News

March 1, 2019

Restorative Justice Practices

A+ Schools, Carlow University’s Education Department, and Trying Together are pleased to present, “Restorative Justice Practices: Disrupting the School-to-Prison Pipeline” on Thursday, March 21, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m. at Arsenal Middle School.

About

A long-time social justice activist, civil rights trial attorney, restorative justice practitioner, writer, professor, and scholar with a PhD in Indigenous Knowledge, keynote speaker, Dr. Fania E. Davis is considered a leading national voice. Dr. Davis will share her personal journey to restorative justice. Attendees will also hear her presentation on what restorative justice is, how it differs from other forms of justice, and its history. Dr. Davis will also share the way it is being used in Oakland, California’s schools and juvenile justice system.

The evening will conclude with a panel discussion between Dr. Davis and Mr. John Wetzel, Secretary, PA Department of Corrections. During Mr. Wetzel’s tenure an elimination of a 24-year average growth of 1,500 inmates per year occurred presiding over the first population reduction in PA in more than four decades. With more than 29 years of experience in the corrections field, Mr. Wetzel has been selected as chair of the Council of State Government’s Justice Center’s Executive Board and Vice President of ASCA.

Register

Get more information and register for this event.

News

February 26, 2019

Councilperson Strassburger Introduces Legislation to Combat Pregnancy Discrimination

Today, Pittsburgh City Councilperson Erika Strassburger announced the introduction of legislation to safeguard employment protections for pregnant employees, individuals seeking to become pregnant, and their partners. In addition, the City of Pittsburgh’s Commission on Human Relations released an accompanying Guidance Document to empower employers to take steps to prevent discrimination based on pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions and events.

Strassburger’s Statement

“Employees should not be forced to choose between their livelihood and their reproductive decisions. My legislation ensures that pregnant workers, regardless of whether they work in a corporate office, a retail store, or a warehouse, can work in a safe and comfortable environment, attend medical appointments, and sustain a healthy pregnancy without fear of losing their job or benefits,” said Councilperson Strassburger. “I encourage employers citywide to review the Guidance Document to help prevent pregnancy-based discrimination from ever occurring.”

Details and Impact

Councilperson Strassburger’s legislation would explicitly prohibit employment discrimination against pregnant individuals, those seeking to become pregnant, and their partners before, during, and after the nine-month gestation period and after childbirth. This change to the City Code may require employers to provide reasonable modifications to employees’ workspaces and offer justifiable flexibility in scheduling to allow employees and their partners to attend procedures, tests, and other appointments associated with pregnancy, childbirth, and related medical conditions. A copy of the legislation is available here.

With this change, Pittsburgh would become one of the first jurisdictions nationwide to clearly safeguard employment protections for the partners of pregnant employees. Additionally, the legislation would make Pittsburgh one of few cities to guarantee employment protections for related events that occur before, during, and after gestation and after childbirth.

View the entire press release here.

Those who feel they may have been treated unfairly are encouraged to call the Commission on Human Relations (CHR) at 412-255-2600 or visit http://pittsburghpa.gov/chr/ for more information. The CHR also offers free training and resources for employers.

News

February 25, 2019

Trying Together 2019-2020 Public Policy Agenda Released

Trying Together is pleased to announce the release of its 2019-2020 Public Policy Agenda. The objectives listed build upon our successes and expand to include new areas of focus.

The 2017-2018 agenda called for several action items which were positively advanced in the past two years. While there is still work to do, Trying Together helped to achieve several key accomplishments in support of these goals including:

Advance the use of developmentally appropriate practices (DAP).

released a Kindergarten Transition white paper;
formed a Recess Advocacy Team in partnership with the playful Pittsburgh Collaborative to elevate the importance of free play and promote recess best practices for children in pre-k through sixth grade;
released a DAP white paper and guide for parents;
hosted a DAP webinar;
developed custom professional development on DAP for early childhood professionals;
and presented information on the role of DAP to an assembly of school superintendents.

End early childhood suspensions and expulsions*:

released a white paper and guide for families;
hosted a lunch and learn with the Remake Learning Council;
presented at The Early Childhood Education Summit in 2017 and 2018;
and sits on the state workgroup in Pennsylvania

*Notably, Pittsburgh Public Schools ruled in 2017 that suspensions and expulsions for minor, non-violent infractions for K-2 students would be ended, after which Philadelphia followed. Additionally, The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) released a policy announcement and provided resources on how to do reduce suspensions and expulsions.

Increase access to high-quality pre-kindergarten (pre-k) programs.

partnered on the Pre-K for PA campaign which successfully advocated for an increased investment of $55 million dollars in the 2017-18 and 2018-19 budgets collectively.

