June 16, 2022 Expanded Food Assistance Eligibility for Families Facing Food Insecurity More Pennsylvanians experiencing food insecurity are now eligible for support from Pennsylvania’s network of food banks and pantries. Income eligibility for both the State Food Purchase Program (SFPP) and The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded programs administered at the state level, have been raised from 150% of the USDA-established poverty level to 185%. About The income eligibility increase allows Pennsylvania’s charitable food system to serve more food insecure individuals who make just above the current income limit. It also brings the SFPP and TEFAP in line with other food assistance programs such as SNAP, reduced-price school breakfast and lunches provided through the National School Lunch and Breakfast Program, and the Farmers Market Nutrition Program. Programs Pennsylvanians experiencing food insecurity are encouraged to explore the following programs: Food banks and food pantries can be found using this map. The WIC and Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Programs which provide vouchers to be spent at participating farmers markets in the commonwealth. The Pennsylvania Senior Food Box Program provides eligible seniors with a monthly box of food to supplement regular groceries, the box can be delivered by DoorDash in select areas. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP, provides benefits to purchase food at grocery stores and supermarkets. Congregate and Home-Delivered meals are nutritious meals available to Pennsylvanians 60 years of age or older and are delivered directly to eligible individuals’ homes, more information on these meals is available through County Area Agencies on Aging. The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides vouchers to be redeemed at grocery stores for specific food items. The Summer Meals Program provides nutritious meals to children when school is not in session. More Information Details of the new regulation and income requirements can be found in the PA Bulletin. Find resources for local food assistance and learn more about the Wolf Administration’s steps to reduce food insecurity in Pennsylvania at agriculture.pa.gov/foodsecurity.
May 10, 2022 WIC Family Engagement Listening Session Thriving PA, in collaboration with Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children, Allies for Children, United Way of Pennsylvania, Greater Philadelphia Coalition Against Hunger and Pennsylvania’s Prenatal-to-Age-Three Collaborative, is interested in engaging communities to hear from women, families, and present and former clients of the Pennsylvania Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). Present and former clients of WIC are invited to a Family Engagement Listening Session on Monday, May 23, from 6 – 8 p.m. At this event, participants will have the opportunity to talk about their experience with WIC in a small group setting and completely virtual. For decades WIC participation has been declining in Pennsylvania. Thriving PA wants to hear about the barriers and challenges you faced while accessing the program, as well as solutions that would make your experience more valuable. The first 25 registrants will get a $25 gift card for their time. Register now.
December 8, 2021 Loving Places and Learning Spaces for Infants and Toddlers Join PennAEYC and The Learning Lamp for their upcoming webinar, “Loving Places and Learning Spaces for Infants and Toddlers” on December 15. What makes up high-quality infant and toddler care? Learn the importance of attachment and relationships in learning and development, examine aspects of the ITERS and PA Early Learning Standards, and share ideas that support healthy infant and toddler development. This session is open to PennAEYC or Shared Services members. Space is limited and registration is required. Register for all 12 monthly sessions before December 22, 2021 for an early bird discount.
September 29, 2021 Finding the Best Books for Babies Join Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for an upcoming professional development session, “Finding the Best Books for Babies.” Individuals may register for this online event via Zoom. Additional Information Each year since 2000, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has led a panel of local librarians and child development experts in choosing ten best books published for babies in the past year. The resulting annual Best Books for Babies booklist, a nationally recognized guide, assists parents, teachers and caregivers in selecting high quality materials that will delight and engage babies age birth to 18 months. In this workshop, participants will learn what makes a Best Book for Babies and will leave with practical tips for evaluating and selecting books for babies. This virtual workshop will be hosted on Zoom. Attendees will receive 1 hour of PQAS credit.
September 9, 2020 Connections and Conversations: Infant Sensory Experiences Are you interested in learning about the importance of sensory development in infants and toddlers? Join Trying Together on September 16 for our online session, “Connections and Conversations: Infant Sensory Experiences.” About Connections and Conversations Virtual Check-Ins are biweekly interactive sessions that highlight topics of interest to the field of early childhood education. Participants engage in virtual discussions with child development experts while interacting with early learning practitioners to share questions, experiences, and expertise about the highlighted topic. Sessions offer one hour of PQAS credit. Act 48 credit will not be provided. This session will define and explore the processes of sensory integration and the importance of sensory development in infants and toddlers. Participants will receive an overview of infant sensory development and ways to contribute to children’s learning within classroom settings as well as adaptations that can be made for students with behaviors due to the way they process sensory experiences differently. Participants will be lead in creating various developmentally friendly sensory toys with objects found in their own homes. Session Details Session Date: Wednesday, September 16 | 6 – 7 p.m Instructors: Jennifer McKain and Alicia Sebastian CKC: Child Growth and Development CDA Subject Area: Principles of Child Growth & Development Registration Deadline: Tuesday, September 15 Registration To register, visit the course PD Registry page. Space is limited. Participants will receive the course Zoom link via email within 24 hours before the start date for the course. For questions, contact Jasmine Davis at jasmine@tryingtogether.org. 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 Jasmine Davis at jasmine@tryingtogether.org.
