The Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program Operations Report for FY 2020-2021 from the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL)  is now available at the Pennsylvania Key website. The report is provided to the Pennsylvania General Assembly annually, fulfilling a statutory reporting requirement, and shares information about program operations in FY 2020-2021.

Highlights include:

The Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts pre-kindergarten program makes quality pre-kindergarten opportunities available to children and families across the commonwealth. Head Start programs provide comprehensive services for income eligible children from birth to entry into kindergarten, and are designed to address developmental goals for children, employment and self-sufficiency goals for adults, and support for parents in their work and child-caring roles.

Questions about the report can be directed to Deborah C. Wise at dewise@pa.gov.

Learn how to apply by viewing the tutorial video or the tip sheet.

Additional information, including instructions, FAQs and previous announcements can be found on the ARPA Stabilization Grants Page on Pennsylvania Key website. Eligible providers are encouraged to review these materials thoroughly BEFORE submitting an application. In addition, your ELRC is prepared to help you think about the best use of the funds in your program.

PLEASE NOTE: If at any time during the application process you disagree with information that is listed for your location, you should STOP and contact your regional ELRC. Stop the application process and contact your ELRC immediately if you disagree with any of the following information entered by the system in each provider’s application:

In the PD Registry, for Directors/Owners/Admins, the option will appear in the ORGANIZATIONS profile under the Keystone STARS/Grants tab.

Click here to apply. The application will be available in the PD Registry until Jan. 31, 2022. There is a robust amount of funding, but as with all things, grants are based on the availability of funds.

Before you apply for the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Stabilization Grant, make sure you're prepared! These recently released resources can help make the application process easier.

ARPA Stabilization Grant Allowable Expenses Recorded Webinar: A recording of the ARPA Stabilization Grant Allowable Expenses webinar with Deputy Secretary Tracey Campanini.

Allowable ARPA Stabilization Grant Expenses Recorded Webinar Transcript: Available as a webpage and easily translated using your internet browser translation tool. The transcript provides a written reference for the webinar which reinforces and reviews information around eligibility and the application process released by OCDEL about the ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grant.

Allowable ARPA Child Care Stabilization Grants – Provider FAQs: The document provides responses to questions raised during the ARPA Stabilization Grant Allowable Expenses Recorded Webinar.

ARPA Subgrants for Child Care Providers Summary Report: OCDEL partnered with Penn State Harrisburg’s Institute of State and Regional Affairs (ISRA) to develop an evidence-based methodology to distribute ARPA Stabilization Grants to eligible certified child care providers throughout the commonwealth. The American Rescue Plan Act Stabilization Subgrants for Child Care Providers Summary Report provides information on how stabilization grants will be calculated for eligible certified providers.

ARPA Stabilization Grant – Certified Provider Estimator: This tool allows certified providers to input information specific to their program and better understand how much their stabilization grant could be when they apply. The dollar amount the tool provides is only an estimate. The actual grant amount may differ when the application is submitted for approval.

Early childhood education programs should ensure they have the most up-to-date information available. OCDEL has issued several email releases to early childhood education providers about the ARPA Stabilization Grants. These releases contain important information about eligibility requirements, allowable expenses, calculations and more! If you have not received the PA Early Ed Special Announcements, you should click here to subscribe.

The PA Early Ed News, ECE Recap and Certification News are three ways OCDEL communicates with early childhood education providers and programs. You can subscribe to any or all of these newsletters here, and view back editions here and here.

Did you know there are free family-friendly resources which features tips and resources from the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL)? Each month, families and early childhood education professionals can receive the Learning is Everywhere enews, the Kindergarten Here I Come enews, and the Kindergarten Here I Am enews, based on OCDEL's popular early learning resources by the same name. The newsletters contain inclusive activities based on the Pennsylvania Early Learning Standards, age-appropriate book recommendations, health and safety information, and other valuable resources. Sign up to receive one, two, or all three newsletters, and share this opportunity with the families you serve.

2022

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) was created to help renters dealing with financial challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic. ERAP is taking applications and Pennsylvanians can apply online. ERAP provides tenant households assistance with rent, rent arrears, utility and home energy cost, utility and home energy cost arrears and housing stability services. Covered rental costs include mobile home lot rent. Tenants can apply for themselves or a landlord/utility provider can apply on behalf of the current tenant(s).

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has announced the 2022 Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) participant Area Eligibility data are now available. At the start of every fiscal year, FNS releases a special tabulation of data provided by the Census Bureau for CACFP and SFSP that establishes area eligibility in the CACFP and SFSP. These data are effective as of October 1, 2021. The FNS mapping tools have also been updated to reflect the new data. To see the map, click this link. The data set is also available for download on FNS’ open data site.

Program operators caring and serving meals to children may be eligible to participate in CACFP and receive reimbursements for serving healthy meals and snacks to children. Eligible public or private nonprofit child care centers, outside-school-hours care centers, Head Start programs, and other institutions which are licensed or approved to provide child care services may participate in CACFP, independently or as sponsored centers. Learn more about CACFP.

The Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania program recently turned 25 years old! The program was started in 1996, with the mission of linking families who have a child or adult with a disability or special need to a Peer Supporter (mentor) for purposes of support and information. To celebrate, Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania has rebranded with a new look and logo. Also available are new rack cards in English and Spanish, where the concept of now and then stories are shared from five original staff in 1996, who helped start the Parent to Parent of PA program. The stories share the journey of their children as they moved from children to adults. Take a look and share with families, friends and community partners.

