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Tag: Pennsylvania

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January 27, 2020

Take Action to Support Infants and Toddlers in Pennsylvania

Are you interested in advocating to increase access to and the affordability of child care for infants and toddlers in Pennsylvania? Take action by completing Start Strong PA’s current advocacy ask!

About

In December 2019, a campaign for high-quality child care in Pennsylvania called Start Strong PA delivered a New Year’s resolution photo frame to every member of the Pennsylvania General Assembly. The frames included a spot for a photo, a place for their signature, and the following resolution:

In 2020, I resolve that all children deserve to start strong.
I will support the healthy development of all Pennsylvania’s infants and toddlers by fighting for greater access to high-quality child care.

Now, Start Strong PA is encouraging the General Assembly to take a picture with the signed photo frame and share it across their social media platforms. However, Start Strong PA needs your help! Throughout January, the campaign is asking Pennsylvania families and caregivers to send in photos of their infants and toddlers to place inside the frames. Will you reinforce Start Strong PA’s mission to increase access to and the affordability of high-quality infant/toddler early learning programs?

How You Can Help

To send in a photo, complete the following steps:

    • Find your Senator or Representative by visiting: http://bit.ly/StartStrongPAresolution.
    • Type in your address and press search.
    • You will be given links to your Pennsylvania House and Senate members.
    • Click on the link (their name) and you will be sent to their website. On the left-hand side, you can find their Harrisburg office address.
    • Place the 4 x 6 photo(s) and a message that says “Make me your New Year’s resolution!” in an envelope, add postage, and mail to their Harrisburg office.

Looking to go a step further? Send your Senator and Representative a reminder as well by completing a pre-filled form on our Take Action page!

More Information

For questions or to send your picture to Start Strong PA, email info@startstrongpa.org.

News

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.

News

January 8, 2020

T.E.A.C.H. Scholarships for Family Child Care Providers

Did you know that T.E.A.C.H. has scholarship models specifically available for family child care providers? If you are a family provider who is considering pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education, T.E.A.C.H. can help you get started and graduate debt-free! Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) for their webinar on January 15 to learn more.

About

Join this webinar to learn more about the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood Pennsylvania Scholarship Program and how it works for family child care providers. Presenters will provide an overview of scholarship requirements, the application process, financial aid types, and how to get enrolled in college for the upcoming semester(s). Time for questions will be provided.

Registration

To register, visit the webinar link.

News

Career Pathway Overview for Directors

Child Care Directors and Administrators are invited to join The Pennsylvania Key on January 23 for their webinar exploring Pennsylvania’s Early Childhood Education (ECE) Career Pathway.

About

This webinar seeks to provide a full overview of the Career Pathway. Presenters will detail different levels of the career pathway, professional development alignment within the career pathway, resources to share with teachers planning to move up in the career pathway, and examples of programs focused on career pathways advancement. More information on Pennsylvania’s Quality Initiatives for the Early Childhood Education workforce will also be provided.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage.

More Information

For questions, all 1-800-284-6031 or email registry@pakeys.org. To learn more about Pennsylvania’s ECE Career Pathway, visit the Pennsylvania Key website.

News

Changes to Clearances for Employees Having Contact with Children

In July 2019, Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order to strengthen protections for vulnerable populations, including children who receive child care services outside of their homes.

About the Change

The federal Family First Prevention Services Act requires all adults who work in child care settings that receive Title IV-E funding to obtain child abuse clearances, even if they are not working directly with children. Pennsylvania’s Child Protective Services law formerly allowed a 90-day provisional hire period for individuals who had applied for but were still waiting for clearance results. However, in 2019, Act 47 eliminated this 90-day provisional hire period to ensure that all adults working with children are legally able to do so.

Based on Act 47, child care centers, group child care homes, and family child care homes can request a waiver to hire an employee on a provisional basis for no longer than 45 days. The Department of Human Services is required to process Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearances within 14 days from the day in which the request is received and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history background checks within 30 days from the date of receipt. Generally, these clearances are processed more quickly than required.

New employees are not permitted to work alone with children and must be in the immediate vicinity of a permanent employee until all clearances are received. To access the waiver and instructions, visit the Keep Kids Safe website.

More Information

For more information on obtaining clearances, visit the Keep Kids Safe website.

