care Archives

News

March 5, 2020

New Early Childhood Mental Health Survey Available

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) invites early childhood education professionals, family members, higher education staff, and mental, physical, and oral healthcare professionals to take a brief survey regarding their experiences and communications around early social-emotional development.

Survey results will be used to assist the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMH) Project in developing tools for families and professionals to use in understanding and obtaining supports around early childhood social-emotional health.

Take the Survey

Click here to complete the survey. All surveys must be submitted by April 7, 2020.

More Information on Early Childhood Mental Health

For more information about the IECMH Project, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.

For more early childhood related news, please visit Trying Together’s News Section here.

*Information provided by The Pennsylvania Key

News

March 3, 2020

Managing Infectious Diseases in Early Education and Child Care Settings

Join the national American Academy of Pediatrics on March 11 for a one-hour webinar to learn more about two new tools that help professionals meet national early education and child care training requirements for managing infectious diseases.

Included Topics

Participants will learn about the following:

- the important role managing infectious diseases training plays in early childhood settings;
- a free, new online managing infectious diseases module for any early learning provider;
- a free, fully downloadable managing infectious diseases training curriculum that can be tailored for your audience’s needs; and
- training tips that can help you share information about managing infectious diseases with your early care and education community.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

More Information

For more information, contact Eleni Victoria at evictoria@aap.org.

News

February 26, 2020

Making the Census Count for All PA Kids | Webinar

Did you know there is an official 2020 Census song? Or that Sesame Street’s Count von Count is sharing the message about the importance of responding to the Census? Do you know how much federal funding Pennsylvania missed over the past 10 years because of undercounting in the last Census? Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) for their webinar on March 11 to learn about all of these topics and more!

About

The federal government uses census data to help allocate over $800 billion a year in federal funds to key programs that serve children and families. When we miss young children in the census, our communities miss out on funding for public programs for much of their childhood. During this webinar, you will learn more about what you can do to encourage families in your early learning program to participate in the 2020 Census.

Registration

Registrations must be submitted by noon on March 10, 2020. To register, please visit the event webpage.

More Information

For questions, contact Maureen Murphy at 717.657.9000, extension 107.

*Information provided by PACCA

News

February 17, 2020

Message from Me Expands Its Services Nationwide

Made possible by PNC Grow Up Great, Message from Me is expanding its reach nationwide to serve parents, caregivers, and early care and education professionals in more than 50 PNC networks.

About

Although children are developing critical language and literacy skills in their early learning environments, they sometimes struggle to communicate what they learned to the adults and caregivers around them. That’s why Trying Together and Carnegie Mellon University’s CREATE Lab collaborated to develop Message from Me, a digital tool designed in alignment with the NAEYC and Fred Rogers Center Joint Position Statement on Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children Birth through Age 8.

Program Director Katie Gullone defines Message from Me as a child-led digital tool designed to strengthen relationships and provide children opportunities to share their thoughts and feelings with the adults most important to them. Implemented in early learning programs and classrooms, the digital tool provides caregivers with a series of pictures and audio messages of their child’s daily learning experiences. Delivered through email or text, these messages build connections between home and early learning environments by providing children with a platform to share their voice, feelings, and perspective on the world around them.

Why It Matters

Caring, responsive adult-child relationships play a critical role in the healthy development of young children, and these types of relationships are exactly what Message from Me helps to foster.

“When children are exposed to high-quality early learning environments, they gain access to credentialed professionals who support their development through child-led, developmentally-appropriate activities and learning experiences. Message from Me was developed to ease the transition between school and home. By receiving photos and audio messages of their child’s early learning experiences, parents and caregivers gain a frame of reference they can build from when interacting with their early learner.” – Cara Ciminillo, Executive Director, Trying Together

Thanks to PNC Grow Up Great for their continued sponsorship of Message from Me. With their generous support, countless children, families, and early care and education professionals throughout the country will now gain an opportunity to further nurture their adult-child relationships through the latest expansion of Message from Me.

Impact

To date, Message from Me has been implemented in early learning centers and school districts in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Utah, Michigan, and Atlanta Public Schools. Through its nationwide expansion, Message from Me looks forward to engaging more children and families as early childhood professionals begin implementing Message from Me in their classrooms.

More Information

Educators interested in using Message from Me receive hands-on professional development that supports teaching practices when using digital technologies with children. Trying Together exclusively provides the professional development for Message from Me.

For more information, visit the Message from Me website and sign up to receive their newsletter.

