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News

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:

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.

News

June 2, 2020

Parenting in a Pandemic: Help in a Time of Need

Are you interested in learning how children will be impacted by the trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic? Join First Up this June and July for their virtual series, “Parenting in a Pandemic: Help in a Time of Need.”

About

Join First Up for Parenting in a Pandemic: Help in a Time of Need, a three-part series of one-hour informative webinars, where they will answer common questions parents and caregivers have about their children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Each session, presented by professionals with early childhood expertise and certificates in trauma-informed practices, will:

    • introduce the concepts of how brains develop and the impact that current events;
    • might have on children from birth through age eight;
    • introduce new ways to think about self-care; and
    • offer strategies for supporting children’s mental well-being.

Participants will be entered in a drawing for special giveaways!

Session Dates

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

More Infomation

For questions, please contact Jillian Best Adler at jillian.adler@firstup.org.

Share this flyer with your network. 

News

June 1, 2020

Women’s Rap

Are you a single mom or caregiver in need of self-care? Women’s Rap provides a safe place for communication, encouragement, and reflection. Join us for a group discussion to build your confidence, gratitude, and supportive relationships with other women.

Event Details

Second Friday of Every Month
6 – 7:30 p.m.

Location

The Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center
7219 Kelly Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15208

Learn More

For more information, contact Toni Beasley at 412.540.5732 or toni@tryingtogether.org. Learn more about the Homewood Early Learning Hub and Family Center on the Trying Together website.

Please share this flyer with your networks.

News

Summer Camp and Recreation Guidance During COVID-19

On May 22, the Wolf Administration issued frequently asked questions to provide guidance to parents, caregivers, summer camp operators, public bath places, part-day school-age programs, and other entities that provide necessary child care and enrichment and recreational activities for children and youth during the summer.

About

Summer programs that provide child care and enrichment and recreational activities for children and youth are permitted to operate without a waiver in counties in the yellow and green phases of the Governor’s phased-in reopening plan so long as they follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance for Youth and Summer Camps and the CDC Supplemental Guidance for Child Care That Remain Open.

Summer programs include child care facilities regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and the following part-day school-age programs:

    • a part-day school-age program that operates for less than 90 consecutive days per calendar year from the date the program opens to the date the program closes;
    • a part-day school-age program that operates 2 hours or less per day for 3 or fewer days per week;
    • a part-day school-age program that has a single purpose for the children’s attendance and that purpose is the only focus of the program (e.g., soccer or art class); and
    • a drop-in program where a child or youth may come and go at will.

To view the guidance, visit the FAQ document. This guidance does not apply to public school-operated summer programs or extended school year services. Guidance related to reopening public schools will be released by the Pennsylvania Department of Education at a later date.

Summer Programs in Pittsburgh

On May 15, the City of Pittsburgh announced how summer activities will be impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. While many activities will be allowed, others will be cancelled or postponed. Decisions on closures and activities may be revisited as pandemic circumstances and federal and state guidelines change.

To view lists of permitted and non-permitted activities, read our news post.

More Information

For more information, view the full press release.

News

May 27, 2020

Connecting with Families Around What They Care About

Are you interested in learning family engagement strategies that value families’ passion for the success of their young children? Join Brazelton Touchpoints Center on June 8 for their course, “Valuing Passion: Connecting with Families Around What They Care About.”

About

Families demonstrate a wide range of emotions, both positive and negative, as they navigate through their ever-changing experiences with their child. The negative emotions that families sometimes show can be challenging for providers to manage. Reframing these emotions as coming from a family’s passion for their child can strengthen provider’s partnerships with families. In this webinar, presenters will explore ways that providers can value families’ passion.

Registration

To access the course and learn more, visit the Brazelton Touchpoints Center website.

*Information provided by Brazelton Touchpoints Center

News

Connecting with Families Through the Child’s Behavior

Are you interested in learning how to use a child’s behavior to open up communication with the family? Join Brazelton Touchpoints Center on June 1 for their course, “The Power of Observation: Connecting with Families Through the Child’s Behavior.”

About

When providers share with families specific details of what they notice about their children—such as their interests or temperament—they open the door to connecting. In this webinar, participants will learn specific steps for using the child’s behavior to open up communication with the family. Participants will learn about family engagement strategies for Connecting with Families through the Child’s Behavior that can immediately apply to their work.

Registration

To access the course and learn more, visit the Brazelton Touchpoints Center website.

*Information provided by Brazelton Touchpoints Center

News

Working With Young Children During COVID-19

Join HiMama on May 28 for their HiMama Helps webinar, “Working With Young Children During COVID-19.”

About

This session will explore ways to support young children as new guidelines refine what “normal” looks like in child care. Presenters will discuss the following:

    • how to prepare young children to return to a child care setting,
    • how to support families and staff during the pandemic,
    • what it means to serve essential workers, and
    • additional tips through a community Q&A session.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.

News

May 21, 2020

New Portal Helps Allegheny County Families Find Child Care

Caregivers and parents of young children can now search available child care spots at Allegheny County early learning programs in real-time with the Allegheny Child Care tool.

Emphasizing Access

Child care needs for families are varied, and may change at any time. The 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created a situation where many early learning programs have had to close abruptly or drastically adjust their operations. In turn, this has left many families without continued care and education for their young children. From the COVID-19 crisis, Allegheny Child Care is a unique pilot project that has been developed to support the child care needs of families.

The Partners That Made This Possible

The child care initiative will be managed by Trying Together in partnership with the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, with additional support from the City of Pittsburgh, and was developed in collaboration also with Child Care Aware of America, the Endowments and technology partners Bowtie, BrightHive, and BridgeCare.

More Information

The Allegheny Child Care tool may be accessed online. For more information about the launch of Allegheny Child Care, read the full press release. Additional support for finding and/or funding your child care needs can be found at the Early Learning Resource Center Region 5 website or by calling 412.350.3577.

News

CARES Act To Fund Nearly 7,000 Child Care Centers

In response to the  COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf announced on May 20, 2020 that an initial distribution of $51 million of funding from the CARES Act will support child care providers in Pennsylvania. Distributed in partnership with the General Assembly, this initial funding will reach nearly 7,000 early learning programs. The governor asserted that a healthy child care system was essential as Pennsylvania reopens.

Eligibility

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) determines eligibility and the amount of award based on provider type, Child Care Works (CCW) subsidy enrollment, and regional capacity. CARES Act funds will be distributed to eligible, certified child care providers through regional Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs) and will be available in June 2020. Additional actions are required for child care providers.

Funding Information

In total, PA received $106 million in funding that will be distributed in two waves. The first wave of $51 million will be distributed per the conditions outlined above, to help providers prepare to reopen as counties move to the yellow phase. The remaining funding will be allocated following the completion of a study assessing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Pennsylvania’s child care providers.

Guidance for Child Care

In the Yellow Phase, child care providers are permitted to reopen without a permit so long as they follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning.

For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258.

More Information

For more information about Governor Wolf’s announcement, read the full press release. The attestation form and process for the CARES Act funds for child care providers can be found online.

News

May 20, 2020

Let’s Move! Family Dance Party

Join the Kelly Strayhorn Theater (KST) on May 30 for a 20-minute dance class and dance jam session! Let’s Move! Family Dance Party offers a low impact workout that the whole family can enjoy. This session will also feature a new coloring book page from KST’s archive of performances.

Registration

To register and learn more, visit the Kelly Strayhorn Theater website!

Download the KST Coloring Book.

More Information

For questions, please contact the Kelly Strayhorn Theater at info@kelly-strayhorn.org or 412.363.3000.