The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is honored to recognize the work of the early childhood education programs and professionals on behalf of Pennsylvania children and their families through embracing diversity and full inclusion as strengths, upholding fundamental principles of fairness and justice, and working to eliminate structural inequities that limit equitable learning opportunities.

Congratulations to the seven recipients selected as Gold level award winners, 11 selected as Silver level award winners, 12 selected as Bronze level award winners, and 22 selected to receive honorable mentions. Gold, silver and bronze level winners received award certificates and posters to display and will be featured on social media during April's Month of the Young Child.

For more information about equity in Pennsylvania's early learning setting visit the Pennsylvania Key website, and check out the list of awardees.

OCDEL is pleased to announce the selection of members of the Early Learning Council Certification Rewrite Ad Hoc Subcommittee. These individuals were select from almost 600 applicants to form a Subcommittee to represent the larger child care provider community and provided direct feedback on drafts of the rewritten child care certification regulations. The Subcommittee has been divided into five (5) Subchapter Workgroups: Purpose and Authority, Family and Community, Professional Development, Training and Requirements, Early Childhood Education Program and Certification and Oversite. To learn more about these Subchapters, to find out who are the Ad Hoc Subcommittee members, and learn what to expect from this next phase of the project, please visit the Pennsylvania Key website, here.

To learn more about the Pennsylvania Child Care Certification Rewrite Project, please visit the Pennsylvania Key website here. 

Certification Bureau Manager: The Berks County Intermediate Unit is accepting applications for a Certification Bureau Manager. This full-time position is within the Bureau of Certification Services (BCS) under the direction of the Department of Human Services and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). The purpose of this position is to serve as a high-level support to the Bureau Director by assisting with operational oversight, program development, and to serve as a liaison to OCDEL’s five regional offices. Learn more.

Professional Development Organization (PDO) Grants Supervisor: The Berks County Intermediate Unit is accepting applications for a Professional Development Organization (PDO) Grants Supervisor – The Pennsylvania Key. This full-time position will provide supervision of Pennsylvania’s Professional Development Organizations (PDOs) as well as to facilitate collaborative efforts supporting the goals of the PDOs and Office of Child Development and Early Learning’s (OCDEL) vision for workforce development as administered by OCDEL and the Pennsylvania Key. All submissions must be received by Thursday April 14, 2022. Get more information. 

Information released via email on March 24, 2022, by OCDEL's Bureau of Certification, contains a timeline of important dates, and process for reporting the use of ARPA Stabilization funds. Click here for more information.

The Program Quality Assessment (PQA) team has announced the topic for April's Let’s Talk Quality Series: Sparking Interactions.

The Let’s Talk Quality Series includes three-monthly activities – Let’s Talk Quality Blog, Let’s Talk Quality Webinar, and the newest, Let’s Talk Quality Spotlight. Each month the PQA team publishes a blog article, creates a webinar, and offers a spotlight session, all of which focus on a monthly topic. Check out the Let's Talk Quality Blog, for the blog post related to this month’s topic. While there, check out all the other great blog posts! 

Is your child care or early learning program making it easy for families to contact you when they locate your information via the child care search in COMPASS? The COMPASS search feature provides information for quick and easy contact once a child care or early learning program is selected in a search. Did you know there's also a CONTACT PROVIDER button for your program? Make sure families can contact your program by updating your information.

The CONTACT PROVIDER button will only appear for a location if your program specifically indicates you want to be contacted by using the functionality from www.findchildcare.pa.gov. See the step-by-step process from the PSS Release and PPT for how to update your information in PELICAN, activate the CONTACT PROVIDER button, and make it easy for families to contact your program!

The war in Ukraine has created an unprecedented number of refugees fleeing into neighboring countries. This massive influx of people—estimated at 3.7 million refugees—a has created a strain on European nations. In response, President Biden recently announced that over the next several weeks, the United States will begin welcoming up to 100,000 Ukrainian refugees. Pennsylvania will receive some portion of these refugees, many of which may be school-age children.

In anticipation of the arrival of these children, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) provides information to remind all school districts and charter schools of their legal obligations related to enrollment and the provision of services for refugee students. The Department welcomes the opportunity to work with all schools to ensure refugee children who come to Pennsylvania receive the education and support to which they are entitled. Available are additional resources. To contact the Department with questions or concerns about refugee students, please email [email protected].

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) updated their developmental Milestones Checklists for infants and young children for the first time in over 10 years. The “Learn the Signs. Act Early” tools and resources are communication tools that aim to promote developmental monitoring by tracking developmental milestones and to encourage conversations between families, health care professionals, and early childhood professionals about child development. The revised milestones are a result of feedback from professionals and families, and reflect changes on the number and age-specific milestones.

Find more information, access resources, and order materials about “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” on the CDCs “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” website or watch the video featuring Ilecia Voughs, EITA Consultant for Family Support. Those who have questions, would like to learn how “Learn The Signs. Act Early.” materials can be used in their local program, or would like a more detailed presentation about “Learn The Signs. Act Early.” materials, resources, or revisions, can contact Ilecia Voughs at [email protected].

Business of Family Child Care: Marketing With Tom Copeland, April 6, 2022, from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m.

