Congratulations to Dr. Khalid N. Mumin, who was confirmed as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Education on June 26, 2023, and to Val Arkoosh, MD, MPH, who officially became Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) on June 29, 2023.

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is jointly overseen by the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education. Learn more about OCDEL.

On June 16, 2023, the Department of Human Services’ Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) released the 2022 Market Rate Survey (MRS) Report, which assesses costs of care incurred by child care providers and payments made by families in care. The survey is used to set base reimbursement rates for Child Care Works (CCW), Pennsylvania’s subsidized childcare program. This new data reflects the challenging operating environment that childcare providers have navigated through the pandemic and accompanying economic challenges. Read more.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) and the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) have put together a survey to gain an understanding of the insurance market for both foster care and childcare providers. Both Departments have heard about difficulties experienced by providers in finding insurance coverage coupled with the rising cost of insurance for foster care and childcare. The responses from this survey will help both PID and DHS understand availability and affordability within the insurance market and assist in determining what next steps to take.

Please note that individual responses will be confidential, and that only deidentified/aggregated data would be shared. Please complete the survey on or before Monday, July 31, 2023. Learn more and read the letter of request from DHS Acting Secretary Arkoosh and PID Acting Commissioner Humphreys.

The Competence and Confidence Partners in Policymaking Early Intervention (C2P2 EI) Cohort is an exciting opportunity for families of children who are currently receiving Early Intervention Infant/Toddler and/or Preschool services. C2P2 EI is a free leadership development program and is offered over a series of eight sessions (Four two-day in person sessions and four virtual sessions.) Applicants must commit to participating in all eight sessions.

Applications will be accepted through Aug. 11, 2023. The program will begin at the end of September and run through May 2024. The in-person sessions will be held at the DoubleTree Conference Center in Lancaster. Expenses, including lodging costs, mileage and childcare reimbursement will be provided to participants.

Please disseminate this flyer widely to all families. Questions related to the program can be directed to Sarah Holland at sholland@parenttoparent.org. This program is funded by the Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Bureau of Early Intervention and Family Supports, with support from Temple Institute on Disabilities.

Pennsylvania preschool programs are invited to join an exciting research opportunity to improve the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale, Third Edition (ECERS-3). The Pennsylvania Key PQA Team is supporting researchers at the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill examine the widely used program observation instrument, ECERS-3. The ECERS-3 is a global quality assessment used in classrooms serving children ages 3-5 years and is currently a resource used in the quality improvement systems of thirty states. This study examines how the measure considers the experiences of racially, culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse preschool groups.

Although all center-based programs serving 3–5-year-olds are invited to participate, programs in the Delaware Valley, the Lehigh Valley, and in York, Berks, and Lancaster counties are prioritized. Space is limited to participate with this research opportunity.

Those who would like to participate, or who have questions, should contact Rachel Kaplan, Pennsylvania’s primary contact for this research project, at Rachel.kaplan@unc.edu or 919-259-6235. 

In an effort to communicate timely updates to the OCDEL-approved listings of Curricula and Developmental Assessment Tools, OCDEL is announcing that Teaching Strategies: The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, 6^th Edition; The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, Guided Edition is now approved for use in all state-funded early learning programs, including Keystone STARS programs; Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts; and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs, effective immediately.

In addition, programs should take note that Teaching Strategies: The Creative Curriculum® for Preschool, 5^th Edition will be sunset on June 30, 2024. 

Keystone STARS Programs should refer to ELRC Announcement 22 #07-OCDEL-Approved Developmental Assessment and Curriculum Tools in Keystone STARS-FINAL for more information on expectations for using OCDEL Approved tools in Keystone STARS. All state-funded programs are encouraged to reference the most up-to-date list of OCDEL approved curricula on the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s website here and the most up-to-date list of OCDEL approved developmental assessment tools on the Pennsylvania Key website here. 

The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is making these detectors available to certified child care providers, but the ordering and placement of detectors is not a regulatory requirement. Certified child care providers should have received an email from School Health on Wednesday, March 1, 2023, with directions. See the original release for more details. 

2024

In the fourth episode of the podcast, I Will Be Your Voice: Stories of Homelessness and Hope, one of Pennsylvania's Pennsylvania Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness (ECYEH) program regional coordinators, Sonia Pitzi, shares the origin of the I Will Be Your Voice campaign and the importance of elevating the voices and stories of students experiencing homelessness.