Launched in October 2000, Lights On Afterschool is the only nationwide event celebrating afterschool programs and their important role in the lives of children, families and communities. The effort has become a hallmark of the afterschool movement and generates media coverage across the country each year. The Afterschool Alliance organizes Lights On Afterschool to draw attention to the many ways afterschool programs support students by offering them opportunities to learn new things—such as science, community service, robotics, Tae Kwon Do and poetry—and discover new skills. The events send a powerful message that millions more kids need quality afterschool programs. For more information and the toolkit click here.

StoryCorps and Child Care Aware of America recently partnered on a project to interview child care providers to capture their personal journey in the child care field and the impact of COVID-19 on their work and life. Listen to Jennie Dalgas and her colleague Jennifer Mickelson discuss their experiences running and working in child care and education programs. Jennie had to close her center during COVID-19, but taught Jennifer what she knows about running a business; Jennifer’s child care center remained open during COVID-19. Learn how to share your early childhood education story.

Philadelphia’s preschool program, PHLpreK, funded by a beverage tax, has likely created between 800 and 1,350 new jobs in the city, according to research from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. A new policy brief, The Total Economic Impact of Philadelphia’s Beverage Tax, the result of the study commission by NIEER with a grant from the William Penn Foundation, evaluated the full economic and fiscal impacts of Philadelphia’s beverage tax and the programs it supports within the city.

New modeling of COVID-19 transmission in preschool classrooms found that decreased classroom density and teacher vaccinations reduced total infections, according to a new analysis, Simulating COVID19 Transmission From Observed Movement: An Agent-Based Model of Classroom Dispersion, financially supported by the National Science Foundation; Institute of Education Sciences; Microsoft AI for Health COVID-19 Grant Program and Google Cloud COVID-19 Research Credits Program. “The model uses actual student and teacher interaction behavior as input and estimates infection probabilities based on interpersonal distance and orientation,” the University of Miami researchers wrote. The study involved data collected for 50 children ages 2 to 5 and 11 teachers in four preschool classes. Researchers found that cutting class density in half reduced total infections by 13.1%. Teacher vaccination resulted in a 12.5% reduction in infections.

New poverty data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau highlight the enormous success of government programs in protecting children from the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic. Social safety net programs and federal relief efforts not only prevented additional children from falling into poverty but also reduced child poverty in the midst of the COVID-19 public health crisis and recession—despite the fact that the country reached its highest levels of unemployment since the Great Depression, and even exceeded unemployment during the Great Recession.

The Office of Child Care (OCC) has released summary information from submitted CCDF State Plans. Learn more about Pennsylvania's (and other states) preliminary submissions that include Eligibility Criteria: Reason for Care & Family Income Limits, Policies and Processes for Graduated Phase-out of Assistance at Redetermination, Family Co-Payments, Child Care Services Available through Grants or Contracts, Stabilization Grants, Payment Rates, Payment Practices, and Use of Quality Funds.

Obesity is a serious health concern in the United States, affecting more than one in six children and putting their long-term health and quality of life at risk. During the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents spent more time than usual away from structured school settings, and families who were already disproportionally affected by obesity risk factors might have had additional disruptions in income, food, and other social determinants of health. The study, Longitudinal Trends in Body Mass Index Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic Among Persons Aged 2–19 Years — United States, 2018–2020, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, found that persons aged 2–19 years with moderate or severe obesity before the pandemic experienced significantly higher rates of increase in BMI, which translates to weight gain, compared with those with prepandemic healthy weight.

We all want our students to have a lifelong love of reading and a passion for exploration through books. The big question is, how do we motivate them? As Reading Is Fundamental kicks off its new six-month reading initiative, Rally to Read 100, RIF and WeAreTeachers have gathered helpful tips for you and your students to reach the initiative's bold goal of classrooms across the country reading 100 books together.

This month, Pennsylvania's Promise for Children is exploring healthy foods through the Pennsylvania Harvest of the Month program. October’s featured item for PA Harvest of the Month is the apple. Visit the PA's Promise for Children website for links to early childhood education resources, food security resources for families, and recipes.

Team Nutrition announced the release of a new web-based quiz on infant nutrition. Whether you’re a parent, early childhood education professional, Child Nutrition Program operator, WIC staff, SNAP-Ed educator, or just interested in infant nutrition, this fun and interactive quiz is for you. Take the 10 question quiz today!

Strong partnerships between parents and educators support learning and teaching at school, and are especially important for young children as they acquire foundational skills in literacy, math, and social-emotional behavior. The Regional Educational Laboratory Mid-Atlantic developed a fact sheet based on a model by the New Jersey Department of Education designed to engage families to help students succeed. The resource provides teachers and administrators with resources for building relationships and communicating effectively with families. It addresses equity, feasibility, and accessibility.

In this podcast episode from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University, Dr. Nancy Rotter discusses how the pandemic changed conversations around mental health, and what caregivers can do to help children prepare for the lessening of restrictions and the return to school.

Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person who was exposed to alcohol before birth. FASDs have lifelong effects, including problems with behavior and learning as well as physical problems. FASDs are preventable if a developing baby is not exposed to alcohol. The CDC has a new web feature highlighting resources from CDC and its partners to help prevent prenatal alcohol exposure and provide care for children with FASDs and their families.

The new Nourish PA video series from PA Eats, helps educate food-insecure Pennsylvanians on how to prepare simple, accessible meals with affordable, healthy ingredients. With over 2,700 PA food pantries actively distributing food, there's a crucial need for educational resources, so these resources can teach Pennsylvanians how to create nourishing meals with the food they receive.

The September resources from Camille Catlett are now available. The September edition of Baby Talk features information about Building Babies’ Brains Through Play: Mini Parenting Master Class, First Steps to Improve Social Skills, and more. The September edition of Natural Resources has information related to Infant/Toddler and Preschool STEAM Series, STEM Sprouts Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math Teaching Guide, and more.