May 27, 2020 Growing Together: Lunch & Learn Series Join the Women & Girls Foundation, Pathways PA, and MomsRising on Fridays at noon for a “lunch and learn” series to discuss how families are adapting, how communities can come together to support each other during this time, and what resources are available to help families thrive. About Every week presenters will discuss a hot topic for working people and families, including paid leave, eldercare, parenting young kids, and more. Stop by to connect to resources, ask questions, meet others, and share what you’re experiencing. Supporting Our Elders During COVID-19 | June 5, 2020 | Special Guest: AARP Parenting Young Kids During COVID-19 | June 19, 2020 | Special Guests: Trying Together and PennAEYC Registration To register and learn more, visit the event webpage.
May 5, 2020 Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention Services for Children Join the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) on May 13 for their webinar “Promotion, Prevention, and Intervention Services for Children” to better understand how to support children, families, and staff as they seek to support young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. About Join Brandy Fox, Director of Cross-Sector IECMH Initiatives for the Pennsylvania Key, for a conversation about early childhood services grounded in a promotion, prevention, and intervention framework. Learn about the general landscape of early childhood services and “where” they fall on this continuum. Identify simple steps that may help families navigate these services to best meet the needs of their children. Registration To register, visit the event webpage.
January 23, 2020 2020 VOICE for Children Awards Celebration To protect the health and safety of their honorees and guests, the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) has decided to host their 2020 VOICE for Children Award Celebration on Friday, November 6 as a virtual event. About PennAEYC recognizes the critical role advocacy plays in high-quality early learning settings and celebrates those who speak on behalf of Pennsylvania’s children. As the voice for early care and learning, community advocates play an important role in assuring all Pennsylvania’s children get the start that they deserve in school and in life. The VOICE for Children Award is the only statewide award in Pennsylvania recognizing the grassroots leaders whose work impacts the quality of care for young children. Now in its 10th year, the VOICE Award celebrates not only individual award recipients, but the early childhood profession. Join PennAEYC in celebrating grassroots advocates and individuals who demonstrate extraordinary commitment and innovation to support high-quality early childhood across Pennsylvania. Registration To register, visit the event webpage. For questions or more information, call 888.272.9267.
March 4, 2019 2019 Capital Area Chapter of PennAEYC (CACPennAEYC) Conference Conference Information The Capital Area Chapter of PennAEYC (CACPennAEYC) invites you and your colleagues to participate in a day of learning, networking and professional development. Returning to Messiah College on March 16, 2019, the Capital Area Early Childhood conference is especially designed for early childhood professionals and advocates who work with and on behalf of young children. This year’s conference will include a wide variety of in-depth workshops, an inspirational keynote speaker, an assortment of vendors, and additional resources for up-to-date information on early care and education. Please bring this brochure to the conference for easy reference. Professional Development Up to six DHS and PA Key professional development hours will be awarded. Forms for Act 48 credit will be available at the registration table for teachers holding a PA professional I or II certification. CEUs are not offered at this event. Directions on where to obtain documentation of your attendance will be included in your conference folder materials. We look forward to seeing you on March 16, 2019! Please view the attached brochure for more information!
