Inspections of child care programs help ensure that Pennsylvania children are in a safe learning environment, but if you've ever wondered what occurs during an inspection, or how early learning providers can best prepare for one, then a new resource from OCDEL can help answer your questions. The brief (less than 15 minutes!) video below can help providers maintain compliance with their program.

There has been a lot of progress in increasing the effectiveness within the Keystone STARS program. Now available is a 16-minutes recording from Becky Mercatoris, Director of the Bureau of Policy and Professional Development, who shares information on the updates of the Keystone STARS Performance Standards. This helps ensure early learning providers have what they need to successfully participate in Keystone STARS. Get more info below.

There is still time to apply to the 2018-19 OCDEL Policy Fellowship. Since 2016, OCDEL Policy Fellows during their fellowship have been assigned to a placement site such as an OCDEL Bureau or partnering organization, like the PA Key or Early Intervention Technical Assistance. Fellows can have an impact on early learning, both during and after their fellowship. Some activities at placement sites have included shadowing program leadership and assisting on integral projects. Check out the info below to see how you can apply to be a part of the 2018-19 OCDEL Policy Fellowship--but don't wait! The application deadline is August 10.

Finally, during September, Pennsylvania will celebrate National School Success Month, but your help is needed now! This is a great opportunity to showcase early learning and school professionals who support their students in becoming school successes. It's also a great way to share how children are successes in school. Successes of all sizes are welcome--both little and big! This is open to children of all ages and grades. See below on how you can help prepare for and promote National School Success Month.

All certified child care providers in Pennsylvania are subject to an annual inspection of the facility. A certification representative with the Office of Child Development and Early Learning will conduct a renewal inspection of the facility at least once every 12 months.

Upon completion of the inspection, the provider will be notified of the Department’s findings on an inspection summary report.  Watch the video  for more information on what to expect during the renewal inspection process.

Inspection of child care programs helps ensure that child care programs are following Pennsylvania’s rules for protecting children’s health and safety.  Families can use the Online Child Care Provider Search  to review certification information about a provider, including the provider’s certificate status, verified complaints and inspection results. 

In 2017, The Keystone STARS Think Tank Team, in partnership with thousands of stakeholders, developed principles to guide the STARS revision process. During the 2017-18 program year, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) refined Keystone STARS so that it is more efficient for providers to participate and more effective at improving child outcomes.

The new Keystone STARS Performance Standards and Program Manual became available on July 1, 2018.

For more information on updates to the program, listen to the Keystone STARS July 2018 Update webinar below! This brief presentation covers changes to the Keystone STARS Performance Standards and Indicators, Alternate Pathways to STARS Designation, and Program Quality Assessment.

More information on the Keystone STARS program is available on the PA Key website . For questions or comments, please contact OCDEL at  [email protected] .

Starting September, Pennsylvania will celebrate National School Success Month!  Governor Wolf has demonstrated a strong commitment to education in Pennsylvania through his continued support and investment in education, including high-quality pre-K programs. Investing in high-quality pre-k programs helps children be ready to learn on the first day of kindergarten and sets them on a path of school success.

During September, PA's Promise for Children will highlight the progress of children's learning, the ways they learn, and those who help them become a school success. Families and early learning professionals throughout Pennsylvania are invited to submit their role in school success!

Families: Share what makes your child successful in school. What is it your child has learned or likes to do that makes them a great student? It can be a big or little success! Send a photo, your child's first name, your county and your child's success to Mary at  [email protected] . Your child could be featured on the PA's Promise for Children website during September's National School Success Month! 

Early Learning Professionals & School District Staff: The work you do with children guides them to be a school success. What's your favorite part of being an early learning professional or school district staff? Tell us what makes you a successful teacher or early learning/school staff. Send a photo, your name, your county and school/early learning program's name, and your story to Mary at  [email protected] . You and your program/school could be featured on PA's Promise for Children during National School Success Month!

Could you be a future leader in Pennsylvania's early learning system at the state and local levels, and ultimately, strengthen the quality of the system to better serve children, families, and providers? These future leaders are a part of the 2018-19 OCDEL Policy Fellowship! The Fellowship is open to all professionals working in early care and education. Applications for the 2018-19 OCDEL Policy Fellowship are being accepted until the August 10 deadline.

The Fellowship has three key components:

For more information on the OCDEL Policy Fellowship, or to apply, please visit www.paocdelfellows.net .

Penn State Better Kid Care, in collaboration with the PA Key, have announced two new online courses to meet the requirements for Pennsylvania new staff orientation that includes the mandated health and safety training. 

Effective July 1, 2018, these modules have replaced Health and Safety Basics: Requirements for Certification. Completion of one of these two modules is required for all new child care professionals (center/group and home-based) in Pennsylvania. There is no charge to complete the modules. The amount of professional development credit awarded has increased from six to ten hours.

These courses can be found in the PA PD Registry in Quick Links on the training calendar under Health and Safety Basics. 

STARS 101 Available Now!

