February 2019 edition
An inside look at Pennsylvania's early education system.
What's New for February
It's budget season in Pennsylvania! On February 5, 2019, Governor Wolf delivered the 2019-20 Governor's Executive Budget. This budget builds on the investment in high-quality early learning services through state and federal support. See the details below.

February also brings several opportunities for supporters of quality early learning to become involved in efforts of improving the quality of ECE workforce, services to families and more. Check out below the option to provide testimony on proposed changes to Chapter 49--and why Chapter 49 is so important to those in the early learning field.  

Have you ever needed data relating to early learning, but wasn't sure where to get it and if the data was reliable? OCDEL has made available a new resource that provides a listing of data sources that provides national and state level data on a variety of areas that can identify and support the work done around quality early learning. The article below provides details on how to access the Early Learning Data References. 

A healthy mom can increase the likelihood of a healthy baby. Three articles below highlight the supports and resources available for addressing maternal depression, and building better and stronger supports for families with babies. There's also a great resource below on how to support breastfeeding moms. 
Early Education in Pennsylvania
2019-20 Governor’s Executive Budget Overview Office of Child Development and Early Learning
On Tuesday, February 5, 2019, Governor Wolf delivered the 2019-20 Governor’s Executive Budget. The 2019-20 budget continues to build on the governor’s commitment to high-quality early learning services and includes more than $1.1 billion in state and nearly $850 million in federal support for OCDEL programs.  

Department of Human Services

Early Intervention
Early Intervention Birth-3 (supplemental increase of $25.159 million; total 2018-19 appropriation of $168.003 million AND increase of $9.752 million, total 2019-20 appropriation of $152.596 million) to serve an additional 3,000 children or 48,900 total children. In 2019-20, available state and federal funding will support the following initiative:  
 
  • $5 million (state) and $1.8 million (federal) to provide a 3% increase in service rates. 

Child Care Works
The Child Care Works program will serve approximately 111,470 children in June 2019 while the wait list for low-income families is expected to exceed 9,000 in June 2019.
 
Child Care Services (decrease of $150,000, total appropriation of $162.332 million) to support low income families.

Child Care Assistance (level-funded, total appropriation of $139.885 million) to support families receiving TANF, Former TANF and SNAP benefits.
   
Child Care Works (CCW) is also supported by federal funding sources including Child Care Development Block Grant, Social Service Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. During 2019-20, available federal funds will be utilized for the following initiatives:  

  • $74.2 million to impact subsidy reimbursement rates in support of all providers as the minimum wage in Pennsylvania is increased to $12 per hour. 
  • $15 million to decrease the child care subsidy waiting list allowing approximately 970 additional infants and toddlers access to quality child care.
  • $10 million to increase the STAR 2, 3 and 4-tiered reimbursement rate by 28% for infants and toddlers.
  • $2 million for Early Childhood Career Pathways to support infant and toddler teachers in their pursuit of higher education.

Home Visiting and Family Support Services
In 2018-19, more than 15,000 children will receive home visiting services through Community-Based Family Centers, Nurse-Family Partnership and federal Early Head Start. Approximately 21 percent of Pennsylvania’s children under two are living at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty guidelines. That translates into approximately 89,000 at-risk infants and toddlers. Our current home visiting programs can serve about 15,000 children, so it’s clear that there’s a significant unmet need.
 
Community-Based Family Centers (increase of $5 million, total appropriation $18.558 million) to support home visiting. 

  • $5 million to provide service to 800 additional families. 

Nurse Family Partnership (level funded, total appropriation of $13.178 million)

Department of Education

Early Childhood Education
The 2019-20 Governor’s Executive Budget continues to build on the state’s investment in PA Pre-K Counts and Heads Start Supplemental Assistance. 

PA Pre-K Counts (increase of $40 million; total appropriation of $232.284 million)

  • $40 million to serve an additional 4,600 children.

Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (increase of $10 million, total appropriation of $69.178 million)

  • $10 million to serve an additional 930 children.
 
Early Intervention
Preschool Early Intervention, 3-5 (supplemental increase of $14 million; total 2018-19 appropriation of $299.5 million AND increase of $29 million, total 2019-20 appropriation of $314.5 million) to serve an additional 1,500 children or 59,000 total children and support the transition to a data driven funding model in 2020-21. 

