July 2018 edition
An inside look at Pennsylvania's early education system.
What's New for July
The 2018-19 Pennsylvania state budget was passed and reflects Governor Wolf's continued commitment to and investment in the education of Pennsylvania's young children. See the article below for the final figures. Thank you for raising your voice to ensure investments for children and families were prioritized. 

The July edition of the PA Early Ed News includes several opportunities to acknowledge accomplishments by early learning leaders. Congratulations to Dr. Janet Haas who was named as Honorary Chairwoman of the PA Early Learning Investment Commission, and to the twelve participants who graduated from the OCDEL Policy Fellowship. The commitment to supporting and promoting early learning in Pennsylvania is made stronger by the dedication of so many and it is heartening to have opportunities to recognize leadership. Read below for more information, including how you can join the 2018-19 Fellowship Cohort!

July 1 kicked off the openings of Pennsylvania's Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRC). ELRCs provide a single point-of-contact for families, early learning service providers, and communities to gain information and access services that support high-quality child care and early learning programs. The article below has additional details, including how to find an ELRC in your community.

Remember the famous marshmallow study, which showed strong correlations between a child’s ability to delay gratification just before entering school and both adolescent achievement and socio-emotional behaviors? There's a newly released study that shows a different perspective on what may have an impact on achievement, and delayed gratification may have less of an impact that originally thought. See below for info on the study.
Early Education in Pennsylvania
Early Education Wins in Pennsylvania Budget 
The passage of the FY 2018-19 Pennsylvania state budget on June 22, 2018 shows continued support of early care and education for Pennsylvania families. This budget builds on prior years increases by making further investments in programs that supports families. 

Family Centers and Home Visiting
  • Community-Based Family Centers ($13.558 million, an increase of $5.535 million)
  • $4 million to support targeted expansion of evidence-based Home Visiting in areas hit hardest by the opioid epidemic with a focus on families with a parent with Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). 
  • $500,000 for necessary cross systems training on recognizing signs of Substance Use Disorder (SUD), making referrals for treatment, working with families in recovery, as well as cross systems training focusing on the coordination of supports related to housing, evidence-based home visiting, Children and Youth services, and Early Intervention (EI) services for families struggling with SUD and children impacted by prenatal exposure. 
  • $800,000 to help address the challenge of recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff
  • $235,000 for continued support of the Parent Child Home program
  • Nurse Family Partnership ($13.178 million, an increase of $1.2 million)
  • $1.2 million to help address the challenge of recruiting and retaining highly qualified staff
Early Intervention Birth-3 ($142.844 million)
  • The final 2018-19 budget includes $7.551 million in supplemental funding for 2017-18 to provide for one-time expenditures and $6.299 million in new funding for 2018-19 compared to the initial 2017-18 budget to serve 39,930 infants and toddlers.
Child Care Works
  • The Child Care Works waiting list for low-income families is nearly 10,000 children.
  • Child Care Services ($162.482 million) supports low income families and includes a $6.8 million increase to serve an additional 1,100 children from the waiting list.
  • Child Care Assistance ($139.885 million) supports families receiving TANF, Former TANF and SNAP benefits. This appropriation is level funded. 
  • Federal support increased significantly as Pennsylvania was awarded $66.5 million with the passage of the federal Omnibus. 2018-19 plans for the Omnibus include:
  • $39 million to increase base rates for all levels of care. 
  • Approximately, $19 million is needed to lift the freeze on MCCA rates for STAR 1 and 2 providers.
  • The remaining $20 million will provide an increase to base rates – estimated 2%. 
  • Increases will be effective August 1, 2018.
  • $5 million to support high quality professional development for child care
  • $2 million to pilot contracting for slots for infants and toddlers participating in CCW.
  • $4 million to comply with federal Child Care and Development Block Grant requirements on background checks.
Pre-K Expansion
  • The final 2018-19 budget includes a $25 million investment in high-quality pre-K.
  • $20 million additional funding for PA Pre-K Counts to convert 430 half-day slots to full-day slots and to provide 2125 new full-day slots
  • $5 million additional funding for Head Start Supplemental to serve an additional 490 children in full-day slots.
Preschool Early Intervention, 3-5
  • Increase of $21.662 million to support increased costs of serving those in the existing program and to serve approximately 1,100 additional children, to serve 56,800 total children.
ELRCs Now Open and Serving Families and ECE Professionals
July 1, 2018 kicked off Pennsylvania’s introduction of the Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRC). ELRCs provide a single point-of-contact for families, early learning service providers, and communities to gain information and access services that support high-quality child care and early learning programs. ELRCs administer over $680 million in child care subsidies and supports. This state and federal investment in Pennsylvania’s working families enables parents to maintain employment while creating opportunities for the commonwealth’s children to develop and learn to their fullest potential.

ELRCs will improve the quality of and access to early learning services in the commonwealth and help parents and other caregivers identify the best child care options that meet their children’s needs. The centers can also connect parents and caregivers to additional early learning services and potential child care subsidies.

Through the ELRCs, child care professionals can obtain support in building quality outcomes for children by working with quality coaches to achieve Keystone STARS 3 and 4 status, building connections with community partners, and supporting children and families in accessing additional services, such as PA Pre-K Counts, Head Start, evidenced-based home visiting, and Early Intervention. Find an ELRC in your community at www.raiseyourstar.org. 
Radio Interview Explores Science of Early Childhood 
OCDEL's Director of External Relations, Karen Grimm-Thomas, and Franklin County Commissioner, Bob Thomas, recently joined WITF Smart Talk host, Scott LaMarr for a discussion on the science behind early childhood education. Listen to the recorded radio interview to hