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The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning supports families and their children from prenatal through school age by using data, research and stakeholder guidance to assure high quality services.
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Early Education in Pennsylvania
Message from Suzann Morris, Deputy Secretary
Around the state, summer has kicked off as a busy one!
I had the honor of joining Pennsylvania Department of Education Executive Deputy Secretary David Volkman at the June 16 Schools That Teach press event held at Keystone STAR 4 Hansel and Gretel Early Learning Center in Harrisburg to call for support for Gov. Wolf's proposed investment in early childhood education. While there, we heard from Ana, a mom of three, who shared the impact of being on the wait list for Child Care Works.
If you are an early learning professional, we hope you will take the time this summer to take
the free online training for nine of the 10 required topics for child care staff. This will help you meet one of the new requirements of the federal Child Care Development Block Grant. This training is available at no cost and will help keep you--and Pennsylvania--in compliance.
Have warm and safe summer.
Pennsylvania Budget Update
On June 30, the PA legislature sent Governor Wolf a spending bill for the FY state 17-18 budget, which includes a $20 million increase to Child Care Services, a $5 million increase to evidence-based Home Visiting, and a $30 million increase to Pre-K. A revenue package to pay for the budget has yet to be agreed upon. If Governor Wolf does not sign the spending plan by July 10, the bill will become law. Watch your email for a Special Announcement with additional details once they're available!
OCDEL Announcements Further Support Quality Early Learning for PA Children and Families
The PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning has released two new Announcements:
The OCDEL Inclusion Announcement is in response to the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) policy statement recommending that states develop policies and practices to increase the inclusion of infants, toddlers, and preschool children with disabilities in high-quality early childhood programs.
The OCDEL Suspension & Expulsion Announcement is in response to the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) policy statement recommending that states develop policies and practices to significantly limit the practice of expulsion and suspension of young children due to challenging behaviors in all early childhood programs.
These Announcements connect deeply with the shared values and vision across OCDEL programs and initiatives. Each Announcement provides guidance to OCDEL programs regarding strategies, how to support families and children, and next steps to be taken at the local and state levels. Also available is a timeline that can help early learning staff plan how they can support the families, children and staff in their program.
Apply now for the 2017-18 OCDEL Policy Fellowship
Application deadline August 5
Applications for the 2017-18 OCDEL Policy Fellowship are open! The OCDEL Policy Fellowship is a great opportunity to learn more about state and federal policy, as well as grow your professional network and gain leadership. An approximately 20-hour per month commitment, you will have the opportunity to contribute directly to the work of OCDEL as you attend monthly cohort meetings in Harrisburg and participate in a variety of meetings and activities at a placement site. Applications and information are available online at www.paocdelfellows.net. All emerging leaders in early learning are encouraged to apply by August 5! Contact Gina Federico at [email protected] with any questions.
Now Available: New STARS Performance Standards and the Keystone STARS Manual
For more than a year, OCDEL has worked with the Keystone STARS Think Tank and stakeholders to revise the Keystone STARS system to support continuous quality improvement in early care and education programs while reducing administrative burden. Check out the PA Key website for resources needed to learn about Keystone STARS Revisioning.
- Keystone STARS Performance Standards
- Keystone STARS Program Manual
- Getting to Know the New Keystone STARS Webinar Recording - June 2017
 Request for Proposal (RFP) 30-16, Early Learning Resource Centers
RFP
Deadline August 28, 2017
The Department of Human Services has posted the following Solicitation 30-16 seeking Offerors to provide the leadership, management, and administration of the regional Early Learning Resource Centers. All inquiries should be directed to the email account listed in the materials on eMarketplace. No telephone calls will be accepted.
View the bid online at eMarketplace. Public bid openings consist of a Commonwealth procurement representative electronically accessing or opening (if paper) timely received bids. The representative announces the suppliers whose bids were timely received and the total bid amount to those present at the bid opening except where it is deemed unreasonable to read the bid amount due to complexity or large number of line items. Suppliers are not permitted to review bids at the opening. The bid tabulation will be posted to www.eMarketplace.state.pa.us as soon as practicable after the opening. Awarded contracts are posted to eMarketplace after they become fully executed.
