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In Our Communities
Butler: A new program in Butler County is helping families currently enrolled or interested in attending Butler County Community College and receiving TANF Cash Assistance or Food Stamps. The KEYS is a program of the PA Department of Human Services in collaboration with the PA Commission for Community Colleges. Students may be eligible to receive child care assistance, transportation reimbursement, money for books and supplies, and more. See the flyer for more info and to print and distribute.
Cambria: Welcome new LEARN lead for Cambria County, Shasta Wagner from Cambria County Child Development Corporation. Find out what's happening in early education in Cambria county and take a moment to extend a welcome to her at shastawagner@live.com.
Crawford: A welcome to Christin Smith who has joined Crawford County's LEARN as the lead from Meadville Children's Center. Find out what's happening in early education in Crawford county and take a moment to extend a welcome to her at christinsmith710@gmail.com.
Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon: Early learning partners in Cumberland, Dauphin, Lancaster and Lebanon counties are hosting the 14th Annual Transition to Kindergarten Conference on February 23 at the Harrisburg PaTTAN. Attendees will learn about childhood trauma, challenging behaviors, the ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) Scale and how to prepare for transitioning new students into kindergarten. Read more.
Erie: Early learning partners, Early Connections, have released their 2015-16 Annual Report which highlights the expansion of Early Connections into the North East community and the PA Pre-K Counts program. Also highlighted is the work done by the United Way Success By 6 partners to reach early childhood families in Erie County. Read more.
Huntingdon: Christy Neval joins the LEARN team as a lead for Huntingdon county. Find out what's happening in early education in Huntingdon county and take a moment to extend a welcome to her at cnevel@jvbds.org.
Indiana: The 14th Annual Family Fun Fest, sponsored by the Children's Advisory Commission of Indiana County will be held on March 4, 10 am to 3 pm. This year's theme is SPACE (such as: Outer, Inner, Wide Open, Personal, Pastoral, Deep Sea, Parking, Cyber, etc.). Registration Form for agencies/organizations is due by February 10th. Get info by calling 724-463-8200, x4218, or info and on-line registration on the Fun Fest page at www.ChildrensAdvisoryCommission.org.
Jefferson: Welcome new LEARN lead for Jefferson County, Amanda Adams. Amanda joins us from the Jefferson-Clarion Early Head Start. Find out what's happening in early education in Jefferson county and take a moment to extend a welcome to her at aadams@jcheadstart.com.
Luzerne: The Wilkes Barre YMCA recently received a bronze level recognition for the American Heart Association's Healthy Way To Grow program that is launched in Luzerne and Lackawanna County. The award was earned through their work aimed at improving the health of children ages birth to age 5. Read more.
Wyoming: Welcome to LEARN lead, Cathy Franko at H.A.N.D.S. of Wyoming County. Find out what's happening in early education in Wyoming county and take a moment to extend a welcome to her at cathy.franko@hands-wyco.org.
Share your outreach on PA's Promise for Children website!
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Looking for the LEARN lead in your county?
Your LEARN lead can link you with others in your community who have an interest in and a commitment to quality early learning opportunities.
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Register to be a PA One Book Guest Reader or Host Site
Registration through March 8
Help support early literacy during April through Pennsylvania's One Book Every Young Child! Individuals are invited to be a PA One Book reader during the month of April at an early learning program in your community. Registration is also open for early learning programs to host a guest reader during April. The PA One Book, Every Young Child is Pennsylvania's collaborative project using the vehicle of "One Book, One State" program to highlight the importance of early literacy development.
This year's selection, Daniel Finds a Poem, written and illustrated by Micha Archer, is a story about a boy who goes on an adventure through a park trying to find answers to his question, "What is poetry?"
Reading events will take place during April. Guest readers are provided with a copy of the book and can select a time and date during April that works best with their schedule. Register to be a guest reader by completing the Guest Reader Online Registration. Register to be a host site by completing the Host Site Online Registration.
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Apply Now for Blended Pennsylvania Framework for Leadership Course
To expand the opportunities for professional development within the Pennsylvania Inspired Leadership (PIL) Program, a series of blended courses aligned to the Pennsylvania Framework for Leadership is being offered. This course is focused on effective P-3 (prenatal-grade 3) planning and implementation, which is designed to help all children succeed.
This coursework focuses on communication and effective strategies between all stakeholder in a P-3 system where the 0-5 and K-3 administrators lead in modeling the process. School leaders will delve deeply into issues relevant to leading P-3 initiatives in collaboration with other programs and school leaders. The course is appropriate for early education and school staff, including superintendents, principals, executive directors, early childhood administrators and more. The 2017 course is being offered in four different regions.
