News

May 2, 2019

2019 PA Community Alliance Summit

The Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council invites you to a day of networking, discovering alliances and collaboration building among diverse organizations throughout Pennsylvania led by and/or supporting underserved/unserved populations who experience marginalization and oppression.

About the Summit

Oppression affects many of us, for different socially constructed reasons: racism, ethnicity, age, gender, sexual identity and orientation, disability, economics, rural/urban location, religion, and so much more. Although our discrimination experiences may be different, we can be a valuable support and resource to each other in our struggles for equality, inclusion, and social justice.

Join the Pennsylvania Developmental Disabilities Council on May 21 and 22 to participate in the discussion. This year, the Summit will focus on the goal of meeting and engaging new potential allies, stimulating learning from one another, and exploring opportunities for partnerships and collaboration.

Download the Summit agenda.

Registration

Registration is free and may be accessed via the event page. Availability is on a first come first serve basis.

More information on the event, hotel accommodations, travel, and more can be found on the event page.

Questions

For questions, contact Dana Thompson at 717.214.8103 or danathomps@pa.gov.

News

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.

News

April 8, 2019

BreastFED: Breastfeeding Summit

Join Healthy Start for BreastFED, Pennsylvania’s only regional breastfeeding summit. BreastFED is a two-day regional symposium aimed at providing information from professionals and community experts locally, regionally, and nationally on innovative approaches to address the needs of mothers and lactation practitioners in this region.

Throughout the two days, participants will receive both clinical and community perspectives and will be able to share insights and experiences to move forward with best practices and groundbreaking methods to changing the culture of feeding our babies.

See the full agenda.

Continuing Education Units & Credits

CEU’s are available for:

Lactation
Nursing
Social Work
Midwifery

This summit is approved for a maximum of 10.75 continuing nursing education contact hours. The University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Learn More

To learn more about the summit and to register, visit the event website.

For any questions, contact Healthy Start by phone at 412.247.4009 or email at email@hsipgh.org.

News

April 3, 2019

PAsmart Announces Grant Awardees

In February 2019, Governor Tom Wolf announced funding for PAsmart Apprenticeship and Next Generation Industry Partnerships grants which will connect Pennsylvanians with the information needed to succeed in our evolving economy.

About PAsmart

PAsmart is focused on ensuring Pennsylvania students and workers have the skills and abilities to meet the economic needs of the 21st century. This initiative aims to do this by expanding access to STEM education in Pennsylvania schools, embracing the Next Generation Industry Partnership model, and creating the Apprenticeship and Training Office to increase apprenticeship opportunities within a variety of industries.

OCDEL’s Role

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning supports the efforts of PA’s Department of Labor and Industry and is working with them to professionalize the early education field. Efforts include increasing access to a career pathway that results in stackable, portable credentials, and providing relevant, developmentally and culturally appropriate content to support educators working with young children to advance their individual career and education progression.

Organization Grantees

The following organizations will be supported through PAsmart funds:

1100c Training and Upgrading Fund: Will expand their apprenticeship model in Southeastern Pennsylvania
Partner4Work: Will establish a regional hub for Early Childhood Education registered apprenticeships in the Pittsburgh Metro Area
Keystone University: Will partner with Lackawanna Trail High School, Luzerne County Community College, and Wilkes University to build an Early Childhood Education (ECE) pipeline through a competency-based apprenticeship that leads to an entry-level ECE credential
Shippensburg University: Will design curriculum and develop advanced competencies to expand the Philadelphia ECE apprenticeship to four-year programs
Arcadia University: Will expand their RA program for ECE
First Up and its partners: Will expand upon apprenticeship supports and program to provide career paths in ECE

Learn More

For more information, visit pasmart.gov.

* Information provided by OCDEL’s PA Early Ed Newsletter

News

2019 P-3 Governor’s Institute Encourages Applications

The Pennsylvania Department of Education Office of Child Development and Early Learning announced the 2019 Prenatal to Grade 3 (P-3) Governor’s Institute: P-3 Collaboration – Working Together for Student Success.

Purpose

The purpose of Pennsylvania’s P-3 Governor’s Institute is to help school districts, early learning providers, and community organizations throughout the Commonwealth make the vital connections and collaborations necessary for student success from prenatal through grade 3. The 2019 P-3 Governor’s Institute is being offered June 24- 25, 2019 in Hershey, PA.

Application Details

Participation in the 2019 Institute is limited to 22 teams that have not previously attended a P-3 Governor’s Institute. Participating teams will be selected through an application process. School districts, birth-5 early learning programs, and community organizations may submit an application.

Applications may be submitted for more than one team from the same organization if each applying team represents a different elementary school and birth-5 feeder school/program. Teams should be built around a specific elementary school(s), its feeder early learning programs, and the local community. Selected teams will participate in this two-day event. Professional development will be offered to support team specific implementation of P-3 efforts.

