The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is happy to announce the COVID-19 Health and Safety System Supports for Providers. We are here to help and we want to make sure we are all on the same page! If you have Health and Safety Questions, you can ask your Certification Representative, Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Quality Coach, Preschool Program Specialist, Program Quality Assessor, Infant Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) Consultant, or Early Intervention Specialist.  

OCDEL intentionally developed a no-wrong-door approach so each team member has received the same training and can help answer your questions. Feel free to reach out to whomever you feel comfortable talking to in your region. Periodically team members will meet to discuss feedback they have received from you as well as tackle common issues coming up in the field. As a result we'll implement our own continuous improvement process for supporting you on issues around health and safety.

Due to federal requirement under the reauthorization of the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG), all child care employees and volunteers are required and should now have a completed clearance from the National Crime Information Center/National Sex Offender Registry (NSOR), regardless of start or hire date. This clearance is required for employees and volunteers of child day-care centers, group day-care homes or family child-care homes.

The NSOR clearance verifies a check of the National Sex Offenders Registry was conducted and if the individual can or cannot work for a regulated child care provider. This clearance is required in addition to a Child Abuse History Clearance, Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check for Employment or Volunteers, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Fingerprinting.

The deadline for this clearance was July 1, 2020. Visit the Keep Kids Safe website for more information, including directions how to obtain the NSOR and all other required clearances for child care providers.

Congratulations to the newest graduates of the OCDEL Policy Fellowship – Stacy Barno, Sadia Batool, Shaunna Bobak, Shelley Candy, Dionne Chambers, Monica Fox, Maggie Livelsberger, Amy Niemiec, Curtis Saxton, Vanessa Thompson, Elizabeth Tooher, and Susan Uzelac – on their successful completion of the program. We want to commend the Fellows in particular on their dedication to the program in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s Fellows completed a wide range of projects from creating the Pennsylvania Community Inclusion for All Facebook page to working on an Intimate Partner Violence Toolkit to creating a crosswalk for programs implementing or looking to implement program-wide positive behavior interventions and supports.

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

In January 2020, Pennsylvania launched a program to increase access to high-quality early learning settings. The Early Childhood Education (ECE) Professional Development Organizations (PDOs) will work with Pennsylvania's Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs), Pennsylvania-based institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), and community partners to expand the availability of high-quality, credit-bearing coursework that reflects developmentally and culturally appropriate content, increase the effectiveness of ECE professionals across the state, and improve the overall quality of child care programs to meet the needs of Pennsylvania's families and children.

Learn more about PDOs on The Pennsylvania Key website.

The Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region 7 (Clinton, Lycoming and Tioga counties), in partnership with STEP, Inc. has made the concept of a shared-service mobile resource van a reality. The Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM) Machine will contain curriculum kits for children age birth to 13-years-old, available for lending to child care providers. On loan will be STEAM learning kits, mobile MakerSpaces, lesson plans, books, light panels, tablets, microscopes, and much more.

ELRC Region 7 will provide technical assistance and coaching to ensure child care providers know how to use materials with the intent of encouraging them to work on their continuous quality plans and move up in Pennsylvania’s quality rating and improvement system, Keystone STARS. ELRC Region 7 will initially focus on Family Child Care Homes, particularly STAR 1 providers, bringing them materials and technical support. Read more.

The Council for Professional Recognition is extending the deadline for the CDA Renewal Amnesty Program to Dec. 31, 2020 in the hope of easing concerns and allowing early childhood education (ECE) professionals additional time to take advantage of this opportunity. See the Council for Professional Recognition website for additional details.

Registration for this year’s VIRTUAL Early Childhood Education (ECE) Summit, to be held Oct. 18 - 21, 2020 is now open. Early Bird registration fees are in effect through Aug. 31, 2020. Keynote speakers include Teacher Tom on Tuesday and poet-activist Carla Christopher Williams on Wednesday. Join other ECE educators to learn the latest in national and state policy developments, best practices in ECE, and ideas and inspiration for ECE educators. Click to register.

Oct. 19, 2020, is the last day to register to vote before the Nov. 3, 2020 election. To vote in the next election, you must complete your application by Oct. 19, 2020. You can submit your application online on the PA Online Voter Registration website.