Pennsylvania's Early Intervention Helping Children Make Progress
Nearly 90% of preschoolers who received Early Intervention services increased their use of appropriate behaviors to meet needs, according to the recent release of the Pennsylvania State Interagency Coordinating Council for Early Intervention Annual Report. Nearly 80% of infants and toddlers showed an increase in the same category. This percentage is based on the change in growth noted by comparing progress data gathered at their entry to and exit from the Early Intervention program. Figures for the development of positive social relationship skills and acquisition, and use of knowledge and skills for infants, toddlers and preschoolers also showed significant increases, the report states. Providing Early Intervention can help close the developmental gap, may require less or no support for children in the future, and may enable the children to function more independently in school and the community.
There are 90,690 Pennsylvania children, age birth to five years served by Early Intervention, with the majority (73%) of infants and toddlers receiving services in their home and community. Nearly 40% of the preschool aged children (3-5 years) receiving Early Intervention supports and services do so in an early learning program.
In mid-June, Cecilia Lee, co-chair of the State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC), and her children, Isabelle and Alex, and Kurt Kondrich and his daughter Chloe, delivered the annual SICC report to the Pennsylvania legislature in Harrisburg.
Federal Improper Payments Review: PA Maintains Lowest Error Rates
Since 2010, Pennsylvania has been among the first cohort of states to participate in the federal Office of Child Care's Improper Payments Review to monitor states' accuracy in determining eligibility and paying for child care using Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) funds. States are obligated to participate every three federal fiscal years. Federal fiscal year (FFY) 2016 (October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016) marked the third cycle for Pennsylvania for this review. Pennsylvania has maintained one of the lowest payment error rates in the country.
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue and OCDEL Partnership
Since 2008, The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has partnered with the Department of Revenue to ensure tax obligation compliance for Keystone STARS entities and providers. Although this is not a new process, recent changes from a manual process to an automated and proactive compliance check has increased efficiency and outreach.
The goals of the new process are to:
- Notify Keystone STARS providers via a letter from the Department of Revenue about the tax noncompliance issue.
- Allow providers to work directly with Revenue to resolve these issues.
- Prevent tax non-compliance issues from becoming tax liens/liabilities.
- Prevent Keystone STARS providers from being suspended from STARS due to state tax liens/liabilities.
Since this is a time sensitive process, a final part of the process will include Regional Keys reaching out to Keystone STARS providers, identified by Revenue as non-compliant
,
to encourage them to quickly contact Revenue to resolve the issue.
Entities and providers with questions should contact:
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue,
Bureau of Compliance
4th and Walnut Street
Harrisburg, PA 17128
Phone Number (717) 787-3911 Option 5
Infant-Early Childhood Mental Health Competency Survey
Deadline August 15, 2017
The Pennsylvania Association for Infant Mental Health (PA-AIMH), with support from the Pennsylvania Project LAUNCH Partnership, will be implementing the Competency Guidelines for Endorsement in Culturally Sensitive, Relationship-Focused Practice Promoting Infant Mental Health®, developed by the Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health (MI-AIMH). An endorsement in infant/early mental health (I/ECMH) is a verifiable process that supports the development and acknowledgement of infant and early childhood professionals, within a framework that recognizes knowledge, training, and criteria for best practice standards. It is not a license or certification, but instead is an overlay onto a person's professional credentials which recognizes achievement of competence in the area of I/ECMH.
PA-AIMH has developed a short survey for ALL professionals who work with or support children birth to age 6 and their families across our service systems. Responses are being sought from early care and education, home visitation, early intervention, physical health, behavioral health, child welfare, higher education, and any other system partner/ professional.
The survey will assist PA-AIMH in making data based decisions related to the development of resources, cross-system relationships, and professional development activities to support the field. Click here to take the survey before August 15. For more information about PA-AIMH, please go to www.pa-aimh.org.