Opportunity to Provide Testimony Regarding Chapter 49 Proposed Amendments
Written Testimony deadline April 24
The Pennsylvania State Board of Education has announced a series of regional public hearings to receive input from interested parties on draft proposed amendments to Chapter 49 (Certification of Professional Personnel). Available is an opportunity to present testimony at a hearing, conducted on specific dates and locations, March through April 2019. Individuals unable to attend the hearing may submit written testimony directly to the Board on or before April 24, 2019.

Chapter 49 references teacher certification regulations that outline the requirements for future educators to meet to be certified. These regulations guide Institutes of Higher Education (IHE) in the design of their teacher prep programs, including PreK- 4 th certification, which is required for teachers to work in publicly funded programs, such as PA Pre-K Counts. The public, including educators, child and teacher advocates, Higher Education programs and stakeholders are encouraged to review the Chapter 49 recommendations and provide testimony. The process of reviewing and updating the teacher regulations in Chapter 49 only occurs every seven years, so it is important to provide feedback. Chapter 49 includes regulations for IHE programs that set:

  • Eligibility requirements
  • Approval of institutions that can grant certification
  • Approval of experimental programs that lead to certification
  • Approval of induction plans that help to orient new teachers
  • Continuing professional education to ensure relevant and attainable ongoing professional development
  • Assessments that must be demonstrated in order to earn certification

In addition to having an impact on teacher prep programs, some of the proposed recommendations may impact:
  • Course content
  • Out of state educators
  • Providers of alternative
  • Endorsements and accelerated programs

Registration is required to present testimony during a hearing. For more information, including how to register for a hearing and how to provide written testimony, please visit the Pennsylvania State Board of Education website. 
PSS Helps Increase Provider Efficiency and Availability of Accurate Information
A new feature helps both early learning programs increase their efficiency, as well as provide accurate and up-to-date information for families. The new PELICAN Provider Self-Service (PSS) is designed to help early learning providers save time and organize information. When families search for an early learning program at www.findchildcare.pa.gov, a PSS profile will keep families informed on the services provided by early learning providers. 

PSS is an online program to help providers manage everyday work and establish what families see about Pennsylvania early learning providers. PSS is designed to allow early learning providers to accomplish tasks including but not limited to:
  • Manage PSS users and location access
  • Manage and submit attendance and invoicing information online (for providers participating in Child Care Works)
  • Receive subsidy-related correspondences electronically
  • View and update provider location and program profiles for COMPASS Provider Search
  • Gateway for providers to access Certification and Licensing System (CLS) and Early Learning Network (ELN)
  • View, submit and print CLS application forms for child care center, group child care home and family child care home providers
  • File complaints or incidents for a provider location
  • Submit and manage plans of correction

For more information about PELICAN PSS, visit watch the video. Early learning providers can update their information by logging into PELICAN.
Pennsylvania's Children's Trust Fund Request for Application Released
Applications due March 6, 2019
The Department of Human Services has posted the following Solicitation RFA 24-18 for the Children’s Trust Fund (CTF) grants, which operate under the administration of the CTF Board and the Department of Human Services (DHS), is to promote primary and secondary child abuse and neglect prevention programs in community-based settings in order to prevent the first occurrence of abuse and neglect of children in the Commonwealth. Any organization located and operating in Pennsylvania that provides direct services and meets the criteria in this Request for Applications (RFA) is eligible to apply for a CTF grant. Through this RFA, CTF funds are available for up to a three-year grant cycle that will begin on July 1, 2019 and end on June 30, 2022. The focus of this RFA is to support community-based child abuse and neglect prevention projects that address the prevention strategies noted in Part I, Section I-4. The maximum CTF grant award is $50,000 per year for up to three years. Selected grantees must provide a minimum local match of 25 percent of the requested CTF grant award for the first year and a minimum local match of a 50 percent match of the requested grant award for the second and third grant years. The continuation of CTF grants each year of the three-year cycle is contingent upon the availability of funds and successful program evaluation of the project.

View the bid online at eMarketplace or by clicking here.
PA ELIC Announces New Executive Director
Ryan Riley has been named as Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission’s (ELIC) newly appointed Executive Director. Riley has more than a decade of leadership experience in education from pre-K to post-secondary. As a thought leader in education policy, Riley has worked closely with diverse and economically challenged communities to improve student outcomes, reduce high school dropout rates and expand career pathways through workforce development.

Before joining the PA Early Learning Investment Commission, Riley served as the President of Communities in Schools of Pennsylvania (CIS). He will begin his role as the new Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission in early February.