February 15, 2019 Response to Governor Wolf’s Budget Proposal On Tuesday, February 5, Governor Tom Wolf presented his fiscal year 2019-20 budget proposal. In highlighting his plan to make the Pennsylvania workforce the strongest in the nation, he outlined several increases in early care and education programs, as well as his plans to spend over $101 million in federal child care funds. Governor Wolf’s proposal includes the following: Child Care $15 million in federal funds to provide subsidized child care for 970 additional infants/toddlers in STAR 3 and 4 programs. $10 million in federal funds to provide a 28 percent increase to tiered reimbursement rates for STAR 2, 3 and 4 providers for infant/toddler care. $2 million in federal funds to support an “Early Childhood Career Pathways Initiative” for education, training and professional supports for an apprenticeship, or work-based learning model for professionals serving infants/toddlers in early care and education programs. $74 million in federal funds to provide a rate increase for subsidized providers for an increase in the minimum wage to $12/hour. Today only one-third of subsidized children are accessing high-quality STAR 3 and 4 care, 4,300 children are on the subsidy waiting list, with families waiting 88 days to access subsidies they need to work, 50 percent of child care staff are receiving public assistance and child care subsidy reimbursements do not cover the cost of quality care. Trying Together, along with nine partner advocacy organizations, launched a new advocacy campaign last week – Start Strong PA – to turn those numbers around and increase access to high-quality child care for families so their infants and toddlers can grow, learn and succeed. We are pleased to see the federal spending plan includes a waiting list initiative to serve more infants/toddlers in high-quality care and an increase in tiered reimbursement that will provide further program stability and consistency in teacher:child relationships. These are proposals for which we and partners advocated and align with our goals. We also believe the “career pathways” initiative will help to attract and retain talented early care and education teachers, another hallmark of the campaign. Trying Together looks forward to learning more about Governor Wolf’s minimum wage proposal’s impact on the professionals in our field and the programs in which they work. While we appreciate the allocation of these critical federal dollars and again thank our federal delegation for strong, bipartisan support for high-quality child care, we are concerned with the lack of new state investments in this area. Pre-K $40 million for the Pre-K Counts program $10 million for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program This expansion would serve 5,500 additional young children. Today the commonwealth ranks 18th of the 30 states investing in high-quality, publicly-funded pre-k and with this investment 100,000 children still lack access. As a leading partner in the Pre-K for PA campaign, Trying Together is advocating that lawmakers fully-fund Governor Wolf’s proposal. Evidence-Based Home Visiting In addition, the budget proposal includes a $5 million investment in evidence-based home visiting programs to expand home visiting for 800 eligible families. For more information on home visiting advocacy efforts go to www.childhoodbeginsathome.org. Evidence-Based Early Intervention There is a $15 million state funding increase proposed in the Department of Education budget and a $9.75 million increase in the Department of Human Services (DHS) budget for Early Intervention to continue to support the cost of children receiving services. Trying Together commends Governor Wolf for his continued commitment to early care and education programs in the commonwealth and encourages a state investment be made in high-quality child care so we can provide children with the educational foundation they all deserve. We will advocate for these investments as the budget process continues. Stay up-to-date on how to advocate for these issues by signing-up to support Trying Together’s public policy agenda here.
November 29, 2018 The VOICE for Children Awards Celebration The Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children (PennAEYC) announced that their 2019 VOICE for Children Award Celebration will be held at the historic Hotel Hershey on April 5, 2019. About the Award PennAEYC recognizes the critical role advocacy plays in high-quality early learning settings and celebrates those who speak on behalf of Pennsylvania’s children. As the voice for early care and learning, community advocates play an important role in assuring all Pennsylvania’s children get the start that they deserve in school and in life. The VOICE for Children Award is the only statewide award in Pennsylvania recognizing the grassroots leaders whose work impacts the quality of care for young children. Now in its 9th year, the VOICE Award celebrates not only individual award recipients, but the early childhood profession. Hotel Reservations If you plan to stay at the Hotel Hershey, reserve your room online or call (855.729.3108) today as rooms are limited. If calling, ask for the room block for the PA Association for the Education of Young Children at The Hotel Hershey, April 5-6, 2019. Other area hotels are also available. Questions For more information, contact Rose Snyder via email (rsnyder@pennaeyc.org). *Information provided by PennAEYC*
October 30, 2018 PennAEYC and PACCA Host Start Strong PA Webinar On November 1st, Pennsylvania Child Care Association and Pennsylvania Association for The Education of Young Children are hosting afternoon and evening webinars to discuss the priorities of the Start Strong PA campaign, the work that has been done so far, and how interested parties can become involved. Take this opportunity to learn more about Start Strong PA and how this advocacy campaign works to expand access, increase quality, and support early care and educational professionals by seeking increased investments in child care. Register now to save your spot before the October 31 deadline. These webinars will be facilitated by Jodi Askins, Executive Director of PennAEYC, and Diane Barber, Executive Director of PACCA. Both webinars will be recorded and posted to the PACCA and PennAEYC websites afterward. See our event page.
June 18, 2018 Action Day 2018 Trying Together is inviting early childhood advocates to contact their legislators on Tuesday, June 19, 2018 to remind them their help is needed to build bright futures for children. Advocates can help by: Downloading the toolkit for providers to participate Signing-up for a text message reminder Wearing blue and orange; taking photos of the young children at his/her program facility; posting to social media; and tagging his/her local legislator Recording or live streaming a block tower building game/project/race from his/her program or household and posting it with the hashtags #BuildBrightFutures and #FundChildCare Texting “ECE KIDS” to 52886 and telling his/her legislators that we need to invest in our future Calling his/her legislators and asking them to support children in the next budget
