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News

June 25, 2020

Join Providers Across PA to Tell Your Story

On Tuesday, June 30, child care providers across Pennsylvania are participating in a day-long, story sharing event on social media to increase attention on child care and its importance as a community resource and economic driver. 

About

Governor Tom Wolf and the General Assembly authorized the spending of stimulus funds to support early learning programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even once all those funds are distributed, they are not enough. 

With diminished enrollment, scarcity of staff, unpaid bills, and no clear picture of what tomorrow will bring, many child care providers still do not know if their business will survive. We need the federal government to allocate more funding to support child care programs so they can weather this crisis.

To gain these urgently needed funds, stories from child care providers, early educators, and families are essential. Stories can be shared on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on June 30. 

We want to be sure that as many people as possible–especially our elected officials–understand that the child care crisis is not over and without child care there is no recovery! Alert your network of friends, families, and staff to look out for your story and like, share, and/or retweet it. 

How to Share

  1. Prepare your story ahead of time so that you can easily post or tweet during the event. 
  2. You can use your answers to the questions on this Google form to help create your draft. 
  3. Pictures are encouraged to help others see the real people affected by this crisis!

Sharing on Twitter: 

  • Break your story down into a thread of 280 characters.  
  • Click the blue “Tweet” button in the upper right hand corner of your screen.
  • Type out the first tweet of your thread. 
  • Press the + button in the lower right hand corner of your Tweet composition window, and a new space will appear for you to add a second tweet.
  • In the final tweet of the thread, include #FundChildCare #SaveEarlyLearning and Senator Pat Toomey (@SenToomey) and Senator Bob Casey (@SenCasey).

Sharing on Facebook:  

  • From the top of your News Feed, click What’s on your mind, [Name]?
  • Add a text update or click the type of post you would like to share (example: Photo/Video, Feeling/Activity).
  • Posts can be up to 63,206 characters so you have plenty of room, however, longer posts get cut off in a user’s feed, forcing them to expand the text if they want to read the full story. 
  • At the end of your post include #FundChildCare #SaveEarlyLearning and tag @SenatorBobCasey and @SenatorToomey

Sharing on Instagram:

  • Tap + at the bottom of the screen.
  • Take a photo or video or choose one from your phone’s library.
  • Tap Next. You can also add effects or filters.
  • Tap Next again, and then tap Write a caption
  • Enter your caption and tap OK > Share (iPhone) or Share (Android).
  • In your caption include #FundChildCare #SaveEarlyLearning and tag @senbobcasey and @senpattoomey

More Information

Questions? Please contact Cristina Codario at cristina@tryingtogether.org.  

News

June 22, 2020

Drive-Up Diaper Distribution

Join Global Links and the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank (WPDB) on June 25 for their public drive-up diaper distribution event outside of PPG Paints Arena (rain or shine). To ensure participant safety, this event cannot accommodate walk-up participants.

About

Global Links and the Western Pennsylvania Diaper Bank (WPDB) have partnered to host a public drive-up diaper distribution event outside PPG Paints Arena (rain or shine), thanks to support from the Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. The distribution will be equipped to serve up to 1,000 cars.

What’s Included?

Families and caregivers of young children who are experiencing financial hardship are invited to line up by car outside PPG Paints Arena to receive the following items (at no cost to families):

    • One case (four packages) of diapers per car.
    • One package of wipes per car.
    • An informational sheet listing neighborhood resource centers that can provide further diaper assistance.

Please note that two families CANNOT be represented in one car. Parents and caregivers will have the option of choosing one or two different sizes of diapers.

Traffic Details

    • All vehicles attending the diaper distribution will enter the distribution area by turning onto Logan Street from Centre Avenue. Once on Logan Street, personnel on-site will direct vehicles from the lots to the location at which the diapers will be distributed. To exit, all traffic will be routed to Fullerton Street and will exit via Centre Avenue.
    • Bedford Avenue between Washington Place and Crawford Street will be closed to traffic from downtown going uphill. Traffic from downtown can turn right onto Washington Place to access Centre Avenue or stay left on Bigelow Boulevard.
    • Wylie Avenue will be closed between Crawford Street and Logan Street.

More Information

To learn more, visit the Drive-Up Diaper Distribution event page or the Global Links website.

News

June 12, 2020

Allegheny Child Care is Growing

As of this week, we are excited to announce that we have expanded the Allegheny Child Care search tool to include: after-school; out-of-school; and summer programs! If you provide one or more of these services and have not already confirmed your information, we ask that you update your listing as soon as possible at providers.alleghenychildcare.org.

Promote Your Out of School & Summer Programs Now

If your program re-opened as part of Allegheny County’s move to the “green phase” last week, we hope that your first week back has been a welcomed return for you and your children, families, and staff.

By updating your information, the Allegheny Child Care tool will assist you in promoting and marketing your program(s) to families. In turn, this will allow you to expedite the process for getting children enrolled, thus making an often stressful task less burdensome for families especially at this time. If you have any questions or issues please:

Thank you for your assistance.