June 18, 2020 Everyday Heroes: Child Care is No Small Matter Join No Small Matter and their partners for a Facebook Live town hall and streaming premiere of the documentary No Small Matter (Executive Produced by Alfre Woodard). About the Event America’s early learning infrastructure was fragile even before COVID-19. But the pandemic has pushed it to the brink of collapse. Half of all child care sites are currently shuttered, and the ones that remain open do so at great risk to the health of providers and their families. With no other option but to stay home with their infants, toddlers, and preschoolers, millions of parents will be unable to return to work, paralyzing efforts to restart the nation’s economy. What has suddenly become searingly self-evident is that early education is essential. Put simply, America doesn’t work without it. That’s why on June 25, ABCinemaNOW Live will present an unprecedented Facebook Live screening event designed to generate support for the urgent action needed to tackle America’s childcare crisis. Everyday Heroes: Celebrating Early Educators, Supporting Families will feature the national streaming premiere of the documentary No Small Matter (Executive Produced by Alfre Woodard), followed by a live panel discussion highlighting the devastating impact of COVID-19 on children, families, and caregivers, and in turn, on the economy. Woven throughout the event will be video messages from celebrities, cultural influencers, and frontline workers thanking early educators for the challenging, exhausting, and essential work they do every day. Learn More Visit the event website and follow No Small Matter on Facebook to join this event.
May 3, 2019 Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Why It Matters Save the date to join professionals across disciplines to explore the most critical topics related to infant and early childhood mental health (IECMH) at this free conference. Continuing Education Credits for a wide range of professionals will be available, including physicians, nurses, home visitors, early and primary educators, and many others. About Breakout sessions will offer behavioral health clinicians, pediatricians, home visitors, early childhood educators, ECMH consultants, family members, child welfare workers, and early intervention providers the opportunity to explore issues related to IECMH most relevant to their field. Keynote sessions will highlight the key themes within IECMH research that are critical for all of the systems that support families with young children. Registration For more information or to register, visit the event’s webpage. For questions, please contact Patrick Webster at 412.667.6701 or websterp2@upmc.edu.
April 26, 2019 PWSA Adopting Polices That Support Families The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) board will approve two policies that support caregivers. Paid Safe Leave Policy On Friday, April 26, 2019 the PWSA board will vote on a paid safe leave policy. The measure allows employees who have been victimized by domestic abuse to take days off from work. The PWSA joins Mayor Peduto who signed an Executive Order on safe leave for City of Pittsburgh employees last year. “The cost of domestic violence for employers is the loss of productivity. Employees plagued by violence at home are often distracted and sometimes ill at work. This policy will allow employees in these situations to try and take steps to improve the situation without fearing the loss of their job,” a board statement says. Parental Leave Policy The PWSA board will also vote on a paid parental leave policy. This policy permits new mothers and fathers to take six weeks of paid leave after the birth, adoption, or fostering of a child. “We’re grateful to the City of Pittsburgh for leading the way and our Board of Directors for adopting these progressive employment policies. The changes will help protect the well-being of our employees, help retain talent and attract the best and the brightest to join our team,” said PWSA Executive Director Robert A. Weimar. Both policies were adopted by Mayor William Peduto and Pittsburgh City Council. Learn more about both PWSA policies by visiting the City of Pittsburgh press release page.
April 15, 2019 Sign-On to Support Families Impacted by Postpartum Depression Understanding the Need Postpartum depression can strike any new mother. Research shows that approximately 15 percent of new mothers suffer from postpartum depression. In Pennsylvania, this means about 21,000 infants and moms are affected each year. The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that when a mother suffers from postpartum depression, both mothers and babies experience negative effects, including: adverse effects on the baby’s brain and development, increased danger of child abuse and neglect, and increased medical care costs. Will you sign-on to support Pennsylvania’s mothers and infants? What is #StrongMomStrongBaby? #StrongMomStrongBaby is a statewide effort to amend the existing early intervention law (Act 212 of 1990) to add postpartum depression as an at-risk condition allowing infants to undergo assessments, parents to receive assistance in bonding with their babies, and if needed, Early Intervention services to ensure moms and babies have the best start together. To learn more and stay up-to-date, follow the campaign’s Facebook page. Take Action Show your support for Pennsylvania’s mothers and infants by adding your name to the #StrongMomStrongBaby petition.
March 8, 2019 PA’s Program Reach and Risk Assessment Report Released About Children in 40 Pennsylvania counties (60 percent) are at moderate-high or high-risk of low academic performance. This is according to the recent release of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning Program Reach and Risk Assessment State of Fiscal Year 2016-2017. As a result, OCDEL annually creates its Program Reach and Risk Assessment Report. This report offers information on the level of risk for school failure for children (based on 16 risk factors). It also offers information on the availability, or reach, of most OCDEL programs to children in each county and school district in Pennsylvania. Consequently, the Reach and Risk Report includes data for all children under age five. It also provides a breakdown of program reach by infants/toddlers (birth – two years) and preschool (ages three and four). Report Breakdown Highlights within the report include: One-third (34 percent) of children under age five participate in state and/or federally-funded quality early care and education programs in Pennsylvania. Of all state-funded programs, the most children are reached through the Keystone STARS program. This program provides services to an estimated 14 percent of children from birth to age five. Approximately one-fourth (24 percent) of Pennsylvania’s infants and toddlers (birth to age two) participate in publicly-funded quality early care and education programs. Almost half (49 percent) of Pennsylvania’s preschoolers are served in state and/or federally funded quality early care and education programs. Full Report To read the full report and access county and school-based specific information, visit the PA Key website.
