October 23, 2019 Children’s Fund Working Group Presents Report to County Executive In October 2019, the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group formally presented County Executive Rich Fitzgerald with a report for his review and consideration. In it, the Group recommends the creation of a new county department dedicated to children, as well as an annual investment of up to $20 million to support high-quality learning and out-of-school-time programs. About Officially launched in May 2019, the Allegheny Children’s Fund initiative is a citizen-led effort that seeks to “change the way we fund the efforts that are proven to ensure the health and well-being of our kids across the county: early learning, after school programs, and good nutrition.” In November 2018, the Group successfully qualified a question for the General Election ballot, asking voters: “Shall the Allegheny County Home Rule Charter be amended to establish the Allegheny County Children’s Fund, funded by Allegheny County levying and collecting an additional 0.25 mills, the equivalent of $25 on each $100,000 of assessed value, on all taxable real estate, beginning January 1, 2019 and thereafter, to be used to improve the well-being of children through the provision of services throughout the County including early childhood learning, after school programs, and nutritious meals?” While the group exceeded their goal of collecting more than 40,000 petition signatures from community members and stakeholders, the effort fell short as 48.4% of voters answered “YES” on the ballot. A majority (>50%) “YES” vote was needed. While the question did not receive a majority “YES” vote, community members and stakeholders still agreed that unmet needs remained. With this, County Executive Rich Fitzgerald announced that a 26-member working group had been convened to begin to look at the potential creation of a Children’s Fund to provide resources to early childhood learning and out-of-school-time programs across Allegheny County. Allegheny County Children’s Fund Tasks County Executive Fitgerald charged the working group with the following tasks: review available data to assess the state of children and children’s programming in Allegheny County; gather information from providers, parents, and experts across the county, especially regarding programming demand and supply gaps; gather input from the larger community; review state and federal policies and their impact on children’s programming in the county; design the operations of a possible children’s fund; provide concept budgets for operations within budgets of $5 million, $10 million, and $20 million annually; provide sample allocation models and scenarios; and report findings to the County Executive. Overview of the Report The working group found that there are significant gaps in equitable access and recommends that a focus on improving the quality of the system would provide significant benefit to the community. The report proposed a mission and vision for a Children’s Fund and identified four core principles: equity, access, quality, and accountability. With this, the group’s annual goal is to ensure that more children in Allegheny County can access high-quality programming. As a long-term goal, the group hopes for systemic improvements for children in Allegheny County. “An investment of this level is a commitment that focuses on quality and equity for youth in our community,” said Trisha M. Gadson, Ph.D., Co-Chair of the Children’s Fund Working Group. “It can further support the economic viability of our region.” During its six months of work, the group sought to engage as many voices as possible to receive input and feedback from the community. This process included six public meetings, two focus groups, an online survey (in English and Spanish), and a meeting-in-a-box kit to receive input from teens. In addition to its final report, the group issued a Public Engagement Summary as a companion piece, outlining input from the public on the creation of a Children’s Fund at the county level. County Executive Fitzgerald thanked the group for their diligent attention, stating, “This issue is important to me and it is important to this community. Nothing could be more impactful to the residents of Allegheny County than investing in our children and their future. While I’ve just begun to dive into this report and its recommendations, it is clear that it calls for a systemic change to be dedicated to children’s success. I’m grateful to the leaders of our community who gave of their time and talents to provide us with a plan to consider and will be continuing this conversation with them as we consider what options make sense for our county moving forward.” “The importance of the County Executive’s leadership is vital to the success of our children and our region,” said Michelle Figlar, Co-Chair of the Children’s Fund Working Group. “The addition of local leadership and revenue is essential to the success of early learning and out-of-school programs, and Allegheny County has the opportunity to lead in this effort.” Read the Full Report To read the full report, visit the Allegheny County website. Next Steps The work of the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group is now complete. Follow what happens next with the Working Group’s recommendations at the County Executive’s website or by contacting your member of the Allegheny County Council. More Information For more information, visit the Children’s Fund website. Read the full release. *Information provided by the Office of County Executive Rich Fitzgerald
October 10, 2019 Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership Summit On December 3, staff from Trying Together’s Policy Team will be presenting at the 2019 Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership (GPNP) Summit. About Join the Greater Pittsburgh Nonprofit Partnership on December 3 for the 2019 GPNP Summit at the Wyndham Grand Pittsburgh Downtown Hotel. The Summit will be an intensive, collaborative enrichment opportunity to learn new skills and tactics for achieving measurable success based on strategy, partnership, data, and hard work. With this, a particular focus will be placed on addressing pressing social issues in southwestern Pennsylvania, including those that concern: education, economic stability, social and community context, neighborhood and the build environment, and health and health care. Onsite child care for children ages 2-12 years of age is available at no cost to the participant. However, pre-registration is required by November 15 as space is limited. Our Session At the event, Trying Together’s Director of Public Policy, Lissa Geiger Shulman, and PK-3 Public Policy Manager, Emily Neff, will be presenting their session, “Collaborating for Effective Early Childhood Advocacy.” Interested parties are invited to attend the session from 2:30 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. on December 3, 2019. This session will explore: the history behind the formation of a coalition for early learning in Pennsylvania that represents both traditional and non-traditional stakeholders, advocacy successful of growing state funding in multiple line items through the launch of three coordinated campaigns, and challenges and opportunities presented by collaborating with partners in advocacy work. See the full agenda. Registration Regular registration closes on November 22, with varying fees dependant on registration type. Onsite registration will be available at an increased price. See the full pricing guide. To register, visit the event webpage. More Information For questions, contact Sue Gove at 412.431.5087 or sgove@gove.org. To learn more about the Summit, visit the event webpage.