Updating Your Information

In order to add the after-school, out-of-school, and summer-time programs to the platform, we pulled public data currently available from our partners at Allegheny Partners for Out of School Time (APOST) and United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania.

As information may have changed due to COVID-19, we would appreciate you taking a few minutes to review the information listed for your program(s) on the platform and then updating it accordingly at providers.alleghenychildcare.org.

In particular, please update your:

  • current operational status (open/closed and availability);
  • age group(s) served; and
  • basic profile information.

You will receive regular email reminders to update your vacancy information so parents searching for care can find your program.

More Information

From the COVID-19 crisis, Allegheny Child Care is a unique pilot project that has been developed to support the child care needs of families. Caregivers and parents of young children can now search available child care spots at Allegheny County early learning programs in real-time with the Allegheny Child Care tool.

News

May 29, 2020

Guidance for Businesses in Counties Moving to Green Phase

On May 29, 2020, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that a number of Pennsylvania counties will move to the “green phase” of the state’s Reopening Plan beginning June 5. On that date, all counties in the state will be in the “yellow” or “green” phases. This means that all child care programs within the state that can comply with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may reopen.

Business Guidance

In entering the green phase, all businesses must continue following CDC and Pennsylvania Department of Health guidance for social distancing and cleaning. Businesses are also encouraged to adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Continued telework strongly encouraged
  • Businesses with in-person operations must follow updated business and building safety requirements
  • All businesses operating at 50% occupancy in the yellow phase may increase to 75% occupancy
  • Child care may open complying with guidance
  • Congregate care restrictions in place
  • Prison and hospital restrictions determined by individual facilities
  • Schools subject to CDC and Commonwealth guidance

Counties in the Green Phase

As of May 29, 2020, counties that are in the green phase are Bradford, Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Montour, Potter, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga, Venango, and Warren.

On June 5, 2020, counties that will transition to the green phase are Allegheny, Armstrong, Bedford, Blair, Butler, Cambria, Clinton, Fayette, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Lycoming, Mercer, Somerset, Washington and Westmoreland.

Governor Wolf warned that future COVID-19 outbreaks remain possible and if an outbreak occurs, counties might need to revert back to more restricted phases. Because of this, all community members and businesses should continue social distancing, practicing safe hygiene, and limiting contact with others as much as possible.

If your county remains in the yellow phase, view a news post from Trying Together about business guidance. To learn more about what the red phase, yellow phase, and green phase entail, visit the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania page.

Guidance for Child Care

In the green phase, child care providers should continue to follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning.

For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258.

More Information

To learn more about Pennsylvania counties moving into the green phase, read the full press release from Governor Wolf.

News

May 27, 2020

Saving for Your Child’s College Tuition

Saving for college isn’t impossible. All you need is a plan. The Pennsylvania 529 College and Career Savings Program two plans and many investment options that have helped over 205,000 families of all income levels answer one of their biggest financial concerns: how to afford college. Join the Pennsylvania 529 College and Career Savings Program for their webinar to learn more.

About

During the webinar, participants will learn about the following topics:

    • how you can save for college and save on your Pennsylvania income taxes;
    • how you can avoid paying any federal or state income taxes on your college savings growth;
    • how you can save for college with little impact on your chances for financial aid;
    • how you can save for a semester of college today and cover a semester in the future no matter when or how much tuition has increased; and
    • how saving can be made easy.

Registration

Webinar sessions are available on the dates listed below. Please use the links to navigate to the event’s registration pages.

More Information

For more information, please contact the PA 529 College and Career Savings Program at 800.440.4000 or PA529@patreasury.gov.

News

May 21, 2020

CARES Act To Fund Nearly 7,000 Child Care Centers

In response to the  COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Tom Wolf announced on May 20, 2020 that an initial distribution of $51 million of funding from the CARES Act will support child care providers in Pennsylvania. Distributed in partnership with the General Assembly, this initial funding will reach nearly 7,000 early learning programs. The governor asserted that a healthy child care system was essential as Pennsylvania reopens.

Eligibility

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) determines eligibility and the amount of award based on provider type, Child Care Works (CCW) subsidy enrollment, and regional capacity. CARES Act funds will be distributed to eligible, certified child care providers through regional Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs) and will be available in June 2020. Additional actions are required for child care providers.

Funding Information

In total, PA received $106 million in funding that will be distributed in two waves. The first wave of $51 million will be distributed per the conditions outlined above, to help providers prepare to reopen as counties move to the yellow phase. The remaining funding will be allocated following the completion of a study assessing the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Pennsylvania’s child care providers.

Guidance for Child Care

In the Yellow Phase, child care providers are permitted to reopen without a permit so long as they follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning.

For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258.

More Information

For more information about Governor Wolf’s announcement, read the full press release. The attestation form and process for the CARES Act funds for child care providers can be found online.