STARS 101 is now available as an online self-paced course in the PD Registry. This course meets the requirement for STAR 2 SQ.2.1 Part 1 and lasts for approximately 40 minutes. It is an introduction to the idea of Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) which is the basic premise for the Keystone STARS Quality Rating System. In addition to the philosophy of CQI, the process of change and how to begin your journey through the Keystone STARS system will be discussed.

To find this course: 

** This course must be completed in one sitting. It cannot be paused to return to later. The user will be required to restart the course.

Once this course is completed, the STARS 102 course is also available online.

Reminder: No Certificates in the PD Registry

Please note that certificates are no longer issued in the PD Registry after being marked as attending an event. PA Department of Human Services (DHS) and Keystone STARS staff will see all events marked as verified in the Learning Record.

To access your Learning Record:

This is the official document.

Session proposals are being accepted for the York County Early Learning Consortium Conference, to be held November 10, 2018 in York, PA. Priority topics are those that support the new STARS Standards – Ages and Stages, OUNCE/Work Sampling, inclusion, Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), supervision, suspension and expulsion prevention, English Language Learners/Dual Language Learners (ELL/DLL), Strengthening Families Protective Factors, and STARS 101/102. Other topics include implementing Creative Curriculum, child sexual abuse prevention, mental health first aid, understanding implicit bias, and trauma-informed practice. Other topics will be considered. For additional information, see the Course Overview Form and the 2018 RFP.

Licensed Child Care Centers, Group, and Family Child Care Homes serving children birth ‐ five are invited to apply for the Child Care Wellness Mini-Grant Project from the PA Nutrition and Physical Activity Self Assessment for Child Care (PA NAP SACC). PA NAP SACC is an interactive, easy‐to‐use online tool that provides professional development for child care providers. This completely web‐based process includes self‐assessment, action planning, implementation, policy development, post‐self‐ assessment, and reflection. The implementation process includes free, online professional development opportunities that, once completed, become part of your transcript on the PD Registry.

To apply, complete and submit the application electronically using this link. The application cannot be started and then returned to at a later date to complete. Applicants should allow enough time to complete the application in one sitting. To preview the questions on the application ahead of time, click here for a PDF version.

Register now for the Fall 2018 online Child Care Health Advocate Course at Northampton Community College (NCC). Directors, lead teachers and others in the early education field learn to assess, identify, and prioritize health and safety needs of children and staff, and to collaborate with a nurse or physician child care health consultant. The course provides 15 health and safety modules and seven web-based, live interactive sessions with instructors and classmates. It involves participants in implementation of learning experiences at their own facilities or via simulated case studies for those who are not working in an early childhood education (ECE) facility. See the flyer for more info.

Participants who currently work in an ECE facility should ask their program to support their implementation of the child care health advocate role for their program either in conjunction with or separate from their other roles. The course offers three hours of college credit and credit toward renewal of the PA Director Credential, PA School-age Credential and National CDA. See the flyer for more info.

The Elementary and Early Childhood Education online program at Wilkes University is the only online pathway to an early education bachelor’s degree of its kind. The program offers all of the advantages of a traditional degree with educational certification and the flexibility

of completing your coursework online. See the flyer for more information.

Check out these recent highlights featured on social media.

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The Index from the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment provides a current appraisal of workforce conditions and policies across states. Indicators represent opportunities for state policies that have the potential to enhance the lives of the many children and adults affected by ECE employment conditions.

According to the report, in Pennsylvania, 68 percent of children live in households where all available parents are currently working, and 22 percent of all Pennsylvania children are part of low-income families. The cost of services is out of reach for many working families, including those who earn middle-class wages. At the same time, large swaths of early childhood teachers — even those with college degrees — earn unlivable wages. More than 41,550 members of the early childhood teaching workforce provide services to children in Pennsylvania.

A new brief, Parenting Knowledge Among First-time Parents of Young Children, from Child Trends finds that first-time parents of infants and toddlers across all racial, ethnic, and economic backgrounds have difficulty obtaining clear and trustworthy information about parenting. While many parents turn to the internet for parenting advice and information, they sometimes feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available online and its inconsistent quality. Read the brief to discover recommendation with direct implications for programs, policy and practice.

Interested in developing free, accessible lessons that empower parents around early childhood development? An early childhood parent academy from the National Institute for Children's Health Quality is a structured set of courses covering key topic areas that parents need to know about early childhood development. Click for a curriculum and strategies on how to launch one in your community. 

The Pennsylvania Department of Health provides key information about how to stay healthy all summer. Some tips include: Protect yourself from harmful UV rays, stay hydrated, safely exercise, and look out for others. 

The Center of Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) recently launched a new webpage designed to share resources, encourage conversation and share TA opportunities that can enhance an office of early learning's effectiveness. Use the info to inform, engage and expand discussions.

myKidzDay attendance tracking solution is approved app by PELICAN to help child care providers track attendance, monitor ratios and submit attendance reports for subsidy reimbursement. Attendance tracking app is free for the first 25 providers! Call 860.593.2955 or email [email protected] to get started.