Pennsylvania is adopting a new set of professional standards and competencies for early childhood educators. This set of standards and competencies will replace the Pennsylvania Core Knowledge Competencies (PA CKCs) and have been adopted from the national Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators. The PA PSCECE are the general knowledge and skills educators need to know and be able to demonstrate. They are not the specific standards and competencies needed for specific professions and occupations within the early childhood field.

For more information, contact Maryanne Olley at molley@pa.gov. 

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) invites Administrators or Supervisors who provide supervision to early childhood professionals, working with or supporting children ages 0 through 8 and their families, to participate in the Attitudes Towards Trauma-Informed Care (ARTIC) Survey. The ARTIC Survey is a three-year project that will help guide statewide decision making around workforce development and early childhood mental health resources on trauma-informed care.

Twice a year, participants will take a 15-35 minute online ARTIC Survey and provide confidential input about how they view and experience the availability of knowledge, support, and other resources for the practice of trauma-informed care as it is integrated into the early childhood system. Each participant will receive confidential individual reports with their personal survey results updated each time they complete a survey. This report will help to recognize strengths and opportunities for growth in several areas of trauma-informed care. Participants will also access optional free trainings and resources and may receive brief reports of the cross-sector efforts and progress. Participation is voluntary and space is limited. Although participants are encouraged to commit to completing the full series of six brief surveys over the course of three years, individuals may discontinue participation at any time.

If you are interested in participating in the ARTIC Survey, please click here to apply by 5:00 PM, Tuesday, Aug. 31, 2021. To learn more about the ARTIC Survey and the Cross-Sector Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Services Collaborative, click here to register for a one-hour online Q&A Session to be held Wednesday, Aug.18, 2021, at 2:00 PM EST.

On Oct. 1, 2021, the new process for Keystone STARS pre-designation and designation applications launches in to Pennsylvania’s Professional Development (PD) Registry. Moving more functionality into the PD Registry streamlines multiple processes into one system and designation for providers. Watch the demo of the new Keystone STARS Designation System.

Early childhood education (ECE) professionals can prepare for this transition by completing your individual or personal PD Registry profile, adding your current employer and applying for placement on Pennsylvania’s ECE Career Pathway.

Directors, administrators and/or owners can prepare for this transition by:

The Pennsylvania Key (www.pakeys.org) website has PD Registry tip sheets and video tutorials to complete these steps and more.

The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development, has issued Announcements of importance to early childhood education providers.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) continues to finalize the competitive Request for Application (RFA) for Family Supports programs. ​The RFA, when finalized will be released through www.emarketplace.state.pa.us. Using features in eMarketplace, interested entities can set an alert for the RFA when released.

Pennsylvania congratulates Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) Policy Fellowship graduate and Pennsylvania Community Inclusion for All founder, Sadia Batool, who has been accepted as a member to the Division for Early Childhood (DEC) Family Committee and the DEC Committee on Inclusion, Equity and Social Justice. The role of the Family Committee is to support DEC in promoting authentic engagement of families of children with disabilities and other special needs in all DEC activities and to provide support towards the accomplishment of DEC’s Global Ends. Committee members assist DEC in these efforts by working collaboratively with the Executive Office staff. Family Committee members serve the purpose of providing strategic direction and proposed recommendations for DEC’s family priority efforts. Sadia brings to the committees her vast experience and expertise in Pennsylvania's Early Intervention system to make an impact for all families and their children.

If you're a Pennsylvania early childhood education professional, the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) wants to hear your input related to the Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC model). What is working with ELRCs? Are there gaps in the current system of ELRCs? Share your perspective about Pennsylvania’s ELRCs during listening sessions throughout July and August. Sign up to participate in the session that best fits your schedule, or a special session for family child care, group child care or school age child care program. Register now to participate in a listening session.

A directory of third party organizations that offer employment opportunities and job listings for early childhood education (ECE) professionals in Pennsylvania is now available on the Pennsylvania Key website. Although individual job listings are not available, users can search the Pennsylvania Early Childhood Education Directory for employment opportunities in specific geographical regions.

Three days, three keynotes, 12 sessions, 60 workshops, break & learn with sponsors and the Summit Marketplace.