News

May 15, 2020

Guidance for Businesses in Counties Moving to Yellow Phase

On May 15, Governor Tom Wolf announced that 12 counties in Pennsylvania will be moving to the Yellow Phase of the Governor’s Plan to Reopen Pennsylvania on May 22, in addition to the 37 counties that transitioned into the Yellow Phase on May 8 or May 15. With this, the Governor provided guidance on May 4 that details procedures businesses must follow to conduct in-person operations in counties operating in or slated to move to the Yellow Phase. All businesses, including nonprofits, permitted to conduct in-person operations are subject to this guidance.

Guidance for Businesses

Under the Yellow Phase of reopening, life-sustaining businesses that could not conduct either all or part of their operations via telework will continue to conduct their operations in-person, and many non-life sustaining businesses will be permitted to restart their in-person operations through the loosening of some restrictions under the stay-at-home and business closure orders.

In counties that have been designated as in the yellow phase, all businesses, except those categories specifically listed as remaining closed in the Governor’s Plan to Reopen Pennsylvania, are permitted to conduct in-person operations, as long as they strictly adhere to the requirements of the guidance.

The guidance includes specific information on cleaning and disinfecting premises, limiting the number of employees in common areas and customers on premises, providing masks and sanitizing supplies for employees, installing shields or other barriers at registers and checkout areas to physically separate cashiers and customers, and creating a plan in case a business is exposed to a probable or confirmed case of COVID-19, among other provisions. View the full guidance.

Counties in the Yellow Phase

As of May 15 at 5 p.m., the following counties are in the Yellow Phase of reopening: Adams, Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Bedford, Blair, Bradford, Butler, Cameron, Cambria, Carbon, Centre, Clarion, Clearfield, Clinton, Columbia, Crawford, Cumberland, Elk, Erie, Fayette, Forest, Fulton, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Juniata, Lawrence, Lycoming, McKean, Mercer, Mifflin, Montour, Northumberland, Perry, Potter, Snyder, Somerset, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Union, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland, Wyoming, Wayne, and York.

Governor Wolf warned that future COVID-19 outbreaks remain possible and if an outbreak occurs, counties placed in the Yellow Phase may need to revert back to the Red Phase. Because of this, all community members and businesses should continue social distancing, practicing safe hygiene, and limiting contact with others as much as possible. For counties in the Red Phase, Governor Wolf encourages individuals to “make choices that will lead to fewer cases and a faster move to lifted restrictions.”

To learn more about what the Red Phase, Yellow Phase, and Green Phase entail, visit the Process to Reopen Pennsylvania page.

Guidance for Child Care

In the Yellow Phase, child care providers are permitted to reopen without a permit so long as they follow CDC and DHS guidance for social distancing and cleaning.

For more information, please contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258.

More Information

For more information, read the full press release. Businesses that have questions about whether this guidance applies to them may contact the Department of Health at 1.877.724.3258.

News

May 11, 2020

Professionalism – Styles & Dispositions in the Workplace

This three-week online workplace professionalism course will allow early care and education professionals to communicate, reflect, and update the professional styles they may use or want to use to improve in the field of early childhood education. Today’s early childhood professional must demonstrate knowledge of the skills, styles, and dispositions required to succeed in the workplace. This requires a commitment to the profession, including commitments to their regular work environment and beyond. Using activities and resources, this course provides participants with strategies to adopt positive and ethical habits that will serve them personally and professionally.

Limited spaces are available. All registrations must be submitted by May 20 at 5 p.m.

Course Information

    • Timeline: May 22 – June 12, 2020
    • Instructors: Jasmine Davis and Theresa Hetler
    • CKC: K6.9 C2
    • Keystone STARS Alignment: SQ. 3.4.5
    • CDA Subject Area: Maintaining a Commitment to Professionalism.
    • Three PQAS and Act 48 hours available.

Registration

To register for this workplace professionalism course, please visit the event registration page.

Workplace Professionalism Styles & Dispositions

For more information, contact Jasmine Davis at 412.567.3933 or jasmine@tryingtogether.org. For more on Trying Together’s professional development programs, visit our courses page.

News

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.

News

April 24, 2020

Guidance for Child Care Programs that Remain Open

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Certification, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Key, will be offering weekly webinars on the CDC guidance for operating child care providers. These webinars are intended for currently operating child care providers.

Objectives

The webinars will be facilitated by Amy Requa, MSN, CRNP (Certified Pediatric Nurse Practitioner) and Senior Health Manager at the Pennsylvania Key and will:

    • emphasize how the guidance offers practices for keeping people healthy and safe; and
    • answer questions that are submitted by providers.

Questions may be submitted prior to the webinar to hssco@pakeys.org. Questions can also be entered into the chat box during the webinars and will be addressed in future webinars.

Registration

To attend the webinar on April 29, register by clicking on the links below: