June 4, 2020 Questions for Your Early Learning Provider During COVID-19 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, early learning programs across Pennsylvania are adding new operating procedures (as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) to maintain the health and safety of their staff and the families they serve. To help parents and caregivers better understand these changes, Trying Together developed a Family Checklist that features questions families can ask their early learning providers. Access the Checklist The Family Checklist features fifteen questions caregivers can ask, including questions on how programs plan to communicate with families, meet the developmental needs of children, implement health screenings, and more. To see the full list of questions, view the Family Checklist: Questions for Your Early Learning Provider During COVID-19. [En Español] Additional Resources In addition to the Family Checklist, Trying Together developed the following news posts to answer common questions and highlight resources for families, caregivers, and early learning professionals: COVID-19: Resources for Parents and Caregivers COVID-19: Resources for Early Learning Programs New Portal Helps Allegheny County Families Find Child Care Summer Camp and Recreation Guidance During COVID-19 Changes Made to Summer Activities During COVID-19 Pandemic Guidance for Businesses in Counties Moving to Green Phase More Information For more information about COVID-19 and to view current case counts in Pennsylvania, please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Health website. To view current guidance for child care programs that remain open, please visit the CDC website.
January 27, 2020 Take Action to Support Infants and Toddlers in Pennsylvania Are you interested in advocating to increase access to and the affordability of child care for infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania? Take action by completing Start Strong PA’s current advocacy ask! About In December 2019, a campaign for high-quality child care in Pennsylvania called Start Strong PA delivered a New Year’s resolution photo frame to every member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The frames included a spot for a photo, a place for their signature, and the following resolution: In 2020, I resolve that all children deserve to start strong. I will support the healthy development of all Pennsylvania’s infants and toddlers by fighting for greater access to high-quality child care. Now, Start Strong PA is encouraging the General Assembly to take a picture with the signed photo frame and share it across their social media platforms. However, Start Strong PA needs your help! Throughout January, the campaign is asking Pennsylvania families and caregivers to send in photos of their infants and toddlers to place inside the frames. Will you reinforce Start Strong PA’s mission to increase access to and the affordability of high-quality infant/toddler early learning programs? How You Can Help To send in a photo, complete the following steps: Find your Senator or Representative by visiting: http://bit.ly/StartStrongPAresolution. Type in your address and press search. You will be given links to your Pennsylvania House and Senate members. Click on the link (their name) and you will be sent to their website. On the left-hand side, you can find their Harrisburg office address. Place the 4 x 6 photo(s) and a message that says “Make me your New Year’s resolution!” in an envelope, add postage, and mail to their Harrisburg office. Looking to go a step further? Send your Senator and Representative a reminder as well by completing a pre-filled form on our Take Action page! More Information For questions or to send your picture to Start Strong PA, email info@startstrongpa.org.