News

February 7, 2020

2020-21 Pennsylvania Budget Proposal Response

On February 5, during his 2020-2021 budget proposal address, Governor Tom Wolf dared us to imagine a Pennsylvania where no one is denied the chance to work because they can’t find child care. A Pennsylvania where high-quality child care is accessible and affordable. A Pennsylvania where child care rates are stabilized and child care providers are incentivized. Trying Together belives in that dream, but the budget proposal itself offers no new state investments to make these dreams a reality.

About

While the 2020-21 budget proposal offered increased state investments in early childhood programs like pre-k and home-visiting, it’s missing state investments for something that affects the lives of every parent and caregiver in Pennsylvania: child care. Early Learning PA highlights this issue in their recent press release, stating, “Given that 70 percent of Pennsylvania children under the age of five have all adults in their household in the labor force, high-quality child care is an essential workforce support.” However, due to high prices and limited child care slots, many families across the Commonwealth are not able to afford or access high-quality child care programs.

Early Learning PA continues on, stating, “Although the Governor’s budget proposal utilizes $15.3 million in federal funding toward child care subsidy base rates, this proposal will have no impact in addressing the list of children waiting to gain access to subsidized care or improve the quality of that care.” This, in turn, affects each caregiver’s ability to enter, re-enter, or remain in the workforce and the long-term academic, career, and health outcomes of young children. In Pennsylvania, 73 percent of eligible children under the age of five are not receiving high-quality child care services.

Interestingly, the lack of state investment is also a lack of response to the Governor’s own Keystone Economic Development and Workforce Command Center report, just released last week identifying barriers to employment and providing recommendations for action by the governor, Pennsylvania General Assembly, and private sector. In the report, increasing access to affordable high-quality child care was a top priority for all three.

Take Action

The lack of state investments in child care isn’t only something worth talking about, it’s also an issue that worthy of advocacy. Join us as an advocate by sending a message urging the General Assembly to demonstrate their commitment to Pennsylvania’s youngest children, their families, and our economy by increasing state funding for high-quality child care! Our senators and representatives will need to hear from us through budget negotiations, and our message starts now.

Join us if you believe that all children in Pennsylvania deserve to start strong!

News

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.

News

January 23, 2020

2020 VOICE for Children Awards Celebration

To protect the health and safety of their honorees and guests, the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) has decided to host their 2020 VOICE for Children Award Celebration on Friday, November 6 as a virtual event.

About

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 10th year, the VOICE Award celebrates not only individual award recipients, but the early childhood profession. Join PennAEYC in celebrating grassroots advocates and individuals who demonstrate extraordinary commitment and innovation to support high-quality early childhood across Pennsylvania.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage. For questions or more information, call 888.272.9267.

News

January 9, 2020

Rising STARS Tuition Assistance Maximum Benefit Increased

For Fiscal Year 2019-20, the maximum benefit for the Rising STARS Tuition Assistance (RSTA) program has increased to $8,000 per individual.

About

Administered by The Pennsylvania Key, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL)’s RSTA program helps cover a portion of tuition costs for Pennsylvania’s early childhood educators. Tuition costs net of other funding sources such as scholarships, stipends, discounts, or grants (except the Pell Grant) are used to determine the amount of assistance, with the Fiscal Year 2019-20 maximum benefit listed as $8,000. It is recommended completed applications be submitted at least four weeks prior to the start of the course, or prior to the tuition due date, whichever is first.

More Information on Rising STARS Tuition Assistance

For eligibility requirements, the application process, and more, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.

*Information provided by PA Early Ed News

For more information for professionals, visit Trying Together’s professional development page.

News

January 8, 2020

T.E.A.C.H. Scholarships for Family Child Care Providers

Did you know that T.E.A.C.H. has scholarship models specifically available for family child care providers? If you are a family provider who is considering pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, T.E.A.C.H. can help you get started and graduate debt-free! Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) for their webinar on January 15 to learn more.

About

Join this webinar to learn more about the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Pennsylvania Scholarship Program and how it works for family child care providers. Presenters will provide an overview of scholarship requirements, the application process, financial aid types, and how to get enrolled in college for the upcoming semester(s). Time for questions will be provided.

Registration

To register, visit the webinar link.

News

Career Pathway Overview for Directors

Child Care Directors and Administrators are invited to join The Pennsylvania Key on January 23 for their webinar exploring Pennsylvania’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Career Pathway.

About

This webinar seeks to provide a full overview of the Career Pathway. Presenters will detail different levels of the career pathway, professional development alignment within the career pathway, resources to share with teachers planning to move up in the career pathway, and examples of programs focused on career pathways advancement. More information on Pennsylvania’s Quality Initiatives for the Early Childhood Education workforce will also be provided.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage.

More Information

For questions, all 1-800-284-6031 or email registry@pakeys.org. To learn more about Pennsylvania’s ECE Career Pathway, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.