January 13, 2021 Q&A: Child Care COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Award ELRC Region 5 will host Q&A sessions to help child care providers through the Child Care COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Award application process. Sessions will be held at various times from January 13 to January 22, 2021. About Child care providers can now apply for a $600 Pandemic Relief Award on behalf of their eligible child care employees and child care support employees currently working directly with children as of January 1, 2021, and working a minimum of 20 paid hours a week. Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5 will host Q&A sessions to help providers through the application process. To learn more about the Child Care COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Award, read our news post. Session Dates Wednesday, January 13, 2021 | 6 – 7 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83501876140 Thursday, January 14, 2021 | 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85892778291 Thursday, January 14, 2021 | 6 – 7 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85395777828 Friday, January 15, 2021 | 6 – 7 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85633658557 Saturday, January 16, 2021 | 10 – 11 a.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81099626792 Tuesday, January 19, 2021 | 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Stay on the Virtual Director Roundtable Call Tuesday, January 19, 2021 | 3 – 4 p.m. Stay on the Virtual Director Roundtable Call Wednesday, January 20, 2021 | 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84668436877 Thursday, January 21, 2021 | 6 – 7 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88072361423 Friday, January 22, 2021 | 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81460465998 More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at 1.888.340.3572 or elrc5@alleghenycounty.us. Share this flyer with your network.
January 11, 2021 Webinar: Learning in a Pandemic Join the U.S. Department of Education for a discussion on the state of student learning during the pandemic and tools that families and teachers can use to support student learning now. This event will educate parents and teachers on the state of learning today and how you can better support your students during the pandemic. About This forum will review the most updated research on the state of student learning today and share personalized platforms you can utilize to support student learning immediately. Institute for Education Sciences Director Mark Schneider will moderate a discussion with national leaders in the research field, Stanford’s Center for Research on Education Outcomes and NWEA, as they review findings on national learning loss. Then, Assistant Secretary for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development Jim Blew will moderate a discussion on the power of individualized learning platforms with two examples for how to approach personalized learning for your students, Gooru, and New Classrooms. Registration To register, visit the online webpage. Registrants will receive an email containing a personalized access link. More Information For full details, visit the event webpage. Information provided by the U.S. Department of Education
Pandemic Relief Available for Child Care Workers Child care providers can now apply for a $600 Pandemic Relief Award on behalf of their eligible child care employees and child care support employees currently working directly with children as of January 1, 2021, and working a minimum of 20 paid hours a week. Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 5 will host Q&A sessions to help providers through the application process. About The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is providing a one-time $600 award to approximately 33,000 child care employees and child care support staff across the commonwealth. Examples of child care employees may include but are not limited to the following: Child Care Center: Director, Group Supervisor, Assistant Group Supervisor, Aide Group Child Care Home: Primary Staff and Secondary Staff Family Child Care Home: Owner/Operator and Staff Person Providers of all STAR levels may apply on behalf of their child care employees and child care support employees. Awards will be paid directly from the ELRC to the Department of Human Services (DHS) certified child care provider’s owner/operator/director, who will then pay the child care employee or child care support employee directly after taxes and deductions that would apply to regular wages. Eligibility To be eligible for the Child Care COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Award, a DHS certified child care employee or child care support staff must meet the following requirements: Currently working at the provider as of January 1, 2021. Earn less than a gross salary of $70,000 annually. Work a minimum of 20 hours a week at a DHS certified child care provider. Holidays, vacation, sick and other approved time off does not factor into this eligibility requirement. Pre-K Counts (PKC) and Head Start State Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP) DHS child care employees and child care support staff are also eligible if they work directly with children in a DHS certified child care at least 20 hours a week. These employees must work outside of the PKC and HSSAP program hours and meet all other eligibility criteria as noted in the above first three bullets. PKC and HSSAP DHS child care employees and child care support employees are also eligible if they work directly with children in a blended classroom with both PKC and HSSAP funded children, Child Care Works (CCW) and/or private pay child care children. The following are NOT eligible: DHS certified child care employees and child care support employees who are currently laid off or did not return after being laid off from work during the COVID-19 pandemic. DHS certified child care employees or child care support employees working less than 20 hours a week at the DHS certified child care provider. Volunteers. Household member (unless a household member is a paid employee working 20 hours a week in a DHS regulated child care). Pre-K Counts and HSSAP employees not working directly with children in a DHS certified child care setting at least 20 hours a week. Employees working in a business role where no direct contact with families or children take place. Employees who earn more than a gross salary of $70,000 annually. Relative child care providers. Outside vendors serving as support staff. Staff working virtually. If a DHS certified child care provider’s owner/operator/director chooses not to participate in this award process, the employee cannot apply as an individual. How To Apply ELRC Region 5 is accepting applications from January 13 to February 12, 2021. All applications must be sent to ELRC Region 5 via grants.elrc5@alleghenycounty.us. ELRC Region 5 will host Q&A sessions to help providers through the application process. Sessions will be held at various times from January 13 to January 22, 2021. Only one $600 award is allowed per eligible certified child care employee or child care support employee; regardless of employment at multiple locations or with multiple employers. The award is on a first-come, first-served basis. Applications are available in a fillable PDF format or a Word format. More Information For questions, contact ELRC Region 5 at 1.888.340.3572 or elrc5@alleghenycounty.us. More information about eligibility criteria, applications, award approval, and award monitoring can be found in the following documents: Announcement ELRC 21 #01 Child Care COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Award (PDF) Instructions and Application (Fillable PDF) Instructions and Application (Word) ELRC Preferred Method (to submit applications) (PDF)
December 2, 2020 Simple Interactions and COVID-19 Are you interested in learning how to encourage, enrich, and empower human relationships in your work with young children? Join Simple Interactions on January 21 for “Simple Interactions + COVID.” About As social distancing disrupts the lives of so many, early learning professionals are reminded even more of the importance of human connections. What ideas of Simple Interactions are timeless, and how can professionals present them in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic? Join Simple Interactions to think about how to communicate across the levels of practice, program, and policy and how the field can use these messages for action. This session will be facilitated by Dr. Dana Winters of the Fred Rogers Center and Dr. Junlei Li of Harvard Graduate School of Education. Available Times This session is available at the following times: Thursday, January 21 | 12 – 1: 15 p.m. | Register Thursday, January 21 | 7:30 – 8:45 p.m. | Register More Information To learn more, visit the Simple Interactions website.
