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 12, 2018 Child Development Associate Courses Available In partnership with the YWCA Greater Pittsburgh, Westmoreland County Community College (WCCC) is offering a series of courses that fulfill the educational training requirements for the infant-toddler, preschool, or renewal Child Development Associate (CDA) credentials. Additionally, a series of professional development courses are available that can be taken individually for required DHS training hours or as a full 3-hour college credit course. Available Courses Child Development Associate Based on the CDA pursued, students may choose from the following courses, which will be offered at the Youngwood campus and by Web Conferencing (video conference) to all WCCC education centers: Child Health, Safety & Nutrition – ECE 190-CDA May 13 – July 29, 2019, Web Conference Observation & Assessment – ECE 191-CDA January 15 —April 30, 2019 Choose one: Infant & Toddler Development – ECE 179-CDA April 15—July 29, 2019 Child Growth & Development – ECE 180-CDA April 4—July 25, 2019 For more information, see this flyer. Early Childhood Professional Development Child Health, Safety & Nutrition – ECE 190-KU January 16 – May 1, 2019, Westmoreland-New Kensington For a listing of all available courses, see this flyer. Certification and Costs Each course is three college credits and can be applied towards an Associate degree at Westmoreland County Community College. The initial certifications require three courses, while renewal requires one course. The additional work experience, portfolio, and professional requirements required by the CDA Council must be completed independently by the candidates. Tuition is $210 per course (or $14 per class) and $100 for the textbook. Rising STARS Tuition Assistance and the TEACH Scholarship are both accepted. Registration To register, call 1.800.262.2103, ext. 4204. Questions Questions should be directed to: Dr. Brandi Weekley at 724.925.6715 or weekleyb@westmoreland.edu. Vicki Hricik at 724.925.4013 or hricikv@westmoreland.edu.
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.
July 18, 2018 Pilot Launches This Fall for Infant/Toddler Child Care Beginning September 2018, OCDEL will use $2 million of the increased Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funding to pilot contracting for slots for infants and toddlers participating in Child Care Works (CCW). OCDEL will leverage the PA Pre-K Counts model to pilot contracting with STAR 3 and STAR 4 programs to serve infants and toddlers in high-quality settings. This pilot will improve access to, and continued enrollment of, children 0-36 months in high-quality early care and education programs and is supported by the results of Pennsylvania’s Infant/Toddler policy scan (a tool developed by Administration for Children and Families’ Office of Child Care). Shared via The PA Key.
May 9, 2018 Creating Bright Futures: A Vision for Including Young Children with Disabilities in Your Classroom This course “sets the tone” for teachers who are planning inclusive early educational programming for young children and their families in an infant/toddler classroom. Through interactive discussions and varied activities, course participants will consider their vision for including children with special considerations and/or disabilities in their classrooms as well as explore the importance of effectively communicating and working collaboratively with teaching teams, families, service professionals and professionals, and community resources to enhance children’s earliest educational experience. Creating Bright Futures: A Vision for Including Young Children with Disabilities in Your Infant/Toddler Classroom Monday, June 4 – Monday, June 18, 2018 Three Hours Online Register by Friday, June 1 at Noon. For more information and to register for credit, visit pakeys.org. Download the complete list of Trying Together professional development course offerings for May and June 2018 here.