Increase access to high-quality infant toddler care.

successfully advocated for an increased investment of $26.8 million dollars in child care services as of the 2018-19 budget;
and convened and partnered on a workgroup to launch the Start Strong PA campaign in January 2019 to advocate for high-quality child care for infants and toddlers.

Transform the early childhood profession.

provided several dozen Level 1 Teachers their Induction program;
hosted the ECE Advocacy Fellowship for more than 20 early childhood professional;
and successfully updated language state statute and regulations to use the term ‘child care’ instead of ‘day care’.

Leverage resources and partnerships.

has continued its partnership with the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University to provide professional development to 1,000 early care and education professionals who utilize the Message From Me digital tool, allowing 20,000 children to consistently communicate about their day with caregivers. In 2019, we, along with our partners, will develop an Advisory Board to bring this to PNC markets nationwide;
and partners with the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (AIU3) to lead the Hi5! Kindergarten Readiness and Registration campaign – working with nearly all 43 school districts in Allegheny County to facilitate roundtables and networking for best practices in supporting young children as they transition into kindergarten.

As a leading advocate for high-quality early childhood care and education in Pennsylvania, Trying Together educates and engages regularly with policymakers on access, affordability, and quality policies that affect the lives of children, families, and professionals throughout the state. Partnering with education, government, business, nonprofit, and philanthropic stakeholders, Trying Together advocates for public policy changes throughout Southwestern Pennsylvania, with an emphasis in the City of Pittsburgh and Allegheny County. Visit tryingtogether.org to view the full 2019-2020 Public Policy Agenda.

Advocates are invited to sign on support for the 2019-2020 Trying Together Public Policy Agenda at tryingtogether.org to begin engaging their legislators today.

News

February 15, 2019

Response to Governor Wolf’s Budget Proposal

On Tuesday, February 5, Governor Tom Wolf presented his fiscal year 2019-20 budget proposal. In highlighting his plan to make the Pennsylvania workforce the strongest in the nation, he outlined several increases in early care and education programs, as well as his plans to spend over $101 million in federal child care funds. Governor Wolf’s proposal includes the following:

Child Care

$15 million in federal funds to provide subsidized child care for 970 additional infants/toddlers in STAR 3 and 4 programs.
$10 million in federal funds to provide a 28 percent increase to tiered reimbursement rates for STAR 2, 3 and 4 providers for infant/toddler care.
$2 million in federal funds to support an “Early Childhood Career Pathways Initiative” for education, training and professional supports for an apprenticeship, or work-based learning model for professionals serving infants/toddlers in early care and education programs.
$74 million in federal funds to provide a rate increase for subsidized providers for an increase in the minimum wage to $12/hour.

Today only one-third of subsidized children are accessing high-quality STAR 3 and 4 care, 4,300 children are on the subsidy waiting list, with families waiting 88 days to access subsidies they need to work, 50 percent of child care staff are receiving public assistance and child care subsidy reimbursements do not cover the cost of quality care. Trying Together, along with nine partner advocacy organizations, launched a new advocacy campaign last week – Start Strong PA – to turn those numbers around and increase access to high-quality child care for families so their infants and toddlers can grow, learn and succeed.

We are pleased to see the federal spending plan includes a waiting list initiative to serve more infants/toddlers in high-quality care and an increase in tiered reimbursement that will provide further program stability and consistency in teacher:child relationships. These are proposals for which we and partners advocated and align with our goals. We also believe the “career pathways” initiative will help to attract and retain talented early care and education teachers, another hallmark of the campaign.

Trying Together looks forward to learning more about Governor Wolf’s minimum wage proposal’s impact on the professionals in our field and the programs in which they work. While we appreciate the allocation of these critical federal dollars and again thank our federal delegation for strong, bipartisan support for high-quality child care, we are concerned with the lack of new state investments in this area.

Pre-K

$40 million for the Pre-K Counts program
$10 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program

This expansion would serve 5,500 additional young children.

Today the commonwealth ranks 18th of the 30 states investing in high-quality, publicly-funded pre-k and with this investment 100,000 children still lack access. As a leading partner in the Pre-K for PA campaign, Trying Together is advocating that lawmakers fully-fund Governor Wolf’s proposal.

Evidence-Based Home Visiting

In addition, the budget proposal includes a $5 million investment in evidence-based home visiting programs to expand home visiting for 800 eligible families.

For more information on home visiting advocacy efforts go to www.childhoodbeginsathome.org.

