Complete the 2026 child care staffing crisis survey
Contact legislators
Submit children’s artwork to legislators
Post on social media

Sign Start Strong PA’s Petition

The first action that advocates can take is to sign Start Strong PA’s petition to include a number of proposed investments for early childhood education in the 2026-2027 state budget. The proposals include:

A $10 million increase for the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention program
A $2 million increase for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance program
A $7.5 million increase for Pre-K Counts

Other recommendations include raising the child care subsidy limit, dedicating funds so programs can better serve children with special needs, and advancing targeted reforms to reduce unnecessary burdens on child care providers while preserving strong health and safety standards to keep children safe.

After signing the petition, share it with your friends, family, colleagues, and community members.

Complete the 2026 Child Care Staffing Crisis Survey

Help to gather real stories and data from the field to inform state policymakers and advocacy efforts by filling out Start Strong PA’s 2026 Child Care Staffing Crisis Survey.

Those who fill out the survey will have the opportunity to discuss staffing issues at their child care programs. The information collected from the 15-minute survey will be used to demonstrate the need for the 2026-2027 state budget to increase funding for the Child Care Staff Recruitment and Retention program, so that bonuses for the workforce grow.

Those who take out the survey should encourage fellow staff members and families who utilize the program to also participate.

Contact Your Legislator

Another way to make your voice heard on the state’s child care staffing crisis is to reach out directly to the decision-makers in your community.

Start by looking up your state legislators, and then sending an email, making a call, or inviting them to visit your program. Show and tell them why investing in early childhood education is important to your community.

To find your state legislator, visit the Pennsylvania General Assembly’s website.

Submit Children’s Artwork

Another simple and powerful way to advocate is to submit children’s artwork to elected officials who represent your community.

Ask the children in your program to create artwork. If you are already having them create something for the Week of the Young Child, you can use that – or ask them to create something new. An optional step would be to ask them to include a short message, such as “My name is ___ and I love my school because ___.”

Then, find your state legislator’s district office by searching the state General Assembly’s page and then entering your program’s address on the artwork that you submit. Send some of the artwork to your state House representative’s office and some to your state senator’s office.

Post on Social Media

A final, simple way to advocate is to share what you are doing during the Month of the Young Child on social media and tag your legislator in the post.

Information you might consider sharing in the post might include:

Activities taking place at your center
Teachers in action
Children learning and engaging
An explanation of why this week and your work matter

Post your photos on Facebook or Instagram and describe the activities taking place at your center as well as why the Month of the Young Child is important. In your post, tag your state House representative, state senator, and Trying Together.

MOYC and Week of the Young Child

Trying Together celebrates the Month of the Young Child every April in conjunction with the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) yearly observance of the Week of the Young Child.

This year, the Week of the Young Child will be observed April 11 through 17.

More information on how Trying Together and providers are celebrating the Month of the Young Child can be found on Trying Together’s website.