News

December 14, 2020

The Head Start Program and Its Benefits

About

Head Start is a federal program that promotes the school readiness of children from birth through ages five that is available to families with incomes no more than 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. The program provides a learning environment that supports the cognitive, social, and emotional development of participating children.

Many Head Start programs also offer Early Head Start, which serves infants, toddlers, and pregnant women and their families who have incomes below the federal poverty level. To learn more about Head Start, visit Benefits.gov.

Benefits of Head Start

Did you know that children participating in Head Start programs have increased access to health care and improved physical health throughout their lifetimes? Evidence shows that Head Start children:

- were served more fruits, vegetables, and milk and fewer sweetened beverages and other sweets and snacks, when compared to other child care sites;
- are three times as likely to have healthy eating patterns as non-participants;
- who received 60 minutes of outdoor playtime were 42% less likely to be obese at the end of the program year;
- received sleep health interventions that increased their sleep duration and decreased their behavioral sleep problems;
- had access to regular screenings, immunizations, well-child visits, dental and nutrition services, healthy meals, and social service programs such as SNAP and WIC; and
- were less likely to be hospitalized for accident or injury, missed fewer school days, and had fewer emergency hospital visits.

Apply for Head Start

If you are interested in applying, contact a local program that is serving your community. To find a program near you, use the Head Start Center Locator tool featured on the Benefits.gov website. The program will provide all required forms and answer your questions.

To be eligible, your household must make an income lower than specific annual income limits. These limits vary by household size. Visit Benefits.gov to see if your family is eligible.

More Information

To learn more, view this handout by the National Head Start Association.

News

September 10, 2020

Child Care and Education Planning Tools

About

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many early learning programs and all schools in Pennsylvania had to close abruptly and drastically adjust their operations. In turn, this left many families without access to child care and education services for their children.

In response to this crisis, Trying Together and our partners worked rapidly to develop several new platforms and resources to support the continuity of care and education for families in Southwestern Pennsylvania and to support the early learning professionals who provide these services.

To learn about our tools and resources, continue reading below. Share this flyer with your network.

Allegheny Child Care

In partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services and Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School-Time (APOST), Trying Together developed Allegheny Child Care. By using this online tool, parents and caregivers of young children can search for available child care spots at early learning, after-school, out-of-school, summer camp, and virtual programs in Allegheny County.

To use the tool, visit the Allegheny Child Care website. For additional support in finding child care and/or funding your child care needs, visit the ELRC Region 5 website or call 412.350.3577.

Family Care and Education Forum

In response to uncertainty surrounding the 2020-21 school year, Trying Together launched the Family Care & Education Forum. This new resource connects parents and caregivers across Southwestern Pennsylvania and provides a space to ask questions, network, and support one another.

Upon signing up, users will be able to post questions, respond to comments, and learn more about care and education opportunities in their area. To discuss your care and education plans for this fall with other families, visit the new Family Care and Education Forum.

Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5

Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs) provide a single point-of-contact for families, early learning service providers, and communities to gain information and access services that support high-quality child care and early learning programs.

To request support and learn more, visit the ELRC Region 5 website or call 412.350.3577.

News

August 11, 2020

How to Find, Choose, and Pay for High-Quality Child Care

About

Choosing child care for the young children in your life can be less stressful if you know what to look for when determining whether or not a program is “high-quality.” Continue reading below to learn what to look for, how to find and pay for child care, and more!

What to Look For

Caregivers who:

- communicate through talk and touch, songs, and stories
- engage at the child’s level, sitting, squatting, or laying on the floor
- use a warm and supportive tone of voice while addressing a behavior or redirecting attention

Classrooms and settings that include:

- organized, clean, and accessible materials for children to select without adult assistance
- a variety of materials available for all types of play:
  - physical—developing gross and fine motor skills
  - object—sensory tables with rice, sand, or water, loose parts play
  - dramatic—costumes, housekeeping, or kitchen objects
  - constructive—art materials, blocks
  - games with rules—fingerplays to music or books, board games

Curriculum:

- play-based and allows for exploration, creativity, and inquiry

Family Engagement that includes:

- an open-door policy for family members to drop-in
- regular updates about a child’s day
- special events, family nights, and programming in the evenings or on weekends

Designations like:

- Pennsylvania Keystone STARS*
  - licensed child care programs in Pennsylvania have a state rating from STAR 1 through 4; STAR 3 and STAR 4 are considered “high-quality”
- National Accreditations*
  - additional markers of “high-quality”
    - National Association for the Education of Young Children
    - National Association of Family Child Care
- Pre-K Counts and Head Start (in schools or community-based settings)

* Note that only licensed child care programs may participate in these rating systems.