Evidence-Based Early Intervention

There is a $15 million state funding increase proposed in the Department of Education budget and a $9.75 million increase in the Department of Human Services (DHS) budget for Early Intervention to continue to support the cost of children receiving services.

Trying Together commends Governor Wolf for his continued commitment to early care and education programs in the commonwealth and encourages a state investment be made in high-quality child care so we can provide children with the educational foundation they all deserve. We will advocate for these investments as the budget process continues. Stay up-to-date on how to advocate for these issues by signing-up to support Trying Together’s public policy agenda here.

News

February 8, 2019

Start Strong PA Encouraged by Calls for Increased State Investments

Observations

Start Strong PA observed the 2019-20 PA budget as an important down payment to ensure all infants and toddlers learn, grow, and succeed. The following statement was issued by the ten principal partners leading Start Strong PA, a campaign to ensure that children across the state can access affordable, high-quality child care programs during the most critical period of brain development, the first three years of life:

Statement on the Budget

“We are pleased Governor Wolf’s budget provides a plan for spending $101 million in federal child care dollars that will help Pennsylvania families who need high-quality child care for their children to thrive. Given the essential role that high-quality child care has to support Pennsylvania’s working families, we urge Pennsylvania policymakers to explore all options to allocate additional state resources to address the critical needs of our state’s early childhood system that limit access and affordability.

Two elements of Governor Wolf’s budget proposal closely align with the campaign’s goals, including: a $15 million allocation to remove approximately 970 infants and toddlers from the subsidy waitlist and move them into programs that will elevate their potential; and a roughly $10 million allocation that will help to reinforce program stability and consistent staff-child relationships by increasing quality add-on rates for infants and toddlers by 28% for STAR 2, 3, and 4 programs.

In addition, the Governor’s proposal includes a $2 million allocation to support early childhood career pathways which acknowledges that children develop best when they have consistent teachers and relationships. The campaign believes this proposal will begin to address the significant need to attract and retain additional talented adults to become early childhood educators. Furthermore, an allocation of approximately $74 million would increase rates to support the move to a $12 per hour minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

The Governor’s proposals use federal Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars. Start Strong PA campaign partners believe that these increased investments demonstrate the bipartisan support for ensuring our youngest children have what they need to thrive, while supporting the needs of our state’s workforce and education systems.” The Governor acknowledged the dual role of high-quality child care for children and families by saying, “We can get more kids off of waiting lists…and help more parents make their way into the workforce. Pennsylvania’s children deserve every chance to succeed.”

Reaction to the Governor’s Address

The importance of quality child care to the Commonwealth’s workforce was also raised by Senator Joe Scarnati in his reaction to the Governor’s address saying, “we have to focus on the families and we have to focus on their problems that stop them from getting to work.” Start Strong PA is urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to build on the proposed federal allocations, and invest additional state dollars to support the positive brain development of all infants and toddlers by addressing access and affordability issues.

What Does Start Strong PA Support?

Specifically, Start Strong PA supports:

1. Increased reimbursement rates for the highest quality STAR 3 and 4 programs serving infants and

toddlers to the full cost of quality;

2. Increased investments to support more STAR 2 providers to move to STAR 3 and 4 thereby increasing

high-quality capacity;

3. Increased investments in the child care workforce by adding slots for Rising STARS Tuition

Assistance and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarships, fully funding Education and Retention

Awards, and conducting a child care labor market survey.

“Our state is at a critical moment for determining the future of infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania. Legislators must build on last year’s momentum that acknowledges the role of state funds in our early childhood system. We call on legislators to use this year’s state budget to foster a better future for all children by providing them a solid educational foundation through access to high-quality child care that their families can afford.”

Budget Details

The 2019-20 proposed budget includes the following expanded investments to early learning:

● Allocation of $101 million in federal child care funds;

● Increase in Pre-K Counts investment: $40 million;

● Increase in Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program investment: $10 million;

● Increase in state funds for evidence-based home visiting: $5 million.

Start Strong PA is an initiative of Early Learning PA (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians birth to age five (5). ELPA also advocates for expanding publicly funded Home Visiting services via the Childhood Begins at Home Campaign and access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-k for income eligible children via the Pre-K for PA Campaign.

What is Start Strong PA?

Start Strong PA is an initiative of Early Learning PA. Through a statewide collaboration of partners, Start Strong PA aims to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more at www.startstrongpa.org

Partners

News

February 4, 2019

Ask Congress to Increase Federal Child Care Funding

Trying Together and our partners are advocating for greater investments in federal child care funding, and we need your organization to join us.

What is happening?

Your voices helped achieve historic increases in funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds in federal fiscal years 2018 and 2019. We need to build off that success and advocate for increased discretionary CCDBG funding in the federal fiscal year 2020 so that we can continue to address unmet needs. Advocates across the country are asking Congress to increase CCDBG funding by $5 billion.

To accomplish this goal, the Budget Control Act caps on non-defense discretionary spending would need to be lifted to provide for such an increase in the Labor/Health and Human Services/Education appropriations bill.

Why does it matter?

The additional funding would help Pennsylvania children and families access and afford high-quality child care and further support child care programs and teachers. Trying Together, along with our partner early care and education advocacy organizations in Pennsylvania, is gathering signatures for a letter to our congressional delegation.

Sign-On Your Support

To support an increase in federal child care funding, sign your organization on to the letter by Wednesday, February 20th!

News

November 29, 2018

The VOICE for Children Awards Celebration

The Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) announced that their 2019 VOICE for Children Award Celebration will be held at the historic Hotel Hershey on April 5, 2019.

About the Award

PennAEYC recognizes the critical role advocacy plays in high-quality early learning settings and celebrates those who speak on behalf of Pennsylvania’s children. As the voice for early care and learning, community advocates play an important role in assuring all Pennsylvania’s children get the start that they deserve in school and in life.

The VOICE for Children Award is the only statewide award in Pennsylvania recognizing the grassroots leaders whose work impacts the quality of care for young children. Now in its 9th year, the VOICE Award celebrates not only individual award recipients, but the early childhood profession.

Hotel Reservations

If you plan to stay at the Hotel Hershey, reserve your room online or call (855.729.3108) today as rooms are limited. If calling, ask for the room block for the PA Association for the Education of Young Children at The Hotel Hershey, April 5-6, 2019. Other area hotels are also available.

Questions

For more information, contact Rose Snyder via email (rsnyder@pennaeyc.org).

*Information provided by PennAEYC*

News

November 12, 2018

Annual PENN SACCA Conference

Join the Pennsylvania School-Age Child Care Alliance (PENN SACCA) on November 9 for their 22nd Annual Statewide Conference! This year’s theme: Afterschool time is STEM time!

About

Featuring keynote speaker Jeff Remington, this year’s theme will explore all things STEM in afterschool. As one of ten National STEM Teacher Ambassadors, an international STEM advocate, trainer, and consultant, Jeff has a unique perspective of how the daily practice of STEM impacts the big picture of educational systems tied to a global 21st Century economy.

This year’s conference will be held at Toftrees Golf Resort in State College, PA. Click here to make reservations.

Participants will receive PQAS hours, but must provide their Registry ID number upon registration. For Act 48 credits, participants must submit their PPID number, complete necessary paperwork, and pay a $10 fee.

National and State Experts Will Discuss:

- STEM in afterschool
- STEM career readiness
- 21st-century skills
- Makerspaces
- Implementing STEM

Registration

To register for the conference, visit the event webpage.

Group discounts are available for organizations registering four or more participants. To receive the group discount, all group attendees must be a PENN SACCA Comprehensive Member.

Learn More

For more information, visit the event webpage or contact

News

PSAYDN Annual Partners’ Retreat

Focusing on policy development, coordination of quality initiatives, and sustainability, the PSAYDN Annual Partners’ Retreat provides professional development opportunities for OST professionals, school administrators, teachers, nonprofits, policymakers, and more. Register here to attend.

PSAYDN Retreat and PENN SACCA Conference

For the first time, the PSAYDN Retreat and PENN SACCA Conference will run consecutively to provide additional opportunities for OST advocates and professionals to receive professional development and participate in networking activities.

National and State Experts Will Discuss:

STEM and Advocacy
Career Pathways
Social-Emotional Learning
Behavioral Development
Substance Abuse Prevention
Sustainability and Partnerships
Leadership Development

Act 48 credits available.

News

October 30, 2018

PennAEYC and PACCA Host Start Strong PA Webinar

On November 1st, Pennsylvania Child Care Association and Pennsylvania Association for The Education of Young Children are hosting afternoon and evening webinars to discuss the priorities of the Start Strong PA campaign, the work that has been done so far, and how interested parties can become involved.

Take this opportunity to learn more about Start Strong PA and how this advocacy campaign works to expand access, increase quality, and support early care and educational professionals by seeking increased investments in child care. Register now to save your spot before the October 31 deadline.

These webinars will be facilitated by Jodi Askins, Executive Director of PennAEYC, and Diane Barber, Executive Director of PACCA. Both webinars will be recorded and posted to the PACCA and PennAEYC websites afterward.

See our event page.