May 20, 2019 Children’s Fund Working Group Community Meetings Join the Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group this spring for a series of community meetings to share your views on what works best and what additional support is needed when it comes to early learning and out-of-school time. About Allegheny County’s goal is to make sure that every child can benefit from quality early learning and out-of-school time. A series of six Community Meetings are being held across the County to learn from families, caregivers, and educators what access to quality early learning and out-of-school time looks like today—from your perspective and in your community. Each meeting will include child care, refreshments, and opportunities for community members to voice their input on how Allegheny County can be a leader for kids moving forward. Community Meeting Dates The Allegheny County Children’s Fund Working Group and community members will convene on the following dates: City Meeting – May 30 | 6:30 p.m. | Jeron X Grayson Community Center, Hill District West Meeting – June 3 | 6:30 p.m. | The Landing Community Center, Moon Township South Meeting – June 4 | 6:30 p.m. | Bethel Park Community Center North Meeting – June 5 | 6:00 p.m. | Shaler North Hills Library East Meeting – June 12 | 6:30 p.m. | Founders Hall Middle School, McKeesport Spanish-Language Meeting – June 18 | 6:30 p.m. | YWCA Building, Downtown Pittsburgh Registration & Questions Visit the Community Meeting website to learn more, RSVP, or contact event organizers.
January 16, 2019 DHS Will Issue February SNAP Benefits Early On January 8, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) notified states that February benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will be fully funded. In order to receive funding however, February benefits must be issued by January 20, 2019. The Department of Human Services (DHS) has determined that they will be able to issue February SNAP benefits by January 20 in order to meet the federally imposed deadline. Below is what you need to know about SNAP benefits in January and February. Receiving February Benefits All SNAP recipients who did not have a renewal due in January, or whose renewal for January was completed by January 14, will receive their February benefits on their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards on January 18, 2019. For those (with January renewals due) who completed their renewal after January 14, February benefits will be available on their EBT card one day after their renewal is processed. What This Means for SNAP Recipients These benefits will be the only benefit payment SNAP recipients will receive for the month of February. Recipients will not receive a payment on their regularly scheduled February payment date. This payment is not a bonus or increase in a recipient’s monthly payment. Rather, this payment is their benefit for the month of February. Recipients will need to make this early payment last through an undefined period of time if the government shutdown persists. DHS is awaiting further guidance from the USDA regarding the availability of benefits for March. Because of this, recipients experiencing food insecurity may have greater challenges during this period. This will likely result in a higher number of individuals seeking aid from charitable food organizations around the commonwealth. Applications and Renewals DHS will continue to accept SNAP applications and process renewal applications. Recipients should continue reporting any changes and should submit the semi-annual reviews or renewals that they receive. DHS will continue to issue benefits to applicants found eligible in February until they are told to stop issuing by USDA. Questions and Concerns All County Assistance Offices remain open and staff are available to assist applicants and recipients during this time. For any questions about benefits, please contact the statewide customer service center at 1.877.395.8930. For residents of Philidelphia, contact 1.215.560.7226. Resources For any individual seeking additional food assistance, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has compiled a list of community resources and organizations.
December 20, 2018 OCDEL Reports Progress on Infant/Toddler Policies In 2017, the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and stakeholders completed a policy scan with National State Capacity Building Center that identified short, medium, and long-term policy goals to support infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania. Goal Progress OCDEL is proud to report progress on those goals: Short-Term Goal The short-term goal to “adopt a shared definition of relationship-based care” across the ECE system is underway. OCDEL and Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) staff, in partnership with the National Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement, are focusing on Relationship-Based Competencies and developing shared definitions and language across systems. Medium-Term Goal The medium-term goal is to “develop a triaging protocol that creates a system akin to Early Head Start that will connect families of infants and toddlers in child care with comprehensive health (including oral) and family support services in their community.” This goal is reflected in the work of the ELRCs which are charged with ensuring all families have access to needed services beyond child care, such as CHIP, WIC, and family supports, including home visiting. Long-Term Goal The long-term goal is to “explore vouchers and contracts that fund the true cost of serving infants and toddlers.” Through the Infant/Toddler Contracted Slot Pilot, OCDEL is piloting contracted slots for infants and toddlers in Keystone STAR 3 and 4 programs. The pilot seeks to understand how contracted slots can support continuity of care for infants, toddlers, and their families and the financial impact on high-quality providers interested in seeking financial stability for the classrooms serving their youngest learners. More Information Additional details will be released in later editions of the PA Early Ed News. *Information provided by the PA Early Ed News
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 14, 2018 Give Big Pittsburgh 2018 Join us in #GivingTogether during Give Big Pittsburgh on November 27, 2018. What is Give Big Pittsburgh? Tied with #GivingTuesday, a nationally recognized annual day of giving, Give Big Pittsburgh is a local platform that works to raise awareness, collect donations, and build stronger ties between members of our community. To participate in this #DayofGiving, community members are invited to explore and collaborate in raising funds for nonprofits that are doing great work in Pittsburgh. Visit our GiveGab page to get acquainted with the fundraising platform. Opportunities to Give Although Give Big Pittsburgh emphasizes raising funds, there are multiple ways to participate in #GivingTuesday: Donate to Nonprofits Share Your Story Share Nonprofit Donation Pages Learn More For more information on how you can participate, read our news post.
