The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has announced that effective August 22, 2022, there will be changes to the Civil Rights Compliance process for licensed child care providers.

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The following changes will be in effect:

• Providers will have to submit a new Civil Rights Compliance form when submitting a new licensing application and a new Civil Rights Compliance attestation form when submitting a licensing renewal application.

• The process of submitting the form has changed.

New License Submissions

Entities seeking a new license will utilize a Civil Rights Compliance (CRC) form (HS 2126). This form must be included in the packet submitted as part of any new license request. The new application, supporting documents and CRC form must be emailed to the DHS office that issues your license (OCDEL Western Region for Allegheny County providers – RA-ocdelcertwpittsbu@pa.gov).

Entities licensed by OCDEL or the Office of Development Programs (ODP) who use CLS or PELICAN to submit new applications must submit the form by email. The CRC forms are not part of the electronic CLS/PELICAN new application process. The CRC form for new applications can be found on the Department of Human Services website.

License Renewals

For licensing renewals, a licensee will now submit a CRC Attestation form (HS 2125). The Attestation form must be submitted as part of a renewal licensing application. The renewal notice will still be sent out 130 days prior to expiration. The renewal application and Attestation must be emailed to the DHS office that issues your license (OCDEL Western Region for Allegheny County providers – RA-ocdelcertwpittsbu@pa.gov). Entities licensed by OCDEL or ODP who use CLS or PELICAN to submit renewal applications must submit the attestations by email. The attestations are not part of the electronic CLS/PELICAN renewal application process. The CRC form for can be found on the Department of Human Services website.

The DHS Bureau of Equal Opportunity (BEO) currently issues a letter verifying that you are in compliance with applicable civil rights laws. With the new process, a letter from BEO will no longer be sent out to licensed entities. Instead, the issuance of the new license or renewal license will indicate that your CRC form or Attestation form submission was approved. If there are issues/questions on the submitted CRC or Attestation form, a staff member from DHS will contact you.

Questions

For more details, read OCDEL’s full announcement.

Allegheny County child care providers should direct questions to the OCDEL Western Region Office at 800-222-2149.