For more information, visit the PA ELIC website . 
Let’s Chat About Early Language and Literacy
Join the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) and Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) during the winter months for some hot topics around early language and literacy development. Get access to resources to share with families and use in classrooms and centers. These 30 minute chats will be offered at 8:30 am and repeated at 1:30 pm on the 2nd and 4th Friday of each month in February and March 2019. PQAS credit hours and Infant Toddler hours available. Get additional information on topics, credits and registration. 
New Resource Highlights Data Sources
A new resource from OCDEL can help families, providers, advocates, researchers, school districts, policymakers and communities throughout the commonwealth be aware of data which reflects the impact and available supports around early learning. The document, Early Learning Data References, is a list of publicly available early learning data references. Publicly available data can inform, engage and create opportunities for children and families throughout the commonwealth. Data can be used to identify priorities for investments, as well as assist in evaluating the effectiveness of early learning policies. Data can broaden an understanding of early learning programs at local, state and national levels, and help make changes to impact the lives of children and their families. 
Save the Dates
Of Interest
PA Department of Health Releases Community to Home RFA
Applications due February 20, 2019
The PA Department of Health, Bureau of Family Health has announced a new funding opportunity. The Community to Home Grant (RFA 67-70) has been posted on the Pennsylvania eMarketplace portal.

The Community to Home Grant will improve the health of children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) by assisting them, along with their families, to get the services and support required to thrive in the community and develop to their full potential. Through this RFA, the Department is interested in funding a home visiting model for in-home care coordination provided by community health workers (CHW). Community to Home will assist CYSHCN and their families to navigate systems and identify resources in order to receive services while empowering them to become strong advocates and self-reliant. The in-home services provided will deliver care-coordination and education allowing CYSHCN and their families to learn the skills they need to succeed in living with their special health care needs. Through these strategies, the Department’s aim is to improve the physical, mental and behavioral health of CYSHCN.
Holistic Measures for School Success Professional Development Opportunity
In 2017, collaborating partners working together under PA Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children’s Health) Partnership recognized that teachers seeking to better manage classroom behavior need to first consider how implicit bias might be impacting their own reactions and how traumatic life experiences can impact the development and behavior of children. LAUNCH partners thus created two online courses devoted to each of these topics. 

The courses can explain how toxic stress disrupts development and can lead to behavioral challenges and help school teachers and administrators to consider the attitudes, reactions, stereotypes, and categories that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. The bundled professional development offerings from Project LAUNCH is offered to teachers and administrators free of charge. Each module is delivered online across multiple weeks at participant's own pace. See the flyer for more details.
Call for Presenters at the PA AIMH Conference
Proposal deadline March 1
The Pennsylvania Association for Infant Mental Health announces a call for proposals for the annual conference, to be held at the Sheraton-Station Square in Pittsburgh, PA, on August 1 & 2, 2019. 

Workshop presentations are 90 minutes in length and should allow interactions with the audience. The purpose of this conference is to promote social emotional development of infants and young children through developing high-quality relationships with families and caregivers. Workshop topics could include reports of innovative programs, practices or therapies for children from conception through five years of age, interventions for mothers and caregivers, promoting attachment between caregivers and children, meeting special needs of children and parents, and other presentations that promote infant-caregiver relationships. 

The audience for the workshops will include early intervention providers, early childhood teachers, child care staff, social workers, speech therapists, nurses, psychologists, students, occupational therapists, physical therapists, licensed professional counselors, and other stakeholders concerned with the well-being of infants, young children, and their families.

Proposals must be submitted by March 1, 2019. Additional questions should be directed to pa-aimh@pa-aimh.org or www.pa-aimh.org. 
Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards, 4th Edition
Now available is the Caring for Our Children: National Health and Safety Performance Standards, 4th Edition from the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Public Health Association, National Resource Center for Health and Safety in Child Care and Early Education. The fourth edition contains guidelines on the development and evaluation of the health and safety of children in early care and education settings. Features 10 chapters of more than 650 standards and dozens of appendixes with valuable supplemental information, forms, and tools. Visit the AAP website for more info.
Supporting the PA Workforce
A recent post from the PA Department of Human Services (DHS) shares information about the efforts to improve the existing design of some of the DHS employment and training programs to help program participants gain skills and address barriers necessary to achieve and maintain long-term employment. DHS is partnering with the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) to redesign our jobs programs, shifting from focusing on placement to long-term success through comprehensive case management that will address barriers and prioritize long-term goals. This partnership will better leverage the PA CareerLink network to equip participants with the education and skills they need to find a job and succeed in employment.

