May 7, 2020 Keeping Our Children Well During COVID-19 Join former American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) president, Colleen Kraft, MD, FAAP, for a discussion on how early care and education (ECE) providers can support families’ medical care during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. About ECE programs can support families’ access to needed medical care. The AAP recommends children under 24 months maintain their Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) immunization schedule to prevent the breakout of communicable diseases. Many pediatricians are conducting well-child visits through telehealth appointments. However, families may be struggling to access these services. To learn how ECE providers can support families’ medical care during the pandemic, register to attend this webinar. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. The registration link can be used for both the live event and on-demand viewing. The recording will be available to watch on-demand starting 30 minutes after the live event ends, until May 31, 2020. Because access to the live event is limited and the session may be full, event hosts recommend watching the webinar on-demand. A version with English closed captions will also be posted on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) in the future.
May 5, 2020 Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention Services for Children Join the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) on May 13 for their webinar “Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention Services for Children” to better understand how to support children, families, and staff as they seek to support young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. About Join Brandy Fox, Director of Cross-Sector IECMH Initiatives for the Pennsylvania Key, for a conversation about early childhood services grounded in a promotion, prevention, and intervention framework. Learn about the general landscape of early childhood services and “where” they fall on this continuum. Identify simple steps that may help families navigate these services to best meet the needs of their children. Registration To register, visit the event webpage.
Managing Mental Health During COVID-19 Join HiMama on May 7 for their HiMama Helps webinar, “Managing Mental Health During COVID-19.” About This online session will cover the impact of the COVID-19 health crisis on well-being, as well as practical strategies to manage mental health. Presenters will discuss the following: the impact of COVID-19 on mental health, why and how to prioritize well-being during this time, practical exercises to do when feeling overwhelmed, and additional tips through a creative Q&A session. Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
Caring for Children in Group Settings During COVID-19 Do you have questions on how to keep children and staff healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic? Join the National Center on Early Childhood Health and Wellness (NCECHW) on May 6 for their webinar, “Caring for Children in Group Settings During COVID-19: A Follow-up Conversation.” About Early childhood education (ECE) programs have many questions about how to keep children and staff healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guidance for open programs is now available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Academy of Pediatrics. This question-and-answer chat is a follow-up to the webcast Caring for Children in Group Settings During COVID-19 to add guidance from pediatric infectious disease expert, Michele Cheung MD, FAAP. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. The registration link can be used for both the live event and on-demand viewing. The recording will be available to watch on-demand starting 30 minutes after the live event ends, until May 31, 2020. Because access to the live event is limited and the session may be full, the hosts recommend watching the webinar on-demand. A version with English closed captions will also be posted on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) website in the future. *Information provided by NCECHW
May 4, 2020 Talking to and Supporting Children and Ourselves During the Pandemic On May 7, David J Schonfeld, MD, a developmental-behavioral pediatrician and Director of the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, will provide a webinar on talking to and supporting children and ourselves during the pandemic for the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). About During the webinar, Schonfeld will provide suggestions for early childhood educators on how to talk with young children about the recent pandemic to promote their understanding and adjustment, as well as practical advice that can be shared with families on how to support their children’s adjustment and how they can serve as effective models of coping techniques. Adults are impacted at least as much as children, so a focus of the presentation will address professional self-care. Free resources available from the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement and the Coalition to Support Grieving Students will be highlighted. Attendees will receive a certificate of attendance for viewing this webinar. Registration To register, please visit the event webpage. For more webinar options, visit the Trying Together Events page. *Information provided by NAEYC
April 30, 2020 Mayor Peduto Calls for Online SNAP Purchasing Options On April 28, Mayor William Peduto issued a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue in support of efforts to expand affordable SNAP purchasing options — including food delivery and online ordering — for vulnerable populations during the COVID-19 pandemic. About Mayor Peduto’s letter follows calls by U.S. Senator Bob Casey and others to expand the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which provides eligible low-income residents with an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) debit card to purchase food. Currently, SNAP recipients cannot make any food purchases online. While other consumers can use online ordering and delivering to protect themselves and others from spreading the virus, these options are not available to low-income residents and families who are forced to make their purchases in person, increasing their likelihood of contracting COVID-19. Senator Casey has been calling on the USDA to expand SNAP delivery options since March when stay-at-home guidelines were put into effect in Pennsylvania and across the United States of America. The Food Policy Council wants the USDA to allow SNAP recipients to purchase food for delivery and to allow other safe food purchasing options, such as allowing users to use their EBT cards for Instacart or online farmers market services. What is SNAP? The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of low-income families so they can purchase healthy food. Eligible applicants receive an Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) ACCESS Card to make food purchases. To check your eligibility or apply, please visit the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services website. For questions about SNAP, call the Department of Human Services helpline at 1.800.692.7462 or your county assistance office. For individuals with hearing impairments, please call 1.800.451.5886. More on SNAP Purchasing Options To learn more, view the full press release or a copy of the letter to Secretary Perdue. *Information provided by the City of Pittsburgh
April 28, 2020 APOST Requests Virtual Summer Conference Workshop Submissions The Allegheny Partners for Out-of-School Time (APOST) will be hosting a Virtual Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time from Tuesday, May 26 through Friday, June 5, 2020. At this time, APOST is accepting workshop submissions from education leaders. Continue reading below to learn more. About The Virtual Summer Conference for Out-of-School Time will target youth workers in out-of-school time and summer settings. This includes frontline staff, program managers, executive directors, mentors, and more. In regard to workshop submissions, APOST is looking for depth of experience and expertise rather than breadth. With this, they strongly encourage workshops focused on the following themes: social-emotional learning; community trauma and trauma-informed care; health and wellness in out-of-school time; creating inclusive spaces in out-of-school time; engaging children and parents during COVID-19; how to speak to youth about COVID-19; and ways to successfully implement virtual programming. Workshop sizes will most likely not be capped as this event will be virtual, but facilitation preference will be left up to the presenters. Submit Your Proposal To learn more or submit a proposal, please complete APOST’s online form. All submissions must be received by Tuesday, May 5. Event hosts send out their final decision on Friday, May 8. More Information For questions or more information, contact APOST at 412.456.6876 or apost@uwac.org.
