Happy Birthday Head Start!

On May 18, 2023, we’re celebrating 58 years of Head Start services! Join the Office of Head Start (OHS) in commemorating so many years of service to the community by sharing these graphics and posts on social media. You will find content for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Facebook Stories.

Head Start Vaccine and Testing Announcement

HHS announced that it intends to remove the regulatory requirement for vaccines in Head Start programs for Head Start staff, contractors, and volunteers, as well as the weekly testing requirement for individuals granted an exemption from the vaccine requirement. The interim final rule’s vaccine and testing requirements are not currently in effect as the result of a recent district court decision. Read more.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! 

• Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit | SAMHSA
• Promoting Staff Well-Being - ECLKC

May is National Foster Care Month!

• Pennsylvania toolkit created by ECYEH for National Foster Care Month
• Please consider participating in #WearBlueForFosterCare on Friday, May 12, 2023, and share with us on our socials! More information can be found in the toolkit linked above. 

Learning and Leading with Equity Institute

Hosted by the OHS National Center on Early Childhood Development, Teaching and Learning.

• June 6-8, 2023, Dallas Texas
• More information and registration here.

Coaching: Window with a View 

• May 2023 Newsletter: The Myth of Busyness and How it Impacts Our Presence

Resources for IECMH Consultants

• Great resources out of the Center of Excellence for IECMH Consultation! Please share them widely. Learn more.

Bright Start, Bright Kids, Bright Future

• A Focus on Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health, May 2023 Newsletter - Aggression

Building Early Links for Learning Progress During COVID

HopePHL’s Building Early Links for Learning (BELL) initiative aims to support early development and promote resilience for families with young children who stay in Philadelphia homeless shelters. The report shares their experiences during Covid. Read the report here.

Reminder!

Clarification on Keystone STARS Designation and Annual Renewal Process for HS and EHS Federal Recipients (from December 2022). Read more.

Health News from Amy Requa

Environmental Health Understanding and Training Survey

The Healthy Childcare Partnership is a group of statewide organizations involved in childcare formed in 2022 (under the EPA Children’s Healthy Learning Environments in Low Income and Minority Communities Across Philadelphia -Cooperative Agreement -GRANT NUMBER (FAIN): 96392901); who are investigating pathways for more awareness, understanding, and training about environmental hazards and how they impact kids and staff. 

To pinpoint areas of focus, the Partnership has created a Childcare Programs Environmental Health Survey. Providers should compete the survey by Friday, May 19, 2023, so the Healthy Childcare Partnership can respond directly to interests and needs for training and policies which will keep children and staff safe and healthy in and outside of childcare spaces.

Recall of Lil Anglers Children's Fishing Rods Sold with Kid Casters No Tangle Combos

Lil Anglers Children's Fishing Rods sold with Kid Casters No Tangle Combos have been recalled because they contain levels of lead that exceed the federal lead content ban, posing a lead poisoning hazard to children. The fishing rods were sold in a variety of colors, including blue, green, orange, red, and pink. They were manufactured between 2021 and March 2023 and were sold at various retailers and online at Amazon and Lil Anglers. The recall affects approximately 78,500 sold in the U.S.

More information about this recall, including specific items being recalled is available on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) CPSC’s website and LIL ANGLERS, LLC SAFETY RECALL 2023. (Links provided in the release).

Find the full PA Health Alert Network (PAHAN) Advisory here.

Find all of the publicly available 2023 PA HAN Announcements here.

PHAN – PA Health Access Network: Stronger Voices for Better Health          

PHAN offers a new 30-minute healthcare rights training that can help your organization identify issues that may violate your clients’ or members’ rights. Your organization can then refer people to PHSA for support in addressing the issue. If you are interested in training for your program or your health staff, you can fill out the form here.

Healthcare Rights addressed by PHAN are:

• Services Your Plan Agreed to Provide
• Enrollment in Programs You Qualify For
• Fast and Local Appointments
• Quality Staff and Facilities
• Reasonable Accommodations
• Freedom From Discrimination

Save The Date—School Transportation Webinar Scheduled

• Date and Time: May 24, 2023, from 12:15 pm—1:30 pm
• The Traffic Injury Prevention Project, a program at the Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, will host a School Transportation webinar: “Beyond Compartmentalization: Child Safety Restraint Systems on School Buses”
• Speaker: Denise Donaldson, CPST-I, Publisher/Editor, Safe Ride News                                           
• Moderator: Linda Kerstetter, School Bus Program Manager, School Bus Unit, PA Department of Transportation

Description: This presentation will provide an overview of the newly revised NHTSA Child Passenger Safety on School Bus National Training Course. The discussion will address the importance of preschool age children being transported in child safety restraint systems and the types of car seats and school bus specific child restraints that can be used to safely secure children on a school bus. Attendees will also learn about resources to assist student transporters in the correct selection and use of child restraints on a school bus.

Learning Objectives:

• Review the 2023 version of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Child Passenger Safety on School Buses National Training
• Discuss why certain school bus occupants may need child safety restraint systems.
• Identify child safety restraint systems that may be used for young children on school buses.
• Identify resources available to assist student transporters planning for the use of child safety restraint systems on school buses.

Registered attendees will be entered into a drawing to receive a copy of The School Bus Safety Handbook from Safe Ride News Publications

This webinar has been pre-approved for 1 CEU toward CPS recertification. Registration required for this webinar; click here to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. This program is funded by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. If you have questions, please contact aosterhuber@paaap.org.