June 29, 2020 Connections and Conversations: Advocacy 101 Are you interested in learning about the budget process and state government in Pennsylvania? Join Trying Together on July 22 at 6 p.m. for our online session, “Connections and Conversations: Advocacy 101.” About Connections and Conversations Virtual Check-Ins are interactive sessions that highlight topics of interest to the field of early childhood education. Participants will engage in virtual discussions via Zoom with child development experts while interacting with early learning practitioners to share questions, experiences, and expertise about the highlighted topic. This session will highlight the budget process and state government in Pennsylvania. Participants will receive an overview of the Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA) campaigns, how early childhood education programs are impacted by the budget process, and ways professionals and families can use their experiences and knowledge to advocate. This session will also identify advocacy actions attendees can participate in or lead to advocate for early childhood. Participants will receive the course Zoom link via email within 24 hours before the start date for the course. For questions, contact Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org or Sarah Grubb at sarah.elrc5@alleghenycounty.us. Session Details Session Date: Wednesday, July 22 | 6 – 7 p.m Instructors: Emily Neff, Cristina Codario, and Lindsey Ramsey CKC: K6.10 C1 CDA Subject Area: Maintaining a commitment to professionalism. Registrations must be submitted by Monday, July 20. Space is limited. Sessions will be offered biweekly and will offer one hour of PQAS credit. Act 48 credit will not be offered. Registration To register and learn more, visit the course webpage. Session Rules and Guidelines These virtual discussions are designed to provide educators the opportunity to grow professionally and share knowledge on early childhood topics. During the meeting, participants should follow the guidelines below to ensure a successful virtual meeting for all participants. Please allow all participants a chance to speak. Listen respectfully and actively. Commit to learning about each other, not to debating the topic. Embrace differences of opinion as healthy and support each person’s authentic self-expression. Participants will be muted for the beginning portion of the session. Participants may use the “Raise Hand” feature in Zoom to request an opportunity to comment or ask a question. Individuals will be temporarily unmuted by the moderator. Participants may type a comment or question in the Chat or may send comments or questions directly to the moderator for them to share. To receive PQAS credit, you must complete an evaluation at the end of the session and include your PD Registry number. Have fun, make connections, and engage in the conversations! More Information For questions or more information, please contact Rosie Hogan at rosie@tryingtogether.org.
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.
October 18, 2019 ACF Seeks Input On Improving Quality Child Care Access On October 2, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) posted a Request for Information (RFI) on improving access to affordable, high-quality child care in the United States. About ACF is focused on finding innovative solutions to improve working families’ access to affordable, high quality child care, as well as investigating how access to child care affects America’s workforce, present, and future. Child care is one of the biggest expenses a family faces and can be a barrier to work. The average cost of center-based infant child care in 28 states is more than college tuition. At the same time, there is concern about the quality of child care and ensuring that child care settings are a place of education that promote and enhance child and youth development and well-being. High-quality child care is a critical investment that pays off now, for parents by enabling them to work, and later, by supporting children’s development and success in school and life. This request for information seeks public comment on innovative ways to address the affordability and access crisis of child care in the U.S., without compromising on quality. Information collected through this RFI may be used by ACF in the development of future rulemaking and technical assistance, the formation of legislative proposals and research agenda, and/or strategic planning. To learn more, visit the RFI page. Intended Audience and Stakeholders AFI is looking to receive input from a wide range of stakeholders, including, but not limited to, parents who use child care; parents of children with disabilities; small child care businesses; employers; state and local chambers of commerce; foundations; faith-based and other community organizations; family child care networks; child care resource and referral agencies; universities and other institutions of higher education; child care workforce development organizations, etc. RFI Topics Building Supply of Child Care Improving Child Care Regulations Cultivating the Child Care Workforce Developing Better Child Care Business Models Transforming Financing of Child Care and Early Education Programs Submit Your Comment To submit a comment, visit the RFI page. All comments must be submitted by December 2, 2019. *Information provided by the Administration of Children and Families