Click here to register for the April 6 webinar.

Business of Family Child Care: Legal and Insurance Issues With Tom Copeland, April 20, 2022, from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m.

Click here to register for the April 20 webinar.

Business of Family Child Care: Money Management/Retirement With Tom Copeland, May 4, 2022, from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. (EDT)

Click here to register for the May 4 webinar.

In summer 2022, Teach Plus will launch its second full cohort of Teaching Policy Fellows in Pennsylvania. This highly selective leadership opportunity is for 30 outstanding teachers (early childhood to 12th grade) looking to deepen their knowledge of education policy and amplify the voices of teacher leaders in Pennsylvania. Policy fellows, who will receive a $1,500 stipend for their commitment, will expand their influence without leaving the classroom and elevate teacher voice on important student equity issues.

Complete and submit a written application prior to the deadline of May 2, 2022. Teach Plus Pennsylvania will host virtual information sessions prior to the application deadline:

Click to learn more or submit an application. You can also nominate a teacher. Questions? Contact Teach Plus Pennsylvania Executive Laura Boyce at [email protected]. 

The Lights On Afterschool poster contest is officially open, and this year theme is reflecting on how youth see themselves and their futures because of their afterschool program:

The winning artwork will be printed on more than 50,000 posters that will be displayed at more than 8,000 Lights On Afterschool events around the world. Submission deadline is May 16, 2022. Visit the Afterschool Alliance website for full details.

Please share this exciting information with family members of a young child/young children with disabilities between the ages of 0 and 8! Family Registration Waivers are available for those considering attending the Division for Early Childhood Conference, Integrating Research and Practices in Early Childhood Intervention, Sept. 27-30, 2022, in Chicago. Complete an application here. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis.

Please encourage family members to consider applying! Their voice is needed at the conference. Apply for a Family Scholarship here. Families should submit an application for the scholarship by Monday, May 16, 2022. Awardees will be notified by Monday, June 12, 2022. If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Kimberly Hile at [email protected].

In Pennsylvania, this year’s Child Tax Credit is estimated to benefit 1,412,000 families with 2,351,000 children, according to the recent release of a new state-by-state analysis of the historic tax relief for working families in American Rescue Plan (ARP). The FACT SHEET: State-by-State Analysis of American Rescue Plan Tax Credits for Families and Workers, released by the White House, is helping lower costs for families and workers. Due to ARP, Americans have received the largest ever Child Tax Credit, the largest ever Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without dependent children, and the largest ever Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit – which will help families meet the high costs of care. View highlights, including state-specific information.

The new publication from Trust for Learning, Measuring the Quality of Early Learning Environments: A guide to evaluating ideal learning environments for young children, shares expert insights to support holistic, equity-driven approaches to measuring program quality. Guided by a workgroup of early childhood measurement experts, this two-part guide brings fresh perspectives and new ideas for leaders to consider when evaluating programs that serve young children and families.

Due to the time and help of afterschool and summer program staff, the Afterschool Alliance has been able to track the ways in which the afterschool field’s operating status, policies, procedures, staffing and services have been affected by the pandemic. Each wave has confirmed the integral role that afterschool and summer programs have played over the past two years, and a new dashboard documents the ways in which programs have managed to continuously adapt to the changing and challenging circumstances created by COVID-19.

Spring is here and PA's Promise for Children has 12 wet, muddy, happy book recommendations for celebrating spring. Print the list and share with families, post for your class, and check your shelves (or your local library) for books to read with children and promote early literacy skills.

Adapted from Ages & Stages Questionnaires® (ASQ®) family of products, this free toolkit, Engaging Families in Healthy Development, from ASQ Brookes, will help engage families in supporting their child’s developmental and social-emotional skills. Access tip sheets on supporting development, fun and easy learning activities, and a quick-guide to ASQ screening.

The School Nutrition Toolbox modules were developed by Project PA, a collaboration between the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Food and Nutrition and Penn State University's Department of Nutritional Sciences. Available are free trainings on a wide variety of topics that early childhood educators can explore.

Project Learning Tree® released a new resource for families and teachers to connect children ages 1–6 to nature, with a focus on trees. Trees & Me: Activities for Exploring Nature with Young Children offers hundreds of ideas for fun, indoor and outdoor, learning experiences for toddlers and preschoolers to explore nature through their senses, experience trees throughout the seasons, and connect with their community.

Food safety is an integral part of successful child nutrition programs. These resources from the Institute of Child Nutrition have been developed by the Institute, USDA, and other organizations to provide assistance in ensuring food safety in your program.

Grouping foods into three categories can also be a useful way to ensure that you're serving a balanced diet. Check out the Go, Slow, Whoa worksheet from National CACFP Association that breaks down some common food items based on how often they should be eaten.

The first day of Spring has come! Use MyPlate’s garden-themed nutrition education kit from the USDA to teach little ones about gardening and to introduce new fruits and vegetables.

The March resources from Camille Catlett are now available. The March edition of Baby Talk includes information about Safe Sleep Resources, Benefits of Sign Language for All Infants and more. The March edition of Natural Resources shares information about Bilingual Children and Storytelling, Promoting Equity for Young Multilingual Children and Their Families, and more.