On April 20, 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development released the Announcement ELRC 22-02 Child Care Technology Access Award. This Announcement shares info about the Child Care Technology Access Award for the purchase of certain identified tools aimed at increasing technology access and supporting business practices and enhance classroom activities. The Child Care Technology Access Award will allow eligible DHS certified child care providers to choose technology tools from the pre-determined list.

DHS certified child care programs who feel they are eligible but have not received an email from [email protected], should first check their spam/junk email inboxes to make sure the email did not get sent there. If upon checking those inboxes, the email from Kaplan has not been received, programs should contact Kaplan at 1-800-334-2014. To inquire about eligibility status, email OCDEL at [email protected].

On April 19, 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development and Bureau of Certification Services released the Announcement C-22-04 Updated Emergency Preparedness and Response Planning Regulations and Requirements for Child Care Facilities.

This Announcement updates policy on federal requirements for Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and the expectation for all certified child care facilities operating under 55 Pa. Code Chapters § 3270, § 3280, and § 3290 for compliance.

Emergency Plan Submissions, City of Philadelphia Only: Please submit any emergency plan updates to the Office of Emergency Management at [email protected].

On April 20, 2022, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) announced a competitive Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts (PA PKC) Request for Applications (RFA). 

This RFA is intended to support providers in preparing to serve and enroll children by September 2022. The RFA is being released in April 2022 to give providers time to conduct outreach to families; recruit, hire and train staff; and plan for implementing the program pending grant approval.

Applicants must submit Letters of Intent to [email protected] by 3 PM on May 11, 2022. Only applicants that submit a complete Letter of Intent by the deadline will be permitted to apply for funding.