Simple Interactions and Stories (Panel Discussion) Are you interested in learning how to encourage, enrich, and empower human relationships in your work with young children? Join Simple Interactions on January 14 for “Simple Interactions + Stories.” About Throughout the pandemic, Simple Interactions has been inspired to hear stories from individuals across child-serving contexts about how COVID-19 has impacted their work and interactions with families, youth, and children. This event will feature a facilitated panel with four practitioners and professionals. Each panelist will share their stories of finding opportunities, overcoming challenges, and using relational thinking to support children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Panelists will include Lisa Kuh, Director of Early Education, Somerville Public Schools; Monica Allison, Site Coordinator, ParentChild+ Staff; and Amie White, Director of Family and Youth Engagement, A+ Schools. Available Times This session is available at the following times: Thursday, January 14 | 12 – 1: 15 p.m. | Register Thursday, January 14 | 7:30 – 8:45 p.m. | Register More Information To learn more, visit the Simple Interactions website.
November 19, 2020 Join Us In Celebrating #GivingTuesday Join Trying Together, your neighbors, and the global community on Tuesday, December 1, 2020, in celebrating kindness, collaboration, and generosity. Join us in #GivingTogether this #GivingTuesday. What Is GivingTuesday? First established in 2012, GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement that unleashes the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world. It’s also an opportunity for people to stand together in unity—to use their individual power of generosity to support and champion the organizations and causes they care about. Why Should You Participate? 2020 has been a difficult year, and it has been especially difficult for our nation’s families. Due to job loss, financial strain, education challenges, and limited access to child care, families have been working tirelessly to make ends meet and support the learning and development of their children. However, they cannot do it alone. That’s why Trying Together’s mission to reinforce the work of early childhood is more important than ever before. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Trying Together has: mobilized our advocates to ensure child care businesses receive the emergency funds they need to stay in business and provide services to families; distributed critical health and safety supplies to early learning programs that serve essential workers and their families; developed an online search tool to assist essential workers and families with quickly finding and choosing early learning programs that meet their needs; created an online community for families to connect, discuss, and support one another in their care and education planning for the 2020-21 school year; and curated comprehensive COVID-19 resource lists online, one of which is for families and caregivers and the other for early care and education professionals. During the COVID-19 pandemic and after, Trying Together will continue to develop our programs, resources, and services to meet the needs of our communities. Will you join us in this work by showing your support on GivingTuesday? What You Can Do We all have gifts to give, and thanks to social media, online giving, mail, and phones, there are limitless ways to use your generosity to reinforce the early childhood field. For examples of how you can give this giving season, see the list below! Submit A Donation If you would like to support Trying Together’s work directly, consider submitting a financial donation! We appreciate donations of any size. However, for those looking for recommended amounts, Trying Together has identified the following tiers: Early Childhood Supporter ($60) Early Childhood Sustainer ($120) Early Childhood Champion ($1,000) Thanks to the generosity of Trying Together’s Board of Directors, all donations will be matched dollar for dollar up to $2,000. Help us secure these matched dollars by donating! Share Your Story When you think of a good teacher, who do you think of? Take time this GivingTuesday to thank that person via social media, phone, or email and let them know how their work has positively impacted your life or the life of your child. SOCIAL MEDIA 1. Join the larger community in celebrating gratitude by posting your thank you message, picture, or video on social media using #GiveThanks or #GivingTogether. Example: I’d like to say thank you to @amymiller for the wonderful work she’s been doing to support my child’s learning and healthy development! Ashton still can’t stop talking about the caterpillar craft he did last month! 🐛🦋 #GiveThanks #GivingTuesday 2. Set a goal for how many educators you’d like to thank this giving season and share it out on social media using #GiveThanks or #GivingTogether! Example: This #GivingTuesday, I’m celebrating gratitude by thanking three early learning professionals who have had a positive impact on my life and child. Will you join me? #GiveThanks 📞💌 #GivingTuesday is on December 1 this year and to celebrate, I’d like to #GiveThanks to the early learning professionals who work tirelessly to make sure my child is safe, supported, and cared for. Your hard work does not go unnoticed. Thank you!CLICK TO TWEET PHONE OR EMAIL If you have their phone number or email, contact your early learning professional and let them know how much you appreciate the work they do to support your family. Share Our Fundraising Page Another great way to support Trying Together is by sharing our fundraising page with your network. To help get you started, we have created a GivingTuesday Social Media Toolkit that features sample social media posts and more! More Information For questions, please contact Trying Together at info@tryingtogether.org.
