January 2024 Edition

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As we welcome 2024, I want to take the time to thank those who the work each and every day on behalf of the Commonwealth’s children, families and early learning professionals. Every day brings challenges, yet you all continue to show up for Pennsylvania’s children and families.

As the OCDEL Deputy Secretary, I appreciate every person who has provided professional care, safety and supportive learning environments to the Commonwealth's young children and their families, and to those who have contributed efforts in getting resources and supports into the hands of families and providers. I see so many of you working collaboratively to create policies and regulations, and supports and services, while ensuring the health, safety and education for all of those in care. Your work and efforts do not go unrecognized! 

It is an honor to work beside so many dedicated Pennsylvania professionals to ensure our children and families have safe and reliable early learning opportunities. Throughout November and December 2023, OCDEL co-hosted listening sessions with the Start Strong campaign. I remain committed to hearing from early learning professionals and families, and providing opportunities to hear feedback and have honest conversations. As we move forward into the New Year, I want to wish you all the very best 2024! 

Respectfully,

Shante’ A. Brown, OCDEL Deputy Secretary

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) received the Year Two Non-Compete Continuation Grant (NCC) for the year Dec. 31, 2023, through Dec. 30, 2024. Year Two of the Preschool Development Birth Through Five Renewal Grant (PDG-R) will continue to build upon the Year One grant which ended December 2023. OCDEL is the primary recipient of the $16 million renewal grant in direct partnership with the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Department of Human Services.

OCDEL will use PDG-R funds to implement policy and supports based on the updated needs assessment, continue to create marketing materials in other languages to support compulsory school attendance, provide additional early childhood mental health supports for both families and staff, enhance the PD Registry, expand the coaching model for early childhood education staff, provide training and resources to support families and children experiencing homelessness, and mini-grants to early learning providers to help expand facilities in child care desert, quality deserts, and continued funding for RRT (Rapid Response Teams) throughout the Commonwealth. Learn more.

The Division for Early Childhood (DEC) hosted it’s 39th Annual International Conference on young children with disabilities in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Nov. 28 – Dec. 1, 2023. The conference brought together families, individuals employed in early intervention and early childhood special education settings, instructors from higher education, researchers, individuals employed with State and federal programs, such as state Part C and the federal Office of Special Education Programs, etc.

Pennsylvania was represented at the Conference in numerous ways, sharing strategies and evidence-based practices implemented to support Pennsylvania’s children in Early Childhood programs and their families. OCDEL through Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) and Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) Project provided five family leaders with scholarships, resulting in Pennsylvania being the state with the most representation from families. Three sessions were presented at the conference by representatives from EITA, ECCS, and Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania, along with two family leaders. 

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and the Pennsylvania Key, along with the University of Massachusetts, are offering Family Child Care providers a FREE Leadership Development Training Series.

The 30-hour training session will be conducted through attending an online or hybrid cohort. The cohort will meet from mid-January until May. 

Training sessions will be held on evenings or Saturdays to accommodate the Family Child Care provider’s busy schedule. It is a chance to recognize and develop leadership skills, while making positive changes in the community and the field of Early Childhood Education. See the flyer for additional information.

To register for this training by the Jan. 5 deadline, click here, or contact Janine Pagano at janpag@pakeys.org, 724-761-0801 with questions. Once the registration process is closed, participants will receive their cohort meeting schedule and orientation date. 

There's still time to register for the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) series of four no-cost webinars on language and literacy development including information on structured literacy. The webinars will provide resources to share with families and use in classrooms and centers and will be offered for FREE from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm on the dates listed below:

• February 2, 2024: Let’s Chat About: Talking with Young Children
• February 16, 2024: Let’s Chat About: Bringing the Read Aloud to Life
• March 1, 2024: Let’s Chat About: Sounds Abound – Phonological Fun!
• March 15, 2024: Let’s Chat About: Emergent Writing and Print All Around Us

PQAS credit hours, Infant Toddler hours, and ACT48 hours available for these webinars. Get additional information on topics, credits and registration. 

Register now for upcoming virtual CDA Office Hour event for CDA candidates on February 14! Office Hours are a place to bring questions about requirements and completion about the CDA in Pennsylvania. Participation is free, but registration is required.

• Tuesday, February 14, 2024, 1-2 PM
• Tuesday, May 14, 2024, 1-2 PM

Any questions can be directed to Amy Barrett at amybar@pakeys.org.