Find Child Care

Now that you know how to determine if a program is high-quality, it is time to find programs that meet your location, time, and transportation needs. Here are a few resources to support your search.

Allegheny Child Care

Caregivers and parents of young children can now search available child care spots at all Allegheny County early learning, after-school, out-of-school, summer camp, and virtual programs in real-time with the Allegheny Child Care tool. Visit the Allegheny Child Care website to try it out and learn more.

Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5

ELRC Region 5 provides a single point-of-contact for families, early learning services providers, and communities to gain information and access services that support high-quality child care and early learning programs. To learn more, visit the ELRC Region 5, email elrc5@alleghenycounty.us, or call 412.350.3577.

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania

To talk to a resource specialist, call 2.1.1 or text your zip code to 898-211. Pennsylvania 211 resource specialists will listen to your needs and connect you to programs in your community.

Paying for Quality Care

You found a high-quality child care program and are ready to enroll your child, but how do you pay for it? Do you qualify for publicly-funded programs? Learn more about qualifying for subsidy and supplemental payment programs available for families below.

Pre-K Counts

Pre-K Counts is available to families with incomes that are no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Pre-K Counts is a school-day, school-year program for children ages three to four. This program may give preference to four-year-olds.

Child Care Works

Child Care Works (CCW) is available to families with incomes that are no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Through CCW, children ages birth to 12 may receive a voucher to attend a child care program based on their family’s or household’s school or work schedule. A small co-pay is required from the family to receive services.

Head Start

Head Start is available to families with incomes that are no more than 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Head Start is a school-day, school-year program for children ages three and four. This program may give preference to four-year-olds.

Early Head Start

Early Head Start (EHS) is available to families with incomes that are no more than 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. Early Head Start serves children birth to age two in home-based or center-based programs. Most of these programs are not full-time care.

Scholarships and Tuition Assistance

Even if you do not qualify for the programs listed above due to your income, many programs offer their own independent scholarships or tuition assistance programs. Ask each program you are considering if they offer financial assistance.

Take Action

After searching for an affordable high-quality program, too many families find themselves making compromises in the process. Affordable programs fill up quickly and many have long waiting lists. Simply put, there are just not enough high-quality slots to meet the needs of all families.

As a leading advocate in western Pennsylvania, Trying Together works every day with our local, regional, and state partners to advocate for child care access, affordability, and quality. Join our effort to expand access to high-quality child care by signing up to receive our advocacy action alerts!

Print This Resource

This resource is available as a downloadable PDF (English) (Español).

News

June 15, 2020

Questions for Your Early Learning Provider During COVID-19

Child Care and the COVID-19 Pandemic

Child Care Operations in Pennsylvania

During the COVID-19 pandemic, all child care programs located in counties in the yellow or green phase of Governor Tom Wolf’s Process to Reopen Pennsylvania are permitted to offer services to families and caregivers without a waiver. However, to maintain the health and safety of children, families, and staff, all programs must comply with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open.

To better understand the type of care and services your early learning program is providing during the COVID-19 pandemic, ask your early learning professional the following questions. For additional questions on program quality, visit our Questions to Ask Your Early Learning Professional page.

Questions to Ask Your Child Care Program

- What are your current operating hours? (COVID-19 might have affected the normal hours.)
- What is the health screening process you are implementing for children and staff?
- What is your drop-off and pick-up process right now?
- What is your policy regarding visitors and non-essential staff in your program?
- What is your program’s policy on adults and children wearing masks?
- Can you share with me a little about your handwashing and hygiene practices?
- What is the staff-to-child ratio you are currently following?
- How are you handling groupings of children and use of space in general (ie., meals, nap time, outdoor activities)?
- How is your program communicating with families?
- Can you tell me about the communication you will have with families about illnesses?
- Does the program have an emergency plan for a child or staff member showing COVID-19 symptoms?
- Can you share your sick/illness policy with me before enrolling?
- How will you meet the developmental needs of my child while following the health and safety guidance of the CDC?
- Do you have an outside play area or a plan to get children outside every day?
- Recognizing the increased need for cleaning and sanitation, are cleaning supplies and chemicals locked up and out of the reach of children?