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Grantees Share Keys to Success
Did you know interviews with CIZ grantees on Quality Early Learning Radio highlight many of the successful efforts under the Community Innovation Zone (CIZ) grant? Now you can listen to the interviews with grantees and hear what they have to say about their efforts.
Listen to the interviews from:
- Amy Wible and Angela Moore from Cen-Clear Child Services, Inc. discuss their Project PLACE Community Innovation Zone project.
- Heather Brooks of the Union City Family Support Center discusses the Erie Area United Way's Community Innovation Zone project involving Supported Play Groups.
- Julie Obney and Kim Ferguson, Title I Reading Specialists with the Saltsburg Elementary School discuss the positive outcomes of the dyslexia prevention program they are utilizing as part of the school's CIZ project, in partnership with PA Pre-K Counts and Kindernook Child Care Center.
- And more!
Interviews are recorded, so you can listen at any time. You can listen to future releases on Connect FM at 96.7 and 107.9 in the DuBois area and via simulcast on www.connectradio.fm.
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Finding Kindergarten Registration Information
Many Pennsylvania counties have provided Kindergarten registration information for their school districts. Families throughout the state can access this information and help prepare their child for the important transition into Kindergarten. Early learning programs can share this information with their families as well!
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Activities to Help Children Learn
Did you know PA's Promise for Children provides an opportunity for families, schools, and early learning programs to share the fun learning activities for children? Check out these activities submitted by families and programs like yours, then share them on your Facebook, Pinterest or other social media.
Do you have an activity you'd like to share? Contact Mary at
marhal@pakeys.org
for additional details.
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February 4: Take Your Child to the Library Day
Take a child to the library and feed their imagination. A love of reading and books starts with pictures, stories and rhymes which even the youngest child can enjoy.
February 4 is the Annual Take Your Child To The Library Day and is a great time to build upon that love of reading and learning!
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St. Luke's Nurse-Family Partnership: 15 years of serving families in Lehigh and Northampton Counties
What began as a small agency with four Registered Nurses serving 100 families has risen up to 10 nurses with a capacity to serve and change the lives of 250 families. Last year, nurses in Lehigh and Northampton Counties served over 357 total clients and conducted over 4,670 visits to assist families in achieving the program's three main goals: Improve pregnancy outcomes; Improve child health and development; and Improve families' economic self-sufficiency. Read more.
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PA One Book's Classic Countdown: 2010-2014
Are you keeping up with PA One Book's Classic Countdown? February brings highlights to the PA One Book selections between 2010 to 2014. Each week, find information about the classic selection, get activities to do around the book, and watch a video of the author reading the book!
During February, join us as we explore:
- February 1-3: What a Treasure! By Jane and Will Hillenbrand (2010)
- February 6-11: Whose Shoes? A Shoe for Every Job by Stephen R. Swinburne (2011)
- February 13-17: Stop Snoring Bernard! by Zachariah Ohora (2012)
- February 20-24: The Bus for Us by Suzanne Bloom (2013)
- February 27-29: Stripes of All Types by Susan Stockdale (2014)
Follow PA One Book on Facebook or Instagram for weekly updates. Not a fan of social media? PA's Promise for Children has you covered--check in each week for the updates. |
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Homelessness in Early Childhood Education
In the United States, families with children are one of the fastest growing segments of the homeless population. It is estimated that over 1.35 million children experience homelessness each year and over 42 percent of these children are under the age of six (National Center on Family Homelessness, 2003). Additionally, over half of children living in federally funded homeless shelters are five years old or younger.
What is homelessness and who experiences homelessness?
As defined in:
The term
children and youth experiencing homelessness
A. means individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence; and
B. includes - children and youths who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or similar reason; are living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, or camping grounds due to the lack of alternative accommodations; are living in emergency or transitional shelters; are abandoned in hospitals; or are awaiting foster care placement;
- children and youths who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
- children and youths who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings; and
- migratory children who qualify as homeless for the purposes of this subtitle because the children are living in circumstances described in clauses (i) through (iii).
According to the report,
Homeless in America: A Children's Story, children in homeless situations often have a higher incidence of health related problems. In some cases the parent(s), as well as the child, may have problems with physical and/or mental health. For example:
- Nationwide, over one-quarter of all children (26 percent) and one-third of children under age five (33 percent) became ill more often during episodes of homelessness.