Counting down for Child Care Providers to complete the free Health & Safety online training to meet September 30 deadline
Time is counting down to sign up for the free online training for nine of the 10 required topics for child care staff to help meet the new health and safety training requirements! The requirement includes taking a free, six-hour "Health & Safety Basics: Requirements for Certification" course online through Better Kid Care or in person through their Regional Key or Provide transcript of courses you've taken that meet the requirements This is one of the new requirements of the federal Child Care Development Block Grant that all child care directors and staff are to complete training on 10 health and safety topics by September 30, 2017. Please see OCDEL's Announcement for more information.
Child care certification representatives are checking professional development records for completion of these topics as part of inspections and new providers must complete pre-service training on the 10 topics before submitting an application. Visit the PA Key website or contact your Regional Certification Office for more details.
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Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge
Phase II grantees find success utilizing a program developed by a Phase I grantee
In the Phase I Community Innovation Zone
roll out
, the Pittsburgh Association for the Education of Young Children (PAEYC) proposed the use of a new technology strategy in their community. Message from Me provides a technological means of visual and verbal communication with family members for their children. Children use Message from Me to take a photo and record a message and then send that to a registered adult. Educators receive specially designed professional development technology and its effective use, as well as technical support.
In their evaluation of the program, PAEYC found families used the messages received from their child's teacher to engage their child in conversations about their message or what they were learning in school. Families also report their children's excitement about their own school and later going to kindergarten has increased. Additionally, families report feeling more connected to their child's school. Upwards of 33% of families report completing an activity suggested by the teacher.
Read how two of the Phase II CIZ grantees have adopted this strategy with great success in the July 2017 CIZ Update.
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Of Interest
Mini-Grant Opportunity from PA NAP SACC
Deadline August 18
A new grant opportunity helps Licensed Child Care Centers, Group, and Family Child Care Homes serving children birth - five make a pivotal difference in their lives by helping them form positive nutrition and physical activity habits while in their care. Apply now for the PA Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (PA NAP SACC), an interactive, easy-to-use online tool that provides professional development for child care providers. This completely web-based process includes self-assessment, action planning, implementation, policy development, post-self assessment, and reflection. The implementation process includes free, online professional development opportunities in CBK knowledge area 7 (K7): Health, Safety and Nutrition. For more information, see the full announcement or preview the application questions.
ECE Summit Scholarships Available
Application deadline August 25
With support from the PA Department of Human Services (DHS), Office of Child Development & Early Learning (OCDEL), the Summit is offering scholarship to support staff working in DHS regulated child care programs--center, group and family to attend the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Summit. Additionally, staff from the 32 state-funded Family Centers are also eligible to apply for scholarships to the ECE Summit.
The 2017 ECE Summit, held October 16-18, 2017 at the Penn Stater Conference Center, State College, PA provides early care and education practitioners, parents and advocates an opportunity to dialog and learn while building a stronger early learning community.
Scholarships will be awarded with consideration given to geography, availability of funds, and financial need. Apply for an ECE Summit Scholarship here. Applications must be submitted by August 25, 2017. Applicants will be notified of their status by September 18. For questions about the scholarship, contact Maureen Murphy at 717-657-9000 or [email protected].
PA Department of Health Mandatory Immunization Law: Are Children in Your Program Up-to-Date?
Children entering elementary school in August or turning five years of age in early learning programs after August 1 must have required vaccines or risk exclusion. Review the link to 28 Pa. Code, Chapter 23, Subchapter C new Dept. of Health immunization regulations.
Families, health care providers, early childhood programs and school districts MUST work together to ensure children meet these requirements. The Department of Human Services (DHS) Child Care Facility Regulations require that an enrolled child's health report include a review of the child's immunization status according to the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. As programs prepare for fall enrollment, now is a good time to make sure all children are up-to-date with immunizations.
Resources to share with families:
Contact the Department of Health, Division of immunizations, for questions related to the new law at 877-PA Health or 717-787-5681.