Print this Resource

This list of questions is also available as a printable Family Checklist (PDF).

Find Child Care

Is your family in need of child care? Use the Allegheny Child Care tool to search for child care, before and after school programs, and summer programs near you! This tool displays real-time available child care slots at early learning programs in Allegheny County. Visit our Find Child Care page to learn more and start your search.

More Information

If you are looking for additional questions to assess program quality, visit our Questions to Ask Your Early Learning Professional page. For more information and to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 guidance, please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health website.

News

May 27, 2020

Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series

Creating high-quality learning experiences at the earliest stages of your child’s life

As an early childhood nonprofit, Trying Together recognizes that a child’s parent is their first and most important caregiver.

From the moment a caregiver meets their child, whether that is through birth, adoption, fostering, or guardianship, parents use their instincts and experiences to guide their personal caregiving style. Caregivers’ perspectives are valuable and can be especially powerful in supporting children’s long-term success when paired with research and science on the way that children learn and develop.

Evidence-based research shows that children’s brains develop rapidly from zero to age five. Through consistent and caring daily interactions with their children, parents and other caregivers are able to build healthy relationships with and best support the early development and learning of their children. When children grow up in safe environments with engaged, supportive caregivers, the positive effects are felt throughout their lifetime. But where do caregivers go to find information and resources that help them do this?

Through the family resource series Developmentally Appropriate Parenting, Trying Together assists parents and caregivers like you in creating high-quality learning experiences at the earliest stages of your child’s life.

About the Series

Developmentally Appropriate Parenting is a family resource content series developed by Trying Together as an effort to empower caregivers to create high-quality experiences at the earliest stages of their child’s life. To do this, we are developing digital and print content for families that covers critical early childhood topics.

To stay up-to-date on available materials, sign up to receive our newsletter.

Featured Content

Use the list below to navigate through each series topic:

Request free printed materials from our Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series.

Available Languages

Caregivers viewing our online resources can use the “Select Language” button in the top right corner of the screen to access the information in their native language.

Printed Materials

Request free printed materials from our Developmentally Appropriate Parenting Series. Printed materials are available in English and Spanish.

More Information

For questions about the Developmentally Appropriate Parenting series, email Trying Together at: info@tryingtogether.org.

News

April 23, 2020

Support Resources for Families

Organizations and tools that offer support.

Trying Together

Trying Together supports high-quality care and education for young children by providing advocacy, community resources, and professional growth opportunities for the needs and rights of children, their families, and the individuals who interact with them. Visit the Trying Together website to view all of our available resources.

Featured Resources

Allegheny Child Care

To use the tool, visit the Allegheny Child Care website. For additional support in finding child care and/or funding your child care needs, visit the ELRC Region 5 website or call 412.350.3577.

Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs)

To request support and learn more, visit the ELRC Region 5 website or call 412.350.3577.

Services

- Provides assistance in understanding, identifying, and enrolling in high-quality child care.
- Provides assistance in enrolling to receive public benefits through COMPASS (SNAP, CHIP, Medical Assistance, etc.).
- Provides information about Family Support Centers.
- Connects caregivers to an appropriate home visiting program, including Early Head Start (EHS).

United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania

United Way fights for the health, education, financial stability, and basic needs of everyone in Southwestern Pennsylvania communities. If your family is struggling to access food, pay bills, or needs access to health and human services, contact 2-1-1 via phone, text your zip code to 898-11, or search their service database.

Services

- Connects individuals to Rent Payment Assistance, Utility Assistance, Housing Search Assistance, Transportation Expense Assistance, and more.
- Connects individuals to food pantries, soup kitchens, SNAP, general clothing provision, diaper assistance, and more.
- Connects individuals to homeless shelters, community shelters, homelessness prevention programs, and more.