November 17, 2020 Child Care Programs: Submit Your Experience The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is conducting a survey to gather information from the early childhood field to inform federal and state actions on child care. This survey is intended for early learning professionals. About Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, NAEYC has been collecting survey responses from early learning professionals to convey the challenges child care programs are facing across states and settings. Data collected through this survey will be shared with policymakers to build a deeper understanding of the ongoing urgency of the challenges programs are facing. 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. Take The Survey To submit your experience, complete the online survey by November 22, 2020. NAEYC will select 10 respondents at random to receive a $50 gift card. Winners will be notified on December 18, 2020. Child Care Survey (English) Child Care Survey (Spanish) More Information For more information, contact advocacy@naeyc.org.
November 16, 2020 DHS Warns of Potential Pandemic EBT Benefit Scam The Department of Human Services (DHS) is warning of a possible scam concerning Pandemic EBT (P-EBT) benefits and reminding Pennsylvanians to be skeptical of unsolicited or random calls or text messages about public-assistance programs – especially when the calls or text messages solicit personal information, such as Social Security numbers. About DHS is investigating a report of individuals receiving calls with pre-recorded messages advising them to expedite their P-EBT benefits issuance by providing their Social Security number and case record number. In the message, the speaker claims to be from a County Assistance Office (CAO). DHS and other government agencies do not ask for information about P-EBT, SNAP, or any other public-assistance programs via unsolicited or random calls or texts, and Pennsylvanians should not reply to such a call or text or share any personal information if they are contacted in this way. If you or anyone you work with receive unsolicited or random calls or text messages telling you that you qualify for assistance and then asking for personal information, it is most likely a scam. Do not respond. Delete the message so you do not get caught in an identity theft scam. Pennsylvanians who have questions about whether a call, text, letter, or other communication is legitimate should contact DHS’ Office of Income Maintenance. Clients in Philadelphia should call the Philadelphia Customer Service Center at 215.560.7226. Clients in all other counties can call the Statewide Customer Service Center at 1.877.395.8930. Apply for Benefits Applications for the SNAP and other public assistance programs can be submitted online at www.compass.state.pa.us. All Pennsylvanians experiencing financial hardships due to the pandemic, a lost job, or a change in income are strongly encouraged to apply and see if they qualify for assistance with food, health care, and other essential needs. More Information For more information, read the full press release. To learn about food assistance resources for people around Pennsylvania impacted by COVID-19 and the accompanying economic insecurity, visit the Department of Agriculture’s food security guide. *Information provided by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
August 20, 2020 Facts about COVID-19 and Quality Child Care Are you looking to access child care services during the COVID-19 health crisis? Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association on September 2 for their webinar, “Facts about COVID-19 and High-Quality Child Care.” About Child care is highly regulated in Pennsylvania and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has responded to COVID-19 with updated regulations and guidelines to keep children and providers safe. However, some of these are suggestions, not requirements; some clash with best practices for child development; and some are difficult to implement with very young children. In this webinar, participants will learn about the pros and cons of different child care settings, what to expect from child care providers, and which questions to ask if you’re still searching for one that’s right for you and your child. The session will feature Susan Coffin, MD, MPH, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s leading expert of COVID-19 and a great resource in creating CHOP’s FAQ for centers and families; a parent; and child care providers from both center-based and home-based settings. Register This webinar is best suited for parents and caretakers of children birth to age five. To register, visit the event webpage. Submit A Question You may ask questions in advance (anonymously if you prefer) by emailing shawn.towey@pacca.org, or you can enter them in the chatbox during the session. Share this flyer with your network.
June 30, 2020 Child Care Providers: Share Your Successes & Challenges To better understand the success and challenges child care providers are experiencing as they operate during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) released a brief survey that providers can complete to share their experiences. Child care providers are encouraged to complete this survey by Wednesday, July 8, 2020. About Since March 2020, COVID-19 has had significant impacts on the child care provider community. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is interested in understanding the success and challenges child care providers are experiencing as they operate during the pandemic. One strategy they are using to collect information is a brief monthly survey on staffing and enrollment. While the survey is voluntary, OCDEL encourages every child care operator to participate. OCDEL will issue the same survey at the end of June, July, August, and September to compare and analyze changes. Take the Survey To share your successes and challenges, complete the survey today!