- Roughly half of school-aged children (47 percent) and twenty-six percent (26 percent) of children under age five suffer emotionally from depression, anxiety, or aggression after becoming homeless. Multiple stressors make problems worse: children are more likely to suffer emotionally during homelessness if they become ill, are frequently absent from school, or are chronically homeless. At times, these negative feelings can be dangerous - suicidal tendencies are common among children experiencing homelessness over the age of five.
Given the number of young children experiencing homelessness and its devastating impacts on development, preschool programs play a critical role in meeting these children's need for quality early care and education; yet, most young children experiencing homelessness do not receive early childhood services. Why?
- The high mobility accompanying those experiencing homelessness;
- Lack of documents needed to enroll in early care programs;
- Lack of transportation;
- An overall scarcity of early childhood programs and/or shortage of classroom slots; and
- Lack of awareness of factors relating to homelessness among early childhood providers.
A Quick Look at Homelessness in Pennsylvania'a Early Childhood
In 2013, Pennsylvania had a total of 853,657 children under the age of six. Of those children, 19,480 were identified as experiencing homelessness - or 1 in every 44 children under the age of six.
Of those children, only 19% were known to be served by Head Start, Early Head Start, and the McKinney-Vento Act.
Under Pennsylvania law, children under 3 who are experiencing homelessness automatically qualify to receive early intervention developmental monitoring, known as tracking. All infants, toddlers and preschoolers are entitled to an evaluation to determine if they are eligible for Early Intervention (EI) services and supports. The
Children Experiencing Homelessness Announcement, issued in 2014, outlines the detail of this law. Because of this law, EI created the webinar,
Young Children and their Families Experiencing Homelessness, to highlight the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) announcement and to provide guidance for identifying and serving young children experiencing homelessness. The webinar focuses on the announcement, as well the laws and regulations that outline responsibility in addressing this population. Furthermore, it details existing OCDEL programs and offer resources that can help alleviate some of the barriers families face when experiencing homelessness.
Each homeless or highly mobile situation is unique. While most families are experiencing homeless due to a lack of affordable housing, there are other factors that can contribute to a family becoming homeless or having to move frequently. The personalities of each child and family member, their personal history, their ethnic backgrounds, and the neighborhood where they live all impact how children and other family members respond to their living situation.
After identification, the first step in determining what resources are needed for a child or family is to learn as much as possible about their particular situation. Not only will this initial assessment assist in making appropriate decisions about how to best help the child, it can also become the foundation for an ongoing relationship with the child and the family. A child's success in any learning environment depends on a relationship of mutual trust, and open and honest communication. When it comes to supporting children and families experiencing homelessness, it is important to identify needs beyond education, housing and income support, and to consider the family as a whole. Referrals should be made for all areas where assistance is needed. For example, the job training needs of a parent may affect the stability of the family and therefore the permanency of the child in a school or program.
The next step is for early learning providers and schools to become more aware of the issues surrounding homeless and to offer on-going professional development for teachers and staff. It is important to make all staff aware of the issue because identification often happens outside of the classroom. Bus drivers, cafeteria staff, and administrative staff often see the first signs and can be crucial in helping to identify families experiencing homelessness. Head Start offers an online series,
Interactive Homelessness Lessons, that helps school and programs become familiar with federal laws, pinpoint outreach and identification strategies, and identify positive options for partnering with families and community partners.
Another step to be included is to venture out into the landscape. Gather contact information for the directors of all early care and education programs in your community and send an email to introduce yourself. You may wish to share data about the number of preschool and school-aged children in your community or state and information about local shelters. Request a meeting where you can become acquainted with one another and each other's programs. At the local level, many partners play a role in supporting young children and their families experiencing homelessness. These collaborations and individual partnerships within these networks can expand a school's or program's capacity to meet the needs of families and children experiencing homelessness.
This includes, but is not limited to:
- Local early intervention or early learning councils
- Local educational agencies/school districts/local homeless liaisons
- Head Start and Early Head Start programs
- Local child care providers
- HUD Continuums of Care
- Domestic violence shelters
- Homeless coalitions
- Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies
- Home visiting programs
Pennsylvania Specific Resources
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Why am I getting this email?
OCDEL recognizes that many community based groups across the commonwealth are doing similar work and are comprised of similar team members. This newsletter can be used to help promote collaboration and awareness of others across the commonwealth. The goal is that as groups become aware of each other, events can be coordinated, resources shared and leveraged.
Check your email's in-box for future editions!
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PA's Promise for Children | www.papromiseforchildren.com
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