April 24, 2020 Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Certification, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Key, will be offering weekly webinars on the CDC guidance for operating child care providers. These webinars are intended for currently operating child care providers. Objectives The webinars will be facilitated by Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner) and Senior Health Manager at the Pennsylvania Key and will: clarify the practices described in the CDC Guidance; emphasize how the guidance offers practices for keeping people healthy and safe; and answer questions that are submitted by providers. Questions may be submitted prior to the webinar to hssco@pakeys.org. Questions can also be entered into the chat box during the webinars and will be addressed in future webinars. Registration To attend the webinar on April 29, register by clicking on the links below: 1 – 1:30 pm – Child Care Center and Group Child Care Home operators 7 – 7:30 pm – Family Child Care Home operators
Give Big Pittsburgh: COVID-19 Response Join us in #GivingTogetherNow on May 5. About Give Big Pittsburgh: COVID-19 Response Give Big Pittsburgh is an annual day-of-giving hosted by the Pittsburgh Magazine that encourages stakeholders and community members to collaboratively raise funds for and learn more about nonprofits working in the Pittsburgh area. While Give Big Pittsburgh is typically hosted on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, also known as Giving Tuesday, Pittsburgh Magazine is following the lead of #GivingTuesdayNow by hosting a COVID-19 Response Campaign on May 5, 2020 to help raise critical dollars for nonprofits in Western Pennsylvania during this time of exceptional need. Although Give Big Pittsburgh is a one-day event, the fundraising platform will remain open on their website through May 31, 2020. #GivingTuesdayNow will not replace the annual Giving Tuesday event happening on December 1, 2020. For more information, visit the Giving Tuesday website. Why Should You Participate? We know that the last few months have been tough. You’re probably asking yourself, “When will this end? What will ‘after this’ look like?” While we do not have all of the answers, one thing is certain: Trying Together values you as a caregiver, and we are here for you. That is why we have continued to support children, families, early learning professionals, and all caregivers of young children throughout this crisis by: curating and creating resources for families and caregivers, as well as early learning professionals, to highlight available services, helpful articles, and more; providing virtual technical assistance and hosting online professional development courses so early learning professionals can continue to grow their career and build on their expertise; and advocating to state and federal legislators to ensure early learning programs are prioritized in the stimulus. To learn more about our work, please visit the Trying Together Vision & Mission page. Reinforce Our Work If you’re interested in reinforcing Trying Together’s mission to support the work of early childhood, consider donating or fundraising with us! You can donate at any level that fits your budget. However, for those looking for recommended tiers, Trying Together has identified the following: Early Childhood Supporter ($60) Early Childhood Sustainer ($120) Early Childhood Champion ($1,000) Because Give Big Pittsburgh uses an online platform, the donation process is quick and simple. Simply add nonprofits and individual donation values to your “Gift Basket” to complete all of your donations in one go. Donors can access their donation receipts online, making it easy to track and report your tax-deductible donations. Visit the website to get acquainted with the platform and add Trying Together to your “Gift Basket.” More Information For questions, please contact Lainey Yockey at lainey@tryingtogether.org.
April 17, 2020 CHIP Will Maintain Enrollment During COVID-19 Crisis On April 15, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) announced that it is “making temporary changes to Pennsylvania’s Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to keep families enrolled in CHIP for the duration of the public health emergency and to ease access to medical services for children being screened or receiving treatment for COVID-19.” What is CHIP? The Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) is Pennsylvania’s program to provide health insurance to uninsured children and teens who are not eligible for or enrolled in Medical Assistance. For most families, the program is free. Families with incomes above the free CHIP limits pay low monthly premiums and copays for some services. CHIP covers any uninsured child or teen up to the age of 19 and guarantees 12 months of coverage unless the family no longer meets basic eligibility requirements. There is not a waiting list to enroll in the program. Caregivers must renew their coverage every year to continue receiving services. To learn more and apply, visit the CHIP webpage. Included Changes The following changes to CHIP will be in effect until the end of the COVID-19 public health emergency: Families will not be denied or disenrolled from coverage for administrative or financial reasons. An example of an administrative reason would be not being able to provide proof of income. Families will not pay a copay for services that are for COVID-19 screenings, testing, or treatment. Families who cannot provide paperwork to verify information on an application or renewal can provide self-attestation of information by signing the application or renewal. Families will be given more time to pay premiums, if needed. These changes were made due to the economic and financial hardship that many families across the Commonwealth are experiencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, families must still provide verification of information provided on an application and are still responsible for copays for services not related to COVID-19. Families will still be required to pay premiums, if applicable. However, if a family is unable to pay due to a decrease in or loss of income, that family must contact their managed care organization immediately and can request a reassessment because of an income change at any time. More Information For more information, read the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ full press release.