December 5, 2018 What’s Next for the Allegheny County Children’s Fund? Although the outcome of “Our Kids. Our Commitment.” initiative was not what proponents wanted, key stakeholders are looking toward the future and finding some victory in the vote. Voting Results During the recent election, over 513,000 Allegheny County residents cast their vote on a proposed amendment to establish the Allegheny County Children’s Fund through an increase in property taxes (0.25 millage rate, an estimated $30 increase per year for the average household). The fund would have supported early learning opportunities for children, after-school programs and nutritious meals. The amendment was defeated, with 48.31 percent of voters in support and 51.69 percent against. “What I heard from my constituents was that they liked the idea of increased and specific funding for early learning, after-school programming, and nutrition programs,” says Councilwoman Deb Gross. “But they had concerns about the governance of the fund.” What Does This Mean? The defeat means that Allegheny County still does not dedicate any funding to early learning programs and nutritious meals but does allocate approximately $8 million to after-school programs. Advocates of the Children’s Fund say, despite the vote’s outcome, the need for these programs is still there, and that the vote showed that there is great public interest in finding a solution to funding these programs for our children. “What this tells us is that just over a half-million people in Allegheny County care about this issue,” says Patrick Dowd, executive director of Allies for Children. “There is wide consensus that these types of programs are something we should be supporting, and clearly a number of people care about this issue. That part to us is helpful and inspiring.” James Doyle, executive director of Higher Achievement, Pittsburgh, appreciates the number of people who did vote yes. “The people are saying they care about these three critical things enough to support a small increase in their taxes,” he says. “That sends a strong message for us to continue our work.” Advocates agree that the vote shows people care about this issue and people want to see some sort of funding be provided for this type of early childhood support. What’s Next? The 10 organizations that came together to form the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Initiative will continue to advocate for these programs in the day-to-day work of their organizations. The path to move forward, Dowd says, is through continued conversations with supporters, as well as listening very carefully to those who weren’t supportive. The group plans to create a space for people to re-engage as they sift through many ideas and other feedback they received. A future source of funding will need to have a transparent means of reporting back to the public, they say, but the source of that funding remains to be seen. Allegheny Children’s Fund supporters will continue to advocate for these initiatives in the day-to-day work of their organizations, as well as through their continued collaboration to create a source of funding that will support these programs in the long-term. “Our organization’s mission has been and will continue to be one that focuses on advocating on behalf of the needs and rights of children,” says Cara Ciminillo, executive director of Trying Together. “The needs remain and the needs are great.” “I am hopeful that the state will continue the pattern of the past few years with incremental increases to funding for these programs, but this has not been enough to fill the gap,” she says. “We will be continuing the effort to look for local revenue to help support some of that gap.” *Information provided by Kidsburgh*
November 29, 2018 Tickets for Kids Book Club Tickets for Kids and the Sto-Rox Library announced the discussion dates for their new collaborative book club. The book chosen by their group is: “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City” by Matthew Desmond. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book was also the One Book One Community choice of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health. If you would like to attend, RSVP to Jennifer Gray by email (jgray@forstorox.org) or phone (412.771.1222). Parking is located in the parking lot on the side of the building, PNC parking lot after banking hours, or on the street. Discussion Dates Discussions will be held at the Sto-Rox Library on the following dates: December 10, 2018: 4-5:30 PM February 11, 2019: 6-7:30 PM April 8, 2019: 6-7:30 PM June 10, 2019: 6-7:30 PM About the Book “Evicted” by Matthew Desmond describes the plight of poor families who, for want of a few dollars, are forced to move from their homes, apartments, or trailers. An ethnographer, Desmond shares the intimate vicissitudes of his subject/friends as they struggle to make ends meet while negotiating a bewildering system of slumlords, public agencies, law enforcement, and courts, a system that seems almost designed to reinforce a downward spiral of poverty. The consequences of eviction are especially felt by mothers with young children, whose development is jeopardized by substandard housing, low-quality neighborhoods, and poor nutrition. *Information provided by Tickets for Kids Charities and Pitt Public Health*