In partnership with Pennsylvania ECYEH, has joined Center for Schools and Communities staff Melissa Turnpaugh and Matthew Butensky as they interview state and national experts, homeless liaisons, service providers, and those experiencing homelessness. These conversations dive deeper into resources, partnerships and best practices that help these children and youth thrive in school and life.

Also available are the Introduction; Episode 1 - Replenish & Keep Growing to Advocate for Students Experiencing Homelessness; Episode 2 - Learn About the Finding Your Way in PA App; and Episode 3 - SchoolHouse Connection. Listen today!

The field of early intervention and early childhood special education (EI/ECSE) should be grounded in social justice, with an ongoing commitment to the pursuit of equity for young children with disabilities and their families. However, the field is steeped in a deficit model of disability and centers norms based on White, monolingual, non-disabled, and middle-class children and families. The Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (DEC) shares the work happening across levels within DEC and engages in re-imagining what the EI/ECSE field could look like with an inclusion, equity, and social justice mind-set. Learn more.

Sadia Batool, Early Childhood Family Lead for Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning, is a co-author of the paper.

Young children who are Black, Latine, and Indigenous experience structural racism that may affect their access to the experiences that foster healthy early development (e.g., nurturing caregiving and enriching environments). A new Child Trends brief explores the ways in which practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can enhance Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation’s (IECMHC) potential to promote equitable environments and experiences for young Black, Latine, and Indigenous children in early care and education settings.

A recent NIEER survey finds that overall preschool participation rates in Fall 2022 had nearly returned to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. However, rates lagged for low-income families, likely increasing unequal access by income. This nationally representative survey, funded by the PNC Foundation, also found that 41 percent of parents whose children were not in preschool in the Fall of 2022 attributed one reason to cost and lack of affordable options. Learn more.

Early childhood education and care (ECEC) in the US includes a wide range of part-day, full-school-day, and full-work-day programs, under educational, social welfare, and commercial auspices, funded and delivered in a variety of ways in both the public and the private sectors, designed sometimes with an emphasis on the “care” component of ECEC and at other times with stress on “education” or with equal attention to both. Although ECEC scholars and advocates are increasingly convinced of the need to integrate all these program types, categorical funding coupled with diverse societal values continue to support the differences. The result is a fragmented ECEC system, of wide-ranging quality and with skewed access, but with some movement in recent years toward the integration of early childhood education and care. Learn more.

The July 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.

During July, the virtual Summer Learning and Literacy Road Trip is exploring libraries and state parks! Join in the fun with activities, read books, and learn about Pennsylvania's outdoors. The activities can be done in the home, early learning program, the community, or anywhere that fits a family's needs. Visit a local library to explore new books with a child, then visit a park or outside area to learn about the outdoors. Download the resources like the Summer Learning and Literacy Road Trip Travel Journal, Summer Learning and Literacy Road Trip Book Bingo, or Bird Behavior Tic-Tac-Toe- and start learning and having fun!

Did you know all pages on the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) are translated into Spanish? Use the Español button at the top right corner of every page to seamlessly switch to the Spanish translation. The button supports Spanish-speaking staff and families to navigate the entire ECLKC comfortably in their native language. It also allows monolingual or bilingual staff members to find translations of resources easily. Watch this short video, available in English and Spanish, that showcases the use and benefits of the Español button, and share the flyer.

What is background knowledge, and why is it so important for reading comprehension and motivation? In this introduction from Reading Rockets, discover simple, everyday activities that helps build a child’s knowledge about the world. When kids have lots of experiences to draw on, they have a better chance of making a connection with what they read.

As the temperatures increase, children and families are spending more time outdoors. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has developed resources to support the safety of children in early care and education settings during outdoor play. 

Test your infant, toddler and child nutrition knowledge and build your nutrition skills with these fun Team Nutrition quizzes! Team Nutrition Quizzes can be used for self-paced knowledge assessments, at trainings, or at other nutrition events as a fun and engaging learning activity. Upon completion of each quiz, quiz takers receive a score along with a link to resources that can help expand their knowledge on the topic and build their menu planning skills.

The June resources from Camille Catlett are now available. The June release of Natural Resources contains information about The Baby Monitor, BabyTalk Listserv, and more. The June release of Baby Talk contains information about Latino Fathers and Their Infants and Toddlers, Stages of Play, and more.