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Federal News
ED Regulatory Reform Task Force Progress Report and a Request for Comments
Comments due August 21, 2017
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos released a
statement on the Department's Regulatory Reform Task Force's
first progress report as required by President Donald Trump's
Executive Order 13777. The Department has also published a
Federal Register notice to provide members of the public the opportunity to submit comments concerning regulations and policy guidance they recommend the Department repeal, replace or modify.
- The Department's regulations are codified in subtitles A and B of title 34 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), which are available in electronic format at the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR) Website:
Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS) Guidance Documents Office of Special Education Program (OSEP) Policy Guidance Documents:
Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) Policy Guidance Documents:
Comments must be received no later than August 21, 2017.
The Department requests that commenters be as specific as possible by:
Providing a Federal Register (FR) or CFR citation when referencing a specific regulation or, where practicable, a link when referencing a particular guidance document;
- including any supporting data or other applicable information;
- providing specific suggestions regarding repeal, replacement, or modification; and
- explaining with specificity why the referenced regulation or guidance should be repealed, replaced, or modified.
- Wherever possible, please list the citations to the specific regulatory sections or titles of guidance documents to which your comments pertain in a subject line or otherwise at the beginning of your comments. The Department is particularly interested in regulatory provisions that you find unduly costly or unnecessarily burdensome. Although there will not be a respond to individual comments, the Department values public feedback and will give careful consideration to all input that is received. Individual program offices of the Department will also be conducting outreach on this same topic.
Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. The Department will not accept comments by fax or email. To ensure they do not receive duplicate copies, please submit your comments only once. In addition, please include the Docket ID [ED-2017-OS-0074] at the top of your comments.
Go to
www.regulations.gov
to submit your comments electronically. Information on using Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents, submitting comments, and viewing the docket is available on the site under the ''Help'' tab.
If you mail or deliver your comments in response to this request, address them to:
Hilary Malawer
400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Room 6E231
Washington, DC 20202
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Trends and Reports
Local Experience: English Learners Becoming Proficient
The latest report,
Finding Their Stride: Kindergarten English Learners and Time to Proficiency in the School District of Philadelphia, from Philadelphia Education Research Consortium (PERC) provides evidence on the progress toward English proficiency of English learners (ELs) who entered the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) in kindergarten during 2008-09 through 2011-12. The study finds that nearly 60% of Kindergarten ELs who entered the SDP during that time frame achieved English proficiency within four years, or by the end of third grade. And, while reading, speaking and listening comprehension improved, writing remained a particular challenge. Read more about the progress to English proficiency of Philadelphia's ELs and the policy and practice implications that stem from this research.
Snapshot of America's Children & Families
The Annie E. Casey Foundation recently released the 2017 KIDS COUNT® Data Book, a report which provides an annual snapshot of how America's children and families are faring in every state and across the nation. The indicators tracked within the report reflect a range of milestones and supportive conditions that young people need to succeed as adults. In a state-to-state comparison of overall child well-being, Pennsylvania ranked 18.
- 54% of young Pennsylvania children are not in school (2013-15), an increase from 50% in 2009-11, and higher than the 53% nationwide.
- 19% of Pennsylvania children live in poverty, unchanged since 2010, less than 21% nationwide.
- 12% of children live in high poverty areas, an increase from 11% in 2010, but less than the 14% nationwide.
STEM Education Starts in Early Childhood
The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop and New America issued the study, STEM Starts Early, after directing educator focus groups and conducting an extensive literature review. A key takeaway for parents, educators and policy-makers is that "early STEM experiences predict later academic outcomes better than early reading skills," according to McClure. The report calls for integrating STEM concepts into literacy instruction and vice versa, as the subjects reinforce one another, particularly at an early age.
Continuous Quality Improvement in Early Childhood and School Age Programs: An Update from the Field
The BUILD Initiative Community of Practice (CoP) on Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) brought professionals together from early childhood education and out-of-school time to engage in exploring models and applications of CQI. This paper, Continuous Quality Improvement in Early Childhood and School Age Programs: An Update from the Field, provides a summary of the discussions and key questions the CoP addressed from November 2016 through April 2017. For the purpose of contributing to the incorporation of CQI into quality improvement efforts in ECE and out-of-school time programs and systems, this paper offers the group's findings, resources that were shared, and questions for further examination. Check out the resources on the Community of Practice Landing Pad.
