Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL).
Message from OCDEL Deputy Secretary: Pennsylvania's COVID-19 Mitigation Strategies
Dec. 10, 2020: On Dec. 10, 2020, the Wolf Administration released the 20201210-TWW-Limited-Time-Mitigation-Order. These latest orders do not apply to child care operations. The capacity limit that is in place is intended for those entities offering in-person businesses that serve the public within a building. Child care is not considered to be a public facing business in the same way that retail business, and hospitality and entertainment are.
"groups of people who share a space within a building in the ordinary course of operations, such as in an office building, classroom, licensed child care and non-licensed school-age programs, production floor or similar regularly occurring operation of a business or organization, are not events or gatherings."
Child care must continue to follow Secretary Levine's Order for Universal Face Covering, as well as guidance issued by OCDEL.
In the future, if mitigation strategies do include child care, OCDEL will communicate immediately with staff, partners, and providers via the PA Early Ed listserv distributions.
Cultural Responsiveness PDII Training Series - Apply Now!
Dec. 11, 2020: The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), in partnership with the Pennsylvania Key, is looking for instructors to apply and train on the Cultural Responsiveness Series, to ensure equitable practices and eliminate racism throughout early childhood education (ECE) facilities across Pennsylvania. Read more.
New Online Portal to Report COVID-19 Act 24 Funds
Dec. 9, 2020: An online portal--the DHS CARES Act Funding Tracking Tool--launched for OCDEL providers to submit final costs of Act 24 of 2020 funding. The due date for submission of the required Final Report was extended to Dec. 31, 2020. Watch the video regarding the CARES Act Reporting Requirements for Child Care. Read more.
Updated Quarantine Recommendations for Persons Exposed to COVID-19
Dec. 8, 2020: Available is an Updated Quarantine Recommendations for Persons Exposed to COVID-19 Health Alert Network (HAN) from the Pennsylvania Department of Health. The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) will quickly work to update previously issued guidance documents to align with this HAN. They will be distributed via the listserv and posted online.
Implementation Delay with New Regulations
There has been a delay in publication of the regulations and OCDEL will not begin implementing the new regulations until December 19, 2020. Early child care educators are encouraged to review the child care regulations training for providers.The certification staff are still available for questions and additional tools and resources are being developed that will support the regulatory changes. Act 62 (relating to fire safety) implementation date remains the same (December 11, 2020).