These employment and training programs may target families receiving TANF/SNAP benefits, pregnant and parenting teens, and other at-risk populations in Pennsylvania. To learn more, read the recent edition of The Impact from DHS. 
Research and Reports
ECE Retention Program Common Elements
Frequent staff turnover in early care and education (ECE) programs is a widespread issue that has been associated with negative outcomes for ECE programs and providers, as well as the children they serve. Because ECE providers earn among the lowest wages of any profession nationwide, experts believe that providers are leaving the field in search of higher pay. A recent blog post from Child Trends highlights how weight qualifications, minimum level of education for eligibility, participation in state career lattice systems, annual bonuses and a lack of restriction on the use of funds can make an impact.
Afterschool and Workforce: Opportunities for System-Level Alignment
Employability skills like communication and critical thinking are among the most desired by employers, but evidence suggests a gap in those skills among young workers. To address this gap, youth development leaders, including those in the afterschool sector, have worked to provide high quality skill-building experiences inside and outside of the classroom. Similarly, the workforce sector has sought to narrow the gap by providing programs and services to help job seekers attain and demonstrate these skills. This white paper, Afterschool and Workforce: Opportunities for System-Level Alignment, from American Youth Policy Forum, explores the ways in which the workforce sector’s goal of developing a better-prepared and highly skilled workforce is aligned with the mission of the youth development field: to prepare young people to succeed. Specifically, this paper discusses the need for and benefits of better alignment across afterschool and workforce systems.
Innovation in Cross-System Collaboration to Better Support Babies
States achieve better outcomes for infants, toddlers, and families when they work collaboratively across systems and when services are coordinated and connected. This new series from ZERO TO THREE, Innovation in Cross-System Collaboration to Better Support Babies, shares examples of how states are connecting systems to collaboratively meet the needs of babies, young children, and families.

The series includes four state case studies and a companion brief describing some of the common practices that were important to the states’ collaborative efforts:
  • Colorado: Embedding a Two-Generation Approach Into State and Community Systems
  • Illinois: Developing a Unified Model for Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation
  • New Jersey: Providing Families with a Single Point of Entry for Accessing Services
  • Washington: Strengthening Partnerships Between Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Home Visiting Systems
First Steps for Addressing Maternal Depression
This issue brief from the National Institute for Children's Health Quality (NICHQ) helps mothers, families and family advocates understand the signs of maternal depression and the interdependence between caregiver-child health and well-being. It provides guidance on how mothers can connect with their pediatricians to get the help they need to heal. This brief is meant to benefit those working in public health, as well as families and family advocates. It seeks to identify the key facts and information so that all audiences have a clear understanding of how they can help.
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Assessment
Exploring State Strategies for Financing Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment, a new paper from the ZERO TO THREE Policy Center, summarizes key themes from a recent convening, describes approaches to improving state policy supporting Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) assessment, diagnosis, and treatment, and concludes with ten tips for advancing state IECMH policy.

State examples illustrate core areas that can be employed to improve IECMH including: growing, training and supporting the workforce; securing and sustaining financing for services; building systems that support integration; and cultivating leadership inside and outside of government.
Resources
Supporting Breastfeeding Moms
Visit the  Breastfed Babies Welcome Here  page from  USDA FNS Team Nutrition  to find communication tools, including a poster and message graphic, to let mothers and families know that breastfed babies are welcome at your facility. The resources available also include A Mother's Guide intended to help moms and their breastfed baby get ready for child care.
Nibbles for Health Newsletter
Check out Nibbles for Health, a colorful and fun newsletter from the USDA's Team Nutrition that helps early learning professionals communicate to families information about popular nutrition topics.
Learn the Signs. Act Early.
Check out the Early Care and Education primer from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that highlights the benefits of integrating free Learn the Signs. Act Early. resources within early care and education settings. It also offers tips on using the materials in classrooms, to boost family engagement, as tools to discuss developmental concerns with parents, and ways to support providers’ professional development.
Inclusion Today, Community Living for Life
The latest issue of the US Administration for Community Living's blog features a video depicting the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Child Development Center’s inclusive early childhood program. The video’s narration during classroom visits and meetings with staff and family members explains how the program operates and its impact on families of children with disabilities. 
BabyTalk - January Edition
The January edition of BabyTalk from Camille Catlett is available. This issue highlights how talking to infants can support their brain development, how racial inequality in policies can impact infants, toddlers, and families, and more.
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