April 17, 2024 OCDEL Announces 2024 Equity in Early Childhood Education Champion Award Recipients The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has announced the recipients of the 2024 Equity in Early Childhood Education (ECE) Champion Award. Several local child care providers were among this year’s recipients. About the Equity in ECE Champion Award The Equity in Early Childhood Education Champion Award recognizes the equity work of Pennsylvania early childhood education (ECE) programs and professionals, and highlights the impact of that work on staff, children, and families within early childhood education settings. The award recipients’ work aligns with the state Department of Education’s Equity and Inclusion Toolkit and the position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Local Award Recipients Award recipients for 2024 in the region included: Gold Level Carnegie Science Center, Pittsburgh Pre-K Kids Learning Center, New Castle Silver Level AIU/Steel Valley Family Center, Homestead Brightside Academy, Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh Jack Safer, President & CEO, Brightside Academy, Pittsburgh Bronze Level Dr. Shawna Starling, Vice President of Intervention and Development Services, Brightside Academy, Pittsburgh Shady Lane School, Pittsburgh Learn More The Equity in Early Childhood Education Award brings awareness to and highlights the equity work taking place within the state’s early childhood education and afterschool settings by child care, evidence-based home visiting, and early intervention professionals and organizations that support the National Association for the Education of Young Children. An appreciation event will be held at the State Capitol Rotunda, located at 501 N. 3rd St. in Harrisburg, at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 24. The event is open to the public.
March 2, 2022 Survey: Chronic Child Care Staffing Shortages Persist, Threaten Economy To understand the depth of the ongoing child care crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has been surveying thousands of programs across states and settings. Current survey results show that federal and state relief funds have provided critical support for stabilizing child care programs. NAEYC Pandemic Survey NAEYC’s newest survey results, completed in January 2022 by nearly 5,000 respondents working in child care centers and family child care homes, shows that two-thirds of respondents reported experiencing a staffing shortage that affected their ability to serve families. The survey also showed that stabilization grants provided through the American Rescue Plan were critical in helping child care facilities stay open, including during the recent COVID-19 Omicron wave, even if providers were simultaneously unable to serve all families who needed care. Statistics 75% of respondents reported that the end of stabilization grants would have a negative or highly negative effect on their programs. Of the respondents who said they knew enough about Build Back Better’s investments in child care and pre-k to answer the question, 89% agreed that it would “secure the future of our program,” including 86% of respondents from family child care homes and 85% of respondents from faith-based programs. 28% of respondents reported that they are definitely or maybe considering leaving their program or closing their child care home in 2022. This comes on top of recent findings from Child Care Aware of America indicating that between December 2019 and March 2021—during the pandemic but before ARP funds started to go out—8,889 child care centers and 6,957 licensed family child care homes were permanently closed. More Information For access to prior survey data and analyses: Visit NAEYC.org/pandemic-surveys Read the Survey Brief: Saved But Not Solved: America’s Economy Needs Congress to Fund Child Care Read the press release
January 11, 2022 January 2022 NAEYC Survey of the Field Available The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is conducting a new survey to gather current data from the field to inform federal and state actions on child care. About the Survey From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, NAEYC has been surveying child care programs to convey the challenges they are facing across states and settings. Early childhood educators can answer the questions regardless of whether their child care program is open, closed, or somewhere in between, and regardless of what kind of child care program they work in, or what role they have there. The survey will close on Monday, January 17, 2022. Child Care Survey in English Child Care Survey in Spanish