Early Bird Registration is open now through Sept. 13, 2021. The Summit is once again virtual this year, bringing great content in a robust and engaging way.

Each day will feature a Keynote session and four tracks of workshop sessions. The Summit platform has added new ways to connect participants with other attendees. As always, the Summit is designed to create opportunities to gain the knowledge needed to enrich professional development in the care and education of young children. New this year are Breakfast Chats and Lunch & Learns with vendors. For more information and to register online, visit the Early Childhood Education Summit website.

2022

Child care providers are entrusted by families with the care and well-being of their children. Amidst a world-wide pandemic, child care served as a lifeline for families, adapting routines and policies to ensure that children are safe, healthy and secure. Child care providers are in a position to make a pivotal difference in children’s lives by helping them form positive nutrition and physical activity habits.

The Pennsylvania Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (PA NAPSACC) program is a continuous quality improvement process focused on obesity prevention practices and policies within early care and education settings. The program utilizes Go NAPSACC, an on-line, evidence-based tool, to guide programs through self-assessment, action planning, implementation, policy development, re-self-assessment, and reflection. The process empowers program leadership and includes individualized technical assistance to increase knowledge and improve quality of practice and policy. Programs will also participate in online technical assistance networks focused on policy development, which will be led by a Child Care Health Consultant at no cost to the site. This consultant will review current practices and policies, assist with developing sustainable policies, and offer guidance for continuous quality improvement.

Applications are due by Sept.3, 2021. For full details about the grant and how to apply click here or view this document. Applications can be submitted here. Please contact Lori McMonigal at lmcmonigal@tiu11.org or 717-248-4942 x 112 with questions.

The Pennsylvania Farm to Child Nutrition Summit planning committee is seeking speakers who have a farm to child nutrition experience to share or who want to engage the audience in discussion around a farm to child nutrition topic to present at the Pennsylvania Farm to Child Nutrition Summit on Feb. 23, 2022 (snow date: March 2, 2022) at the Farm Show complex in Harrisburg. This summit is being coordinated by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Division of Food and Nutrition and Project PA (Penn State University) with the support of the Pennsylvania Farm to School Network. Funding is provided by a USDA Farm to School grant.

A limited number of speaker stipends (approximately $200 each) will be made available through a selection process. Additional information and a link to submit a presentation proposal can be found here. Deadline for submission of a presentation proposal is Sept. 30, 2021.

Click here for the survey. The survey is also available in Spanish.

Child care providers in the city of Pittsburgh can now receive financial and technical support. Available through June 2022, these supports are being offered as part of the economic recovery efforts associated with COVID-19. These supports include: low-interest loans, grants, educational training, technical assistance, and a tailored shared services pilot. To learn more about applying for these supports, visit the Trying Together website.

The Pennsylvania Key also provides a directory of third party organizations that offer employment opportunities and job listings for early childhood education (ECE) professionals throughout Pennsylvania.

The Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education (JECTE) is the official journal of the National Association of Early Childhood Teacher Educators. Its purpose is to provide a forum for consideration of issues and for exchange of information and ideas about research and practice in early childhood teacher education. Teacher education can focus on pre-service teacher preparation and in-service professional development. For the purposes of manuscripts published in JECTE, early childhood education generally is considered from birth through grade 3. JECTE welcomes research manuscripts and reflective reports on innovative teacher education practices. Learn more.

The Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) helps families cover the cost of breakfasts and lunches their children would have been eligible to receive for free or at reduced price through the National School Lunch Program. The American Rescue Plan authorizes the continued distribution of P-EBT benefits over the summer months to assist households with children in child care settings. Families with children under 6 who are enrolled in SNAP will automatically receive the $375 benefit starting in late Sept./early Oct. 2021. Families who aren't currently enrolled but are eligible for SNAP can enroll up until Aug. 31, 2021, and still receive the benefit. Click here for a flyer to share with your families to help them access this benefit. Get more info.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) has launched a site to provide information on the soon to be available Homeowner Assistance Fund. Pennsylvania has been allocated $350 million through the federal Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF) to help homeowners behind on their mortgage and other home-related expenses due to the pandemic. PHFA is in the process of developing the Treasury required state plan and anticipates the program being available this fall to assist homeowners impacted by the pandemic.

