News

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.

More Information

For more information, contact advocacy@naeyc.org.

News

November 10, 2020

Supporting the Voices of Grieving Children

Join the Highmark Caring Place on November 19 for their webinar “Can You Hear Us Now? Supporting the Voices of Grieving Children” to learn about unique grief responses seen in children, ways to practice self-care, and opportunities to elevate the voices of grieving children.

About

Children’s Grief Awareness Day provides an opportunity for all to raise awareness of the painful impact that the death of a loved one has in the life of a child, and an opportunity to make sure that these children receive the support they need. It’s a day on which often-unnoticed kids can become heard for a change. A day when all of us can take the time to realize how much it can help grieving children for them to get support.

In this webinar, presenters will work to educate the community about children who are grieving, equip peers and adults to become companions for grieving children, and honor the children and their loved ones who have died.

Featured Topics

During the webinar, participants will:

    • learn about the background and vision of Children’s Grief Awareness Day;
    • gain knowledge of the unique grief responses seen in children;
    • understand the ways that encountering grief and offering support can be challenging, and explore ways of practicing self-care; and
    • identify one to two ways they can elevate the voices of grieving children by raising awareness in their own school, community, or place of work throughout the year.

Registration

To register for this event, visit the event webpage.

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News

July 17, 2020

Wait, My Grief Has a Shape? | Webinar

Join Highmark Caring Place on August 5 for their webinar, “Wait, My Grief Has a Shape? Understanding the Loss Experience for Our Children and Ourselves.”

About

Grief is often experienced not as a set of linear stages, but as a spiral where emotions come and go in intensity. In their webinar, Highmark Caring Place will discuss the spiral shape of grief and explain the differences in these spirals between adults and children. In understanding our grief experiences, and those of our children, we are better able to manage our own grief and support others in their grief journeys.

Learning Objectives

By attending, participants will be able to:

    • recognize the distinctions between various models of grief,
    • identify common grief responses, and
    • discuss the differences in grief between adults and children.

Registration

To register, visit the event webpage. Registrations must be submitted no later than Tuesday, August 4.

More Information

For questions, contact Patrick McKelvey at patrick.mckelvey@highmark.com.

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News

April 24, 2020

Give Big Pittsburgh: COVID-19 Response

Join us in #GivingTogetherNow on May 5.

About Give Big Pittsburgh: COVID-19 Response

Give Big Pittsburgh is an annual day-of-giving hosted by the Pittsburgh Magazine that encourages stakeholders and community members to collaboratively raise funds for and learn more about nonprofits working in the Pittsburgh area.

While Give Big Pittsburgh is typically hosted on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, also known as Giving Tuesday, Pittsburgh Magazine is following the lead of #GivingTuesdayNow by hosting a COVID-19 Response Campaign on May 5, 2020 to help raise critical dollars for nonprofits in Western Pennsylvania during this time of exceptional need.

Although Give Big Pittsburgh is a one-day event, the fundraising platform will remain open on their website through May 31, 2020. #GivingTuesdayNow will not replace the annual Giving Tuesday event happening on December 1, 2020. For more information, visit the Giving Tuesday website.

Why Should You Participate?

We know that the last few months have been tough. You’re probably asking yourself, “When will this end? What will ‘after this’ look like?” While we do not have all of the answers, one thing is certain: Trying Together values you as a caregiver, and we are here for you. That is why we have continued to support children, families, early learning professionals, and all caregivers of young children throughout this crisis by:

To learn more about our work, please visit the Trying Together Vision & Mission page.

Reinforce Our Work

If you’re interested in reinforcing Trying Together’s mission to support the work of early childhood, consider donating or fundraising with us! You can donate at any level that fits your budget. However, for those looking for recommended tiers, Trying Together has identified the following:

Because Give Big Pittsburgh uses an online platform, the donation process is quick and simple. Simply add nonprofits and individual donation values to your “Gift Basket” to complete all of your donations in one go. Donors can access their donation receipts online, making it easy to track and report your tax-deductible donations.

Visit the website to get acquainted with the platform and add Trying Together to your “Gift Basket.”

More Information

For questions, please contact Lainey Yockey at lainey@tryingtogether.org.

News

April 6, 2020

COVID-19 Impact on Child Care Survey Now Available

Many states, including Pennsylvania, have ordered all non-life-sustaining businesses to close their physical spaces as a mitigation effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). While lists of impacted businesses often include gyms, movie theaters, and clothing stores, they also often include a critical service that impacts families and caregivers across the nation: child care.

To better understand the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on families and caregivers, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has launched a detailed survey and is seeking submissions from the public.

About

On March 12, 2020, NAEYC launched a survey asking child care programs to share the challenges they were expecting to face and to comment on what they needed to protect children, families, and our nation’s supply of child care programs. NAEYC received responses from 11,500 educators in family child care and center-based programs across the country, which has helped shape federal and state responses to the pandemic. 

Now, several weeks into the pandemic, as many states take action and a federal stimulus bill has passed, NAEYC is launching a more detailed survey with the intention to help organizations and policymakers understand the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 and the solutions that have been put forth thus far.