COMPASS

COMPASS is an online platform managed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (PA DHS) to provides community members access to many of Pennsylvania’s health and human services benefits, allowing them to learn about benefits, see if they qualify, apply for benefits, and more. To learn more, visit the COMPASS website. If you are a caregiver who is searching for child care and other early learning programs, visit their program search page.

Services

- Helps families and caregivers identify and access early learning programs in their area.
- Allows community members to complete one application for multiple benefits, such as SNAP, CHIP, Cash Assistance, Free or Reduced Price School Meals, Child Care Works, Medical Assistance, and more.
- Sends applications to the appropriate agency for review.

The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers

The Alliance for Infants and Toddlers is the Service Coordination unit for families of children receiving Early Intervention services (birth to three years of age) in Allegheny County. If you are concerned about your child’s development or would like to know more about Early Intervention services, contact the Alliance at 412.-885.6000 or fill out this contact form. Eligibility criteria apply.

Services

- Provides parent education and support, including identification and referral to community resources.
- Provides monitor services in areas such as movement, language and communication, social and play skills, problem solving, and self-help.
- Assists your child and family in transitioning to appropriate services at age three, including Department of Education funded pre-kindergarten programs.

News

April 10, 2020

Affording High-Quality Child Care

You found quality care. Now what?

**Federal Poverty Guidelines 2020**
Persons in Household	100%	200%	300%
1	$12,760	$25,520	$38,280
2	$17,240	$34,480	$51,720
3	$21,720	$43,440	$65,160
4	$26,200	$52,400	$78,600
5	$30,680	$61,360	$92,040
6	$35,160	$70,320	$105,480
7	$39,640	$79,280	$118,920
8	$44,120	$88,240	$132,360

Pre-K Counts

Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts provides high-quality pre-kindergarten services to three- and four-year-old children at no cost to families.

Eligibility

To be eligible, children must live in families that earn no more than 300 percent of the federal poverty level (see above). If eligible, Pre-K Counts is offered in school districts, Keystone STARS 3 and 4 child care programs, Head Start programs, and licensed nursery schools.

Application

To learn if you’re eligible and to apply, visit the COMPASS website or contact your local Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC).

Child Care Works

The Child Care Works subsidized child care program helps low-income families pay their child care fees and is managed by the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) office located in your county.

Eligibility

To be eligible, families must earn no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level (see above); meet work or education requirements; and meet other eligibility requirements. If eligible, your local ELRC will provide a child care subsidy that will pay a portion of your child care cost. Families will be held liable for the remaining cost, which is referred to as a “family co-pay.” Both the subsidy payment and the family co-pay will go directly to the child care program.

Application

To learn if you’re eligible and to apply, contact your local ELRC.

Head Start

Head Start is primarily a federally-funded program that provides education, health, and social services to families with children ages three, four, or five. Head Start programs help children develop academic and social skills that prepare them for school and life. While enrolled in a high-quality Head Start pre-kindergarten program, children receive nutrition, health, and other supports that help them grow mentally, physically, and socially. Families are also offered support to help them obtain services for a variety of needs, including employment and housing.

Eligibility

To be eligible, families must earn no more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level (see above). If eligible, the pre-kindergarten program will be available for free. Due to limited funding, Pennsylvania Head Start only provides services to a limited number of children and families. However, a waiting list is available if all spots are filled.

Application

To learn if you’re eligible and to apply, contact your local Head Start program or Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC).

Early Head Start

Early Head Start serves pregnant women and families with children from birth to age three. Operating similarly to Head Start, Early Head Start works to ensure that every child receives high-quality services that help them grow physically, academically, and socially and that families obtain needed services to help them become self-sufficient. The program may be offered as center-based or home-based services and is free.

Eligibility

To be eligible, families must earn no more than 100 percent of the federal poverty level (see above). Due to limited funding, Pennsylvania Early Head Start only provides services to a limited number of children and families. However, a waiting list is available if all spots are filled.

Application

To learn if you’re eligible and to apply, contact your local Head Start program or Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC).

More Information

Even if you do not qualify at the levels listed above, many programs offer their own independent scholarships or tuition assistance programs. Ask each program you are considering financial assistance. For more information, contact your local ELRC. If you live in Allegheny County, contact ELRC Region 5 at 412.350.3575 for more information.

Information provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services