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Resources
Ahora disponible en español!
The popular early learning resource, Be Your Child's Champion, from PA's Promise for Children is now available in Spanish. Be Your Child's Champion helps families through four parts of communicating on behalf of their child, and includes prompts and worksheets families can use before, during and after a difficult conversation. This resource joins other early learning resources in Spanish available from PA's Promise for Children. It is also available in English.
New Resources for Social Emotional Development
You know that supporting a child's social emotional development, especially learning to manage behavior, is so important for everyone involved with young children. Need more resources to share with families and caregivers? Head to the PA Early Intervention and Technical Assistance website to find new and updated information.
June Edition of Baby Talk
The June edition of Baby Talk from Camille Catlett is now available. Find articles and resources on mothers and infants connect through song, 14 steps for supporting toddlers to develop social intelligence, the link between autism and extra cerebrospinal fluid, and more.
ALDI Smart Kids Program
This program makes $100-$5K grants to organizations that promote kids being healthy and active in the geographical areas where ALDI stores are located. Applications are open Feb. 1 - Dec. 15 of each year on a rolling basis. Learn more and apply.
Video: Getting it Right for Our Babies
A video from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment to help people understand the challenges facing families, babies, and the teachers that work with them. Through the story of baby Eva, her parents who need care for her while they work, and infant/toddler teachers Nora and Carmen, we discover a broken system that needs our immediate attention. Getting it Right for Our Babies presents three key strategies to right this situation in the United States: paid parental leave; affordable, quality child care; and investment in teachers.
Summer School
Farm to school activities are a great addition to summer school programming. Take a field trip to a farmers market. Harvest snacks from the school garden. Use local produce to teach a cooking lesson. Explore more activity ideas in the National Farm to School Network resource database.
Video Shows How To Support ECE
A new video, Enhancing Reflection, Relationships, and Respect, from New Mexico PreK illustrates how the New Mexico (NM) PreK Video-Based Consultation Project has been using video and coaching to support early childhood educators in enhancing relationships, reflection, and respect in their classrooms. The NM PreK Video-Based Consultation Project supports teachers and other service providers to learn new skills, participate in ongoing professional development, and engage in reflective practice and Continuous Quality Improvement.
Summer Food Service Program
The Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) from the USDA provides free meals to children from low income families so they may receive the same high quality nutrition throughout the summer that they eat in school cafeterias during the school year. To find a SFSP site in your community:
Seize the Summer
Beginning on July 5 and running through August 4, celebrate "Seize the Summer" with Read Aloud 15 Minutes, a non-profit organization that recognizes the benefits of reading aloud to children and encourages families and caregivers to read aloud every day for at least 15 minutes. At readaloud.org new materials and resources have been added for you to share with others in order to inspire reading every day. There are also a variety of items available to download in the Partner Toolkit.
Online Vaccine Quiz
An
online quiz from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guides families through brief questions and responses to identify needed vaccines to keep their child birth to 18 years old healthy and ready for school. Families will get a list of vaccines based on their responses in the quiz. They can then discuss the vaccines on the list with their child's doctor or health care professional.
New Resources From the SCBC Infant/Toddler Specialist Network
The Child Care State Capacity Building Center (SCBC) has released several new resources that support policies and practices to increase the supply of high-quality infant and toddler child care. All these resources are now available in the
Infant/Toddler Resource Guide.
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The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) provides families access to high quality services to prepare children for school and life success.
Find more information about Quality Early Learning in Pennsylvania
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The Pennsylvania Early Childhood Education News is a project of the Pennsylvania Build Initiative and the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Human Services to inform early learning professionals, the early childhood community, policymakers, community leaders and the public on developments in early childhood education and care in Pennsylvania.
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