• Feb. 2: Child, Adolescent, and Transition Age Youth Mental Health Conference, Pittsburgh
• February 19: UnConference: Mental Health in Early Childhood Education, Pittsburgh
• March 15-18: Growing School Gardens Summit, San Diego
• March 25-26: OCDEL Early Childhood Conference, Stable and Secure: Supporting Children Through Trauma Sensitive Approaches, Hershey, PA
• April 9-11: 16th National Conference for Immunization Coalitions and Partnerships, Philadelphia
• April 15-18: National Head Start Conference, Portland, Oregon
• April 22-24: 21st Children’s Interagency Conference, State College
• May 7-9: Save the date: 2024 PA Strengthening Families Conference, State College
• June 24-29: National Research Conference on Early Childhood 2024, Arlington, VA
• Sept. 17-20: Save the date: DEC2024 Conference, New Orleans
• Nov. 6-9: National Association for the Education of Young Children Conference, Anaheim, CA

Through the 2024-2029 DHS Housing Strategy feedback survey, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking input about housing success stories, needs, and challenges across the Commonwealth. Your input will help the Housing Strategy team develop an actionable strategic plan. Please share this information with families and access the feedback survey link. The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

The DHS project aims to develop an actionable strategic plan that includes policy recommendations and measurable goals to meet the housing needs across the Commonwealth. Please visit the DHS Housing webpage for additional information, and send any questions to the DHS Housing Strategy resource account at PADHSHousingStrategy@deloitte.com. 

At the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission’s (ELIC) 2023 Annual Meeting on Dec. 13, 2023, Governor Josh Shapiro signed Executive Order 2023-22 reinvigorating the ELIC under his Administration to continue the public-private partnership that brings together leaders to make recommendations and policy for early learning.

Under this Executive Order, Governor Shapiro will appoint and direct a diverse group of business leaders, entrepreneurs, and stakeholders to work with senior leaders in his Administration to develop a comprehensive strategic plan to create a sustainable pipeline of childcare workers, ensure the availability of universal pre-K to all children, and expand all-day kindergarten throughout the Commonwealth. Read more.

The U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) recently released a joint policy statement on the inclusion of children with disabilities in early childhood programs. This policy statement builds upon the earlier 2015 policy statement with renewed commitment and urgency as children with disabilities continue to face significant barriers accessing and participating in inclusive early childhood programs. All young children with disabilities should have access to inclusive, high-quality early childhood programs that provide individualized and appropriate support so they can fully participate alongside their peers without disabilities. 

Highlights of the joint policy statement include: 

• An expanded definition of inclusion in early childhood programs 
• Increased focus on children’s full and effective participation in a program’s learning activities and experiences 
• Strategies to address racial and economic disparities in access to inclusive settings 
• Alignment of state and local recommendations and exemplars with national Indicators of High-quality Inclusion 
• Updated resources and state and local exemplars of inclusion 

In October 2023, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences published a study revealing that the Americans who are the most at risk of eviction are babies and toddlers, and that children under the age of 5 make up the largest group by age of people whose households have had an eviction action filed against them. These findings are consistent with data showing that the person who is the most likely to stay in a homeless shelter in the U.S. is an infant under the age of one.

Despite the disproportionate risks of homelessness faced by infants, toddlers, and pre-school age children, and the harmful impact of homelessness on their health, development, and future learning, these young children are invisible to the public, policymakers, and all too often, even to the early childhood programs that could mitigate the impact of homelessness on child development and connect families to housing and services.

To learn more about the strategies that School House Connection has implemented to respond to the challenges above, read their 2023 Year in Review.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) newly released Early Care and Education (ECE) State Indicator Report 2023 presents information about what States are doing to promote healthy growth and prevent obesity in early childhood education (ECE) settings. The report describes state-level policies and activities where States have incorporated the Spectrum of Opportunities to improve nutrition, physical activity, breastfeeding support, and reduced screen time in the ECE setting. Some key findings include that 43 States reported supporting Farm to ECE activities through State or local activities and 34 States supported CACFP meal patterns through center-based licensing regulations.  

The report includes highlights of the Pennsylvania Department of Health's training program for TA providers through the Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRC), and the professional development training for ECE professionals that addressed healthy practices in infant feeding.

The January releases of family-friendly newsletters for families and providers of children, ages birth to Kindergarten are now available. The newsletters feature fun early learning activities that align with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards, resources and information to help families as their child's first and most important teacher.

Take a look and share with families and friends, then subscribe to get the next release directly into your inbox.

• Learning is Everywhere
• Kindergarten Here I Come
• Kindergarten Here I Am

Kick off the new year with ideas on creative early learning activities for young children in the early childhood setting, and ways to engage families as their child learns. The January Calendar of Activities for Early Learning Professionals has suggestions throughout the month. Learn more.

Did you know family-friendly resources are available to share for families needing information about Early Intervention Supports and Services? Share with families the Family section on the Early Intervention Technical Assistance website for information to share about facts for families, family engagement for grandparents, families and educators building relationships, and more. While there, take a look at the EITA podcast and the EITA mobile app.

The December resources from Camille Catlett are now available. The December edition of Baby Talk features information on secure attachment, early brain development mapped, and more. The December edition of Natural Resources contains information on an overview of child care and early learning in the United States, state-level date for understanding child welfare, and more

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