News

November 16, 2020

Support Available Through Family Hotline

Need assistance in navigating the academic and personal needs of those in your household? Call this Family Hotline offered by the Pittsburgh Learning Collaborative.

About

In August 2020, A+ Schools, ARYSE, Lawrenceville United, the Latino Community Center, the Boys & Girls Club, and Heinz Fellows launched their new Family Hotline to answer questions and offer support to families as they navigate the academic and personal needs of those in their household.

The Hotline is available in 14 languages, including English, Spanish, Uzbek, Swahili, Nepali, Tigrinya, Kinyarwanda, Mandarin, Hindi, Burmese, French, Dari, Portuguese, and Arabic. Calls can be received 24/7. A representative may answer your call, but if not, please leave a voicemail. You will receive a call back within 48 hours on weekdays. Voicemails can be left in any language.

Hotline Phone Numbers

    • For calls in any language: 412.256.8536
    • Para llamadas en Español: 412.335.7446

Share these flyers with your network: English, Español, Uzbek, Swahili, Nepali, Tigrinya, Kinyarwanda, Mandarin, Hindi, Burmese, French, Dari, Portuguese, Arabic.

News

August 13, 2019

Community Members Encouraged to “Call It Child Care”

In June 2018, the Pennsylvania state legislature passed House Bill 1677 to update Pennsylvania’s regulations and code to use the term “child care” rather than “day care” to reflect the work of early learning programs more accurately.

Trying Together worked closely with the bill’s prime sponsor, Representative Jason Ortitay, who represents Allegheny and Washington counties. To further support this effort, Trying Together is launching the “Call It Child Care” initiative.

Why Call It Child Care?

Trying Together recognizes that shifting commonly used language can be difficult. However, by using the term “child care” instead of “day care,” you recognize that:

1. The impact of child care is much longer than a day.

    • Early childhood programs support lifelong success for children and families.
    • Research has shown that high-quality child care builds a strong foundation from which children grow and thrive.
    • By having access to early care and education programming, families experience multi-generational benefits, with young children achieving higher test scores and graduation rates, committing fewer crimes, and earning higher wages, to name a few.
    • Caregivers are able to reenter the workforce, increasing the financial stability of the family and the long-term professional success of the caregiver.

2. The words we use matter.

    • The words we use affect the public’s perception of the early care and education field and affect the field’s own accountability in providing high-quality care.
    • Using “child care” rather than “day care” recognizes the important work of these professionals, in addition to the work children put in to learn, develop, and grow.
    • Accurate language is critical to gaining respect, validation, and investments in currently under-resourced systems.

3. “Child care” acknowledges the complexity of high-quality early care and education programs.

    • High-quality child care programs employ, develop, and retain educated credentialed staff.
    • Child care professionals use a curriculum, lesson plans, and family engagement activities to promote the cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development of the children they serve.

How You Can Help

Please join us in the coming months as an advocate for the “Call It Child Care” initiative.

If you’re an early care and education professional, use the term “child care” when speaking about your work and update your materials as needed. If you’re a family or community member, embrace the term “child care” and use it when referencing your child’s program!

Digital Resource Toolkit

Interested in doing more? Use our digital resource toolkit to advocate for “Call It Child Care” today!

Learn More

To learn more about the initiative, visit our Call It Child Care page.

News

August 2, 2019

PA DHS Announces KinConnector Helpline

On August 1, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ (PA DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller and Aging Secretary Robert Torres announced a helpline for families in kinship care situations, including grandparents raising their grandchildren because of the opioid crisis.

About

The KinConnector helpline was created by Act 89 of 2018, which established a kinship navigator program for Pennsylvania. KinConnector will act as a bridge that helps families identify resources, including gaining access to local, state, and federal resources. The KinConnector helpline is staffed by Kinship Navigators–compassionate, knowledgeable social service professionals prepared to help families locate, understand, and access resources that may be able to help them. This helpline, however, is just the beginning. A website of resources is set to launch in late 2019.

KinConnector Helpline

KinConnector can be reached by calling 1.866.KIN.2111 (1.866.546.2111). Assistance is available Monday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Services

Examples of provided services include:

    • connecting caregivers to health, financial, and legal services,
    • connecting caregivers to training and parenting advice,
    • identifying local physical or behavioral services,
    • identifying support groups,
    • helping caregivers enroll a child in school,
    • helping caregivers apply for federal, state, and local benefits such as CHIP and Social Security,
    • and other services designed to support caregivers.

Why Kinship Matters

Kinship care is becoming more common in Pennsylvania, with grandparents, aunts, uncles, or siblings often stepping in to fill the role of parents who are seeking treatment or, in the most tragic cases, have died from the disease of addiction. Kinship care guardians often make a selfless choice to care for a young relative and ensure they receive care and support from a family member they know and trust, even when processing their own emotions around their family’s situation.

Children being cared for by relatives are less likely to end up in foster care and will experience better outcomes when they are living with a relative or someone they know. KinConnector will help ease the burden on these families and give them the tools and resources they need to be successful.

More Information

For more information on resources available for kinship families and grandparents raising grandchildren, visit dhs.pa.gov.

Information provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services