Click here to change your information online or to download a blank voter registration form. With this online or printable form, you can register to vote in elections in Pennsylvania. You can also use this online or printable form to:

Once you have registered to vote, you can request a mail-in & absentee ballot. If you elect to vote by mail, your ballot should be received by mail to your county voter registration office by Oct. 19, 2020. You may check whether you are registered to vote in Pennsylvania using Find Voter Registration Status.

If you have questions, call your County Voter Registration Office or call 1-877-VOTESPA (1-877-868-3772). For more information about voting, visit www.votesPA.com.

There is still time to participate in the 2020 Census! The 2020 Census will determine congressional representation, inform hundreds of billions in federal funding every year, and provide data that will impact communities for the next decade. Census results affect your community every day in areas like school lunches, Head Start, grants that support teachers and special education, restoring wildlife, preventing child abuse, housing assistance for older adults, plans for highways, support for firefighters and families in need, and more

In light of the COVID-19 outbreak, the U.S. Census Bureau is continually adjusting 2020 Census operations in order to:

Since July 16, 2020, census takers have been interviewing households that have yet to respond to the 2020 Census in regions managed by the area census offices on this map.

The Census Bureau will soon announce additional census offices as it prepares to begin activities nationwide. The majority of census offices across the country will begin follow-up work on Aug. 11, 2020. All offices will conclude work no later than Oct. 31, 2020. Census takers will follow local public health guidelines when they visit.

For those who have not yet responded to the Census, they can do so online, by phone or by mail. Find out how.

To enable children to enter and attend school or an early childhood program without the required immunizations, with Governor Wolf's authorization as conferred in the March 6, 2020 Proclamation of Disaster Emergency, the Pennsylvania Department of Health is temporarily suspending the regulations at 28 Pa. Code § 23.83, which provides the list of immunizations a child must have and the grades for which the child must have them; 28 Pa. Code § 23.85, which states that children who do not meet the requirements should be excluded and places certain duties on schools to verify that children with medical exceptions who are on a plan to get their immunizations actually obtain the vaccinations; and 28 Pa. Code § 23.86, which requires schools to report to the Department the numbers of vaccinations and children taking exceptions; and 28 Pa. Code § 27.77(b), which requires that a child currently enrolled in a child care program maintain updated immunizations in accordance with federal guidelines. The regulations are suspended for a two-month period after the beginning of the school year or the beginning of enrollment in an early childhood education program. Read more.

The European Early Childhood Education Research Journal (EECERJ) is seeking papers for its upcoming special publication on COVID-19 and early childhood. Extended abstracts of proposed articles are by Aug. 31, 2020. See the announcement for more information.

As a result of COVID-19, many early childhood education (ECE) professionals will be enrolled in online courses for the upcoming Fall semester. To help ECE students be successful with virtual learning, the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) developed a one-hour webinar and companion resource guide that address:

Both the webinar recording and companion resource guide are available in a new Online Learning Resource section of the PACCA/T.E.A.C.H. website. These resources are appropriate for students who are new to online courses and for those students who would like to enhance their online learning experience. Click HERE to access them. PACCA will continue to add new resources in the future.

Questions? Contact a T.E.A.C.H. Counselor at teachinfo@pacca.org for more information.  

T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® PENNSYLVANIA is administered by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA). T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood^® PENNSYLVANIA is a licensed program of Child Care Services Association.  

Early childhood education (ECE) providers play an essential role in supporting children, families, and the country’s future—a fact made clearer than ever by the COVID-19 pandemic. To better understand how society can best protect the health of children, families, and staff, it is essential to gather as much data as possible about the spread of the virus within ECE settings. A team of researchers from Brown, Harvard, MIT, and elsewhere are conducting a very short survey that collects some simple data about child care programs over time. Click here to access the survey.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden has presented a plan to make child care and preschool affordable and accessible to American families. Biden's plan would cap child care costs for many families, reports USA Today. No household with children under 5 and earnings less than 1.5 times the state average would pay more than 7% of their income for child care. Preschool would be free for 3- and 4-year-olds.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the play worlds, friendship groups, and potentially the wellbeing of every child and adolescent in the country. Parks, playgrounds, and schools are closed, after school activities are cancelled, and children and adolescents cannot meet and hang out with their friends as they used to. These are hugely significant changes in the day-to-day lives and routines of American children, adolescents, and families.