*Information provided by PA Early Ed News

News

December 18, 2019

Online Resource: Supporting Children with Hearing Loss

To support families and professionals who interact with children with hearing loss, Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) developed an online resource titled, “Getting Started: Supporting Children with Hearing Loss.”

About

In the first section of their free course, EITA says that “families who have just received word that their child is deaf or hard of hearing can display a wide range of reactions,” with most wondering what caused the hearing loss in the first place. To increase family and professional knowledge and awareness about hearing, hearing loss, and available supports in Pennsylvania, EITA created the “Getting Started: Supporting Children with Hearing Loss” course. In it, EITA highlights important information and resources, including first steps, communication and language resources, best practices, and more.

Click here to view the resource.

More Information

For more information and to access the resource, visit the EITA website.

News

December 17, 2019

Setting Your Rates: The Cost of Quality

Join the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) on January 6 for “Setting Your Rates: The Cost of Quality and the Market Rate Survey” to gain a better understanding of the variables that impact quality, how to incorporate those key elements into your budget, and identify and combine funding streams to achieve your program goals.

About

Child Care Works subsidy rates are established by OCDEL based in part on the private pay rates providers report in PELICAN. Are your rates based on your actual costs? How much does “quality” child care really cost and how do you calculate that? Join PACCA to hear from experienced administrators of high-quality programs on how they budget for the true cost of quality and the funding/support needed to achieve high-quality based on their program standards. Hear tips and learn about resources to ensure your budget reflects your goals and the true costs of operating a quality child care program.

Registration

To register, visit the PACCA website.

Learn More

For questions, contact Maureen Murphy at 717.657.9000, x 107.

*Information provided by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA)

News

PHAN Transportation and Health Survey

Are you interested in sharing your voice to support your community? Participate in the Pennsylvania Health Action Network’s (PHAN) new survey on transportation and health! Survey responses will be confidential and should take roughly four minutes to complete. The survey will include questions about transportation for going to the doctor, dentist, a clinic, getting a test or lab done, or other kinds of health visits, such as mental health or substance use disorder treatment.

Take the Survey

The survey is available in both English and Spanish and can be completed using the following links:

More Information

If you have any questions, please reach out to Jessy Foster at jessica@pahealthaccess.org.

News

December 11, 2019

Early Language and Literacy Chats | Winter Sessions

Join the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) this winter to discuss hot topics around early language and literacy development. From January through March 2020, 3o-minute chat sessions will be hosted on the second and fourth Friday at 8:30 a.m and repeated at 1:30 p.m. Participants will gain access to resources to share with families and use in their classrooms and centers. PQAS credit hours and infant/toddler hours available.

Available Dates

    • January 10, 2020: Those First Words
    • January 24, 2020: Conversations with Kids
    • February 7, 2020: Books, Books, Books!
    • February 21, 2020: Print is Everywhere
    • March 6, 2020: Sounds All Around!
    • March 20, 2020: Celebrating Dual Language Learners

More Information

For more information, visit the event Padlet page.

*Information provided by the Pennsylvania Key

News

December 10, 2019

PDE Releases New Family Engagement Framework

The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) has released the Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Framework.

About The PDE Family Engagement Framework

As a collaborative initiative between PDE’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Pennsylvania Family Engagement Birth through College, Career, and Community Ready Framework is a tool to guide learning communities in the implementation of effective practices, use of shared language, and application of a family engagement continuum for families across their child’s educational lifespan. With this, the framework includes Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)-aligned Family Engagement resources and information for local education agencies (LEAs).

Beginning with early learning programs through K-12, effective family engagement is critical to supporting a child’s learning and development. In fact, research has demonstrated that regardless of socioeconomic background, when schools, families, and community groups work together to support learning, children perform better academically, enjoy school more, remain in school longer, and have better long-term outcomes such as higher graduation rates, improved post-secondary educational attainment, and increased career readiness.

By establishing this framework, PDE seeks to foster a clear path by identifying a set of common standards of how learning communities can plan and implement family engagement practices. Members of Pennsylvania’s learning communities can employ this framework, with communities including programs and schools to which PDE provides funding, guidance, and monitoring.

More Information

For more information on the framework, visit the PDE’s website.

*Information provided by the Pennsylvania Key