November 16, 2018 NAEYC Invites ECE Professionals to #ProtectFamilies In today’s world, each new day brings an onslaught of information, images, data, and stories. While immigrant families with young children may cycle in and out of the front pages, the need for early childhood educators from all backgrounds to stand together to protect and support them continues to capture our time and attention. As an active member of the Protecting Immigrant Families campaign, NAEYC continues to stand against family separation, and to stand in opposition to the new proposed regulation on “public charge,” which they believe would punish parents and harm children. With stories of two-year-olds in court and tent cities on the border, NAEYC remains deeply concerned about what has happened and what will happen to the hundreds of children still separated from their families, as well as what will happen to the families yet to be detained. Opportunities to Stay Informed and Advocate Watch this webinar from NAEYC and CLASP that outlines the roles and responsibilities early childhood educators have in working with immigrant families. Write comments in opposition to the public charge regulation. Learn more and, if you are ready, submit your comments today. You can also wait until NAEYC is able to share additional templates and language specific to early childhood education and educators. (Stay tuned, and check out this great Q & A from CLASP for the early childhood community in the meantime!) Support Save the Children, which has partnered with the American Immigration Council and the American Immigration Lawyers Association’s (AILA) Immigration Justice Campaign, and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) to assist family reunification efforts. Vote and pledge to vote by taking part in the “Our Votes. Their Futures.” campaign. Speak Up, Speak Out If you believe in a world in which all young children can thrive and learn, our society must be dedicated to ensuring that they reach their full potential. This world does not include incarcerating children, separating them from their families, or forcing families to stop accessing critical services and supports because they are afraid. Rather, NAEYC understands and upholds the bonds between children and their families, and, as advocates, calls for individuals to speak up and out to defend those bonds. Recognize the power of your voice and actions, and stay engaged as NAEYC members move forward on this and many other issues facing our children, families, and educators. *Information provided by NAEYC*
November 1, 2018 Deadline Extended for RFP: Child Care Funding and Finance in PA The deadline has been extended to November 9, 2018 for the Request for Proposal, Child Care Funding and Finance in Pennsylvania: The True Cost of Quality Part II. The Berks County Intermediate Unit (BCIU), in coordination with the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission (PAELIC), released the RFP for submission of proposals to investigate the cost of providing high-quality early care and education across Pennsylvania. Part I Conclusions Part I of this project, CHILD CARE FUNDING & FINANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA: Budgeting for Survival or Paying for the True Cost of Quality? conducted by Research for Action found that: Infant and toddler care is more expensive than pre-K or school-age care. Current revenue streams and reimbursement rates are inadequate to cover the cost of infant and toddler care and, as a result, child care providers opt to serve more preschoolers and fewer infants and toddlers. Low compensation in child care programs leads to significant staff turnover and hiring of less-qualified staff. Part II Overview Knowing that the cost of infant and toddler child care is high, and the current public financing system is inadequate to cover the costs of quality in Pennsylvania, particularly teachers’ wages, leading to turnover and a less qualified workforce, Part II of this study aims to answer the question ‘What does it cost to support high-quality child care across Pennsylvania?’ Part II will build upon the previous work conducted in Part I, using a more robust data set to estimate the true cost of high-quality child care, as compared to child care that meets only regulatory standards, and how those costs vary across regions in the commonwealth. The findings from Part II will inform the evolution of Pennsylvania’s child care financing and quality systems to enable the greatest access to high-quality child care for the most at-risk children. Deadline The Request for Proposal represents the requirements for an open and competitive process. Proposals will be accepted until 5 pm EST, Friday, November 9, 2018. See the RFP for more information, including proposal guidelines, project description, project timeline and more. Information provided by PA Early Ed News.