Complete the COVID-19 Impact on Child Care Survey

This survey is for everyone, including center-based programs, family child care programs, and others. However, not all questions may apply to your specific situation. Please complete the survey and fill out applicable questions to help NAEYC gather a range of perspectives on the impact of COVID-19 on child care. To participate, please visit the survey page.

More Information

For questions, please contact NAEYC at info@naeyc.org or 800.424.2460. For more information on COVID-19, please visit our COVID-19 Resources page here.

News

July 28, 2019

Response: Pennsylvania Fiscal Year 2019-20 Budget

Recently, the state finalized the budget for fiscal year 2019-20, running now through June 30, 2020.

About

Alongside monumental increased investments for pre-k and home visiting, child care line items expanded, but only due to increases in funds from the federal government that are appropriated (or allowed to be spent) in the new state budget. Meanwhile, state child care dollars were cut by $36 million and replaced with federal funds.

While Trying Together is excited by the growth of pre-k and home visiting, this budget was a missed opportunity to support greater access to and affordability of high-quality child care. It is critical that our state policymakers know that the early childhood community is paying attention to their actions.

Detailed Budget Overview

Governor Wolf’s enacted budget includes the following:

Child Care
    • $6 million cut from the Child Care Services line item (replaced by federal funds).
    • $30 million cut from the Child Care Assistance line item (replaced by federal funds).
    • $27 million of federal dollars allocated to serve 970 additional infants and toddlers eligible for Child Care Works in high-quality programs; raise tiered reimbursement rates for STAR 2, 3, and 4 providers caring for infants and toddlers; and support apprenticeships for infant and toddler teachers.
Pre-K
    • $25 million increase for Pre-K Counts. This funding will also provide a rate increase of 2.95%, meaning approximately $250 more per child served over the prior rate.
    • $5 million increase for the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program to serve more children.
Evidence-Based Home Visiting
    • $5 million increase for evidence-based home visiting programs to serve an additional 800 eligible families.

Why It’s Important

Today, only one-third of children on child care subsidy are accessing high-quality STAR 3 or 4 care. On average, families wait 88 days to access subsidies they need to join or remain in the workforce, with 4,300 children on the subsidy waiting list. However, child care subsidy reimbursements do not cover the cost of quality care. With this, child care staff are often paid low wages, with 50 percent of child care staff receiving public assistance.

We are pleased to see a waiting list initiative to serve more infants and 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 initiatives we and partners advocated for and strongly align with our Start Strong PA campaign goals.

Trying Together appreciates Governor Wolf’s continued commitment to early care and education programs in the commonwealth. With this, we recognize that countless families still lack access to high-quality early learning programs that they can afford. Trying Together will be doubling down on our advocacy for greater state and federal funding for child care.

Take Action

To support the work of early childhood and caregivers of young children, we participate in multiple campaigns, including Pre-K for PAStart Strong PA, and Childhood Begins at Home. However, the success of these advocacy efforts is only possible when the early childhood community is visible and heard by our elected officials.

Visit our Take Action page and take action on the campaigns that matter to you. By doing so, you can thank lawmakers for greater investments in pre-k and home visiting and let them know that you expect to see them restore and grow investments in high-quality child care.

To stay up-to-date on how to advocate for these issues, sign-up to receive public policy updates.

See the full budget history here.

News

June 3, 2019

The 10th Annual PA Infant Mental Health Conference

Join the Pennsylvania Association for Infant Mental Health (PA-AIMH) on August 1 and 2 for the 10th Annual PA Infant Mental Health Conference.

Keynote Topics

PA-AIMH strives to provide a meaningful professional learning environment for all cross-sector professionals working with very young children and their families. Keynote topics will include:

    • Infant and early childhood mental health-focused policy and messaging;
    • Clinical interventions;
    • Disaster and critical incident response; and
    • Reflective supervision and practice.

PQAS and Act 48 credits available for professionals in the Early Childhood Education system.

Keynote Speakers

    • Jordana ​Ash, ​LCSW, ​IMH-E
      Director ​of ​Early ​Childhood ​Mental ​Health ​Director, ​State ​of ​Colorado
    • ​Sherryl ​Scott ​Heller, ​Ph.D.
      Associate ​Professor ​of ​Clinical ​Psychiatry, ​Tulane ​University
    • ​Joy ​Osofsky, ​Ph.D.
      ​Professor ​of ​Pediatrics, ​Psychiatry, ​and ​Public ​Health ​Head, ​Division ​of ​Pediatric ​Mental ​Health, ​Louisiana ​State ​University
    • Christopher ​Watson, ​Ph.D., ​IMH-E ​
      Director ​of ​the ​Center ​for ​Reflective ​Practice ​at ​the ​Center ​for ​Early ​Education ​and ​Development, ​University ​of ​Minnesota-Twin ​Cities ​ ​

Registration

To register, visit the event website.

Registration cost:

    • Member: $315
    • General: $350

More Information

For more information, visit the event website.

For questions, contact PA-AIMH via email at pa-aimh@pa.-aimh.org.