Most expenses, except meals, will be covered for participating teams using Preschool Development Grant funds. Act 48, and Act 45/PIL professional development credits and Pennsylvania Quality Assurance System (PQAS) hours will be offered.

Required Agreements

To be considered for participation in this event, participating teams must agree to the following:

Participate in pre-conference assignment, webinar or call;
Attend and actively engage in the entire two-day event;
Bring a core team of no less than four educators (maximum participating team of eight members): a birth-5 administrator, a birth-5 teacher, a K-3 administrator, and a K-3 teacher. Preference will be given to applicants who include up to four of the following: family leader or family representative, Early Intervention representative, out of school time professional, community member, librarian, curriculum specialist, higher education partner, IU representative, Home Visiting, and Family Support;
Applying team has not attended a past P-3 Governor’s Institute;
Engage in continuous improvement via sharing and implementation of strategies/programs that will enhance student achievement; and
Maintain an active role in the Governor’s Institute cohort subsequent to the event (e.g., professional learning community, webinars, monthly follow up).

Application & Deadline

Applications are being accepted via the Governor’s Institute P-3 2019 Application link until the April 30, 2019 deadline. Selected applicants will be notified via email by May 10, 2019.

Questions

For questions, contact Jolie Phillips at jolphillip@pa.gov.

*Information provided by OCDEL’s PA Early Ed Newsletter

News

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.

News

February 18, 2019

PA Board of Education Hosting Public Hearing in Homestead

The Pennsylvania State Board of Education will conduct a public hearing in Homestead on April 23, 2019 to receive input from interested parties on draft proposed amendments to Chapter 49 (Certification of Professional Personnel).

Current Chapter 49 Regulations.

Testimony Limitations

Testimony is limited to no more than 5 minutes, and participants will be assigned a time slot on a first come, first served basis when they register. If a hearing site reaches capacity, the Board will place interested participants on a waiting list and will notify members of the waiting list if space becomes available. Each hearing will conclude after the last scheduled witness testifies.

Those registered to testify must provide 25 copies of their written testimony at the hearing.

Registration and Questions

Persons interested in presenting testimony must register with the Board office at ra-stateboardofed@pa.gov or (717) 787-3787, Monday through Friday (excluding holidays) between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Registrations must be submitted no later than April 18 at noon.

Registrations submitted via email must include your name, affiliation, phone number, email address, and the date and location of the hearing in which you would like to participate.

Accessibility

Individuals with disabilities who wish to attend a hearing and require an auxiliary aid, service, or other accommodation to participate should contact Jenna DeNoyelles, ADA Coordinator, at (717) 783-9338 to discuss how the Board may best accommodate their needs.

Persons with disabilities are invited to submit public comments in alternative formats such as Braille or taped testimony and by means of the telephone. Written and alternative formats of public comment will be afforded the same thoughtful consideration as oral remarks.

Not Able to Attend?

Individuals unable to attend the hearing may submit written testimony directly to the Board on or before April 24, 2019. Written comments should be sent to:

State Board of Education
333 Market Street, 1st Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17126
ra-stateboardofed@pa.gov

Read the full notice.

News

February 15, 2019

Public Hearing on Chapter 49: Certification of Professional Personnel

The Pennsylvania State Board of Education will conduct a public hearing in Homestead to receive input from interested parties on draft proposed amendments to Chapter 49 (Certification of Professional Personnel). Registrations must be submitted by noon on June 11, 2019.

Testimony Limitations

In order to accommodate as many perspectives as possible, individuals representing an organization are limited to a one-time slot and that organization may only present testimony at one hearing location. However, the hearings are public meetings of the Board and, therefore, members of the public are free to attend and observe the proceedings.

Those registered to testify must provide 25 copies of their written testimony at the hearing.

Registration and Questions

Registrations submitted via email must include your name, affiliation, phone number, email address, and the date and location of the hearing in which you would like to participate.

Accessibility

Read the full notice.

News

February 8, 2019

Start Strong PA Encouraged by Calls for Increased State Investments

Observations

Start Strong PA observed the 2019-20 PA budget as an important down payment to ensure all infants and toddlers learn, grow, and succeed. The following statement was issued by the ten principal partners leading Start Strong PA, a campaign to ensure that children across the state can access affordable, high-quality child care programs during the most critical period of brain development, the first three years of life:

Statement on the Budget

“We are pleased Governor Wolf’s budget provides a plan for spending $101 million in federal child care dollars that will help Pennsylvania families who need high-quality child care for their children to thrive. Given the essential role that high-quality child care has to support Pennsylvania’s working families, we urge Pennsylvania policymakers to explore all options to allocate additional state resources to address the critical needs of our state’s early childhood system that limit access and affordability.

Two elements of Governor Wolf’s budget proposal closely align with the campaign’s goals, including: a $15 million allocation to remove approximately 970 infants and toddlers from the subsidy waitlist and move them into programs that will elevate their potential; and a roughly $10 million allocation that will help to reinforce program stability and consistent staff-child relationships by increasing quality add-on rates for infants and toddlers by 28% for STAR 2, 3, and 4 programs.

In addition, the Governor’s proposal includes a $2 million allocation to support early childhood career pathways which acknowledges that children develop best when they have consistent teachers and relationships. The campaign believes this proposal will begin to address the significant need to attract and retain additional talented adults to become early childhood educators. Furthermore, an allocation of approximately $74 million would increase rates to support the move to a $12 per hour minimum wage in Pennsylvania.

The Governor’s proposals use federal Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) dollars. Start Strong PA campaign partners believe that these increased investments demonstrate the bipartisan support for ensuring our youngest children have what they need to thrive, while supporting the needs of our state’s workforce and education systems.” The Governor acknowledged the dual role of high-quality child care for children and families by saying, “We can get more kids off of waiting lists…and help more parents make their way into the workforce. Pennsylvania’s children deserve every chance to succeed.”

Reaction to the Governor’s Address

The importance of quality child care to the Commonwealth’s workforce was also raised by Senator Joe Scarnati in his reaction to the Governor’s address saying, “we have to focus on the families and we have to focus on their problems that stop them from getting to work.” Start Strong PA is urging the Pennsylvania General Assembly to build on the proposed federal allocations, and invest additional state dollars to support the positive brain development of all infants and toddlers by addressing access and affordability issues.

What Does Start Strong PA Support?

Specifically, Start Strong PA supports:

1. Increased reimbursement rates for the highest quality STAR 3 and 4 programs serving infants and

toddlers to the full cost of quality;

2. Increased investments to support more STAR 2 providers to move to STAR 3 and 4 thereby increasing

high-quality capacity;

3. Increased investments in the child care workforce by adding slots for Rising STARS Tuition

Assistance and T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Scholarships, fully funding Education and Retention

Awards, and conducting a child care labor market survey.

“Our state is at a critical moment for determining the future of infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania. Legislators must build on last year’s momentum that acknowledges the role of state funds in our early childhood system. We call on legislators to use this year’s state budget to foster a better future for all children by providing them a solid educational foundation through access to high-quality child care that their families can afford.”

Budget Details

The 2019-20 proposed budget includes the following expanded investments to early learning:

● Allocation of $101 million in federal child care funds;

● Increase in Pre-K Counts investment: $40 million;

● Increase in Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program investment: $10 million;

● Increase in state funds for evidence-based home visiting: $5 million.

Start Strong PA is an initiative of Early Learning PA (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians birth to age five (5). ELPA also advocates for expanding publicly funded Home Visiting services via the Childhood Begins at Home Campaign and access to high-quality, publicly funded pre-k for income eligible children via the Pre-K for PA Campaign.

What is Start Strong PA?

Start Strong PA is an initiative of Early Learning PA. Through a statewide collaboration of partners, Start Strong PA aims to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more at www.startstrongpa.org

Partners

News

February 4, 2019

Pittsburgh Launching New Book Gifting Program

With support from The Benter Foundation, Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto’s administration plans to launch a free book program for children from birth to age five. Tomorrow, Pittsburgh City Council will introduce legislation to accept $250,000 from the foundation, introducing Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program to the city. Since starting in 1995, this program has sent more than 113 million books for free, to children in the United States, Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The Role That Access Plays

Studies of the Imagination Library have discovered:

Parents believed their children were more interested in reading when receiving the books every month
Parents read aloud to their children more often
Children were excited when books arrived in their name
Positive views of the program transcended demographics and longer participation provided better outcomes

The City’s Role

The Imagination Library covers overhead costs, databases, monthly mailings, and a book selection committee. The City of Pittsburgh, as an affiliate of the Imagination Library, would cover the ongoing costs for mailing each book every month, as well as enrollment and promotional activities.

Once funding is approved, outreach and communication plans will be launched, as well as engaging with local organizations that work with young children and families.

Quotes from the Partnership

Tiffini Simoneaux, manager of the City’s Office of Early Childhood in Mayor Peduto’s Bureau of Neighborhood Empowerment:

“Research shows that early literary experiences, including access to books in the home, are fundamental ingredients for academic success. This program will enable young children throughout the city to build a home library of up to 60 books.”

Bill Benter, president of The Benter Foundation:

“We’re pleased to partner with the City of Pittsburgh and other community allies to help children develop a lifelong love of reading. Having your own books at home unlocks a new world of learning and language that can help Pittsburgh’s children thrive.”

*Information provided by the City of Pittsburgh