One of the more significant reasons why Pennsylvania employers believe they lost employees during the pandemic was child care, according to The Impact of Childcare on Business and the Workforce, the results from a survey of employers to understand the additional impact COVID-19 had on businesses and their working families. The survey was created to identify the extent to which employers are meeting the child care needs of their employees; determine how employers responded to employee childcare needs during the pandemic; and identify areas of opportunity to better address employee child care needs.

The survey jointly developed by the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission, and the Center for Rural Pennsylvania.

A recently published study, Addressing challenging behaviors in challenging environments: Findings from Ohio's early childhood mental health consultation system, conducted by the Yale Child Study Center, found that children receiving early child mental health consultation (ECMHC) evidenced significant improvements in social and emotional skills, with promising trend findings noted for child behavior problem reduction and teacher pedagogical approach and locus of control.

In Pennsylvania, the Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Consultation Program is a free resource that supports children’s social- emotional development from birth through age 5 within early learning programs participating in Keystone STARS. IECMH Consultants specialize in early childhood development and mental health and well-being. They work with parents and caregivers in the early care and education setting.

The military understands the value of high-quality child care. A generation ago, the Department of Defense overhauled and upgraded its child care system for military families. This investment served not only as a vital workforce support for military parents, but also helped ensure young people had a quality environment where they could learn and grow. Today, these child care centers and certified family child care homes are important resources for the military, and provide an example of best practices for child care systems that can be implemented in Pennsylvania, and across the country, according to the Mission Readiness report, The Military Gets High-Quality Child Care; So Should PA.

This report, Measuring and Comparing Multiple Dimensions of Early Care and Education Access, from the Office of Planning, Research & Evaluation and Child Trends, examines families' access to early care and education (ECE) using a multidimensional definition of access that examines whether parents, with reasonable effort and affordability, can enroll their child in care that supports child development and meets parents' needs. Findings suggest that access to care is low, particularly for families with infants and toddlers and families in need of low-priced care.

A new analysis of 2012 data, Early Care and Education Workforce Demographic Series: A Look at Professional Characteristics, and Comparisons with Child and Community Characteristics, from Child Trends and the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation compares the demographic characteristics of listed home-based caregivers and the children in their care. The research indicates that most home-based caregivers cared for children of the same race or ethnicity as the caregivers.

The Kindergarten year will soon begin for Pennsylvania children. PA's Promise for Children has several resources families and early childhood education (ECE) professionals can use to help families and children prepare for and have a successful Kindergarten year.

The activities within these resources align with the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards. Print the resources and sign up to receive the monthly newsletters, filled with activities and resources for families and ECE professionals.

The Center for American Progress has updated their interactive, cost of child care calculator, which includes the most recent data on child care workforce salaries and state licensing requirements. For the first time, it also integrates estimates for home-based family child care and data for several U.S. territories, allowing for a more robust analysis.

Teaching young children how to sneeze and cough safely is key to helping friends and family stay healthy. Try posting this printable from Sesame Street around the classroom or at home to encourage this important routine.

You may know that emergencies can cause injuries, property damage and emotional trauma, but did you also know that emergencies will almost always cost you money that you didn’t plan on spending? Use this resource, Reducing the Financial Toll of Emergencies, from Child Care Aware of America, to better plan and prepare for your program.

Each month, Pennsylvania's Promise for Children will explore healthy foods through the Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month program. August’s featured item for PA Harvest of the Month is tomatoes. Visit the PA's Promise for Children website for links to early childhood education resources, food security resources for families, and recipes.

July editions of resource materials from Camille Catlett are now available. The July edition of Baby Talk features information about what children need to know about counting; what infants and toddlers are communicating through actions, gestures, and expressions; how interacting with a baby could sharpen their academic skills later in life, and more. The July 2021 edition of Natural Resources contains information on exploring similarities, five different activities that can be used to explore similarities and differences, a downloadable Teacher’s Guide for exploring tolerance, and more.