To access the views, experiences, and opinions of children, adolescents, and families, Professor Carol Barron at the DCU Glasnevin Campus, Ireland has developed an online survey on the impact of COVID-19 on children's play worlds across four nations. This study will collect information on the impact of the COVID-19 restrictions on children and teenager's ability to hang out, play and maintain their friendship groups in Pennsylvania. Please share this study with families and education partners.

The brief, An Anti-Racist Approach to Supporting Child Care Through COVID-19 and Beyond, from CLASP includes historical context of the deeply rooted racism and inequities in child care systems, how the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated inequities, and policy recommendations for responding to the COVID-19 crisis in a way that addresses structural and historical inequities.

Excerpt from An Anti-Racist Approach to Supporting Child Care Through COVID-19 and Beyond:

Advocates and policymakers can take critical steps to ensure the COVID-19 recovery doesn’t worsen racial inequities in child care while also building a fairer system for the future. As stakeholders take these critical steps, they should keep the following principles in mind:

The Children’s Equity Project and the Bipartisan Policy Center published a new early learning equity policy agenda aimed at closing opportunity gaps in learning systems. Start with Equity – From the Early Years to the Early Grades: Data, Research, and an Actionable Child Equity Policy Agenda reviews child equity data, research, and policy and presents targeted recommendations for more equitable learning systems. 

Over 1,200 survey respondents confirmed what many already knew: COVID-19 has impacted Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) operators and child care businesses with severe financial challenges. CACFP operators are in overwhelming need of direct and significant financial aid outside of current program funding. Child care and the CACFP community are on the brink of collapse and facing imminent threat of shutting down without it. Read the report from the National CACFP Association.

A new research brief, Lessons Learned for Improving Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion from Y-USA’s Out-of-School Time Programs from Child Trends, highlights strategies that local YMCAs use to support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in their programming; these strategies can inform other out-of-school time programs working to become more equitable. Strategies include offering DEI training, technical assistance, and coaching opportunities to staff; tailoring programming to focus on equity rather than equality; and more.

Do you think of cultural, racial and ethnic diversity as a melting pot, a mosaic or tapestry, tossed salad, vegetable soup, or some other equally picturesque description? All of these descriptions are pleasant and colorful reminders of the richness that comes from differences. Unfortunately, the differences among people also spark name-calling, bullying and violence, even by young children. The August Featured Article at PA's Promise for Children shares how we can teach children to understand and genuinely value people who look, sound and act different.

Afterschool programs are an essential part of schools’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to play a critical role through recovery. As we look ahead to the next school year, it will be more important than ever for afterschool programs to have strong partnerships with their local schools. This resource, Partnering with Schools to Reopen and Meet Students’ Needs, from Afterschool Alliance can help afterschool leaders identify and communicate specific ways programs can help schools as they make plans to reopen.

The July edition of Natural Resources from Camille Cattlet includes resources related to teaching children empathy, helping children develop empathy and more. The August edition of Baby Talk features information on a simple guide to sensory development in early childhood, social bias, at home early math learning kit and more.

Grow It, Try It, Like It! Nutrition Education is a garden-themed nutrition education kit from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for family home child care and child care center staff that introduces children to: three fruits - peaches, strawberries, and cantaloupe, and three vegetables - spinach, sweet potatoes, and crookneck squash.

Families have been faced with important decisions about child care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Caregivers considering child care arrangements for their children should understand strategies used to reduce risk of exposure to COVID-19. This Frequently Asked Questions document—compiled by experts in pediatric primary care, infectious diseases, early childhood and child care at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia—is intended to provide parents and caregivers with information and guidance for returning their children to child care. It reflects the latest evidence on safety protocols for home and center-based care.

To support work with families, whether in person or remotely, explore the newest resources in the Building Partnership with Families Series from Head Start. Head Start and Early Head Start program staff and other professionals can use them to partner with families and engage in conversations during enrollment, intake, and the family partnership process. Managers can use these resources in training and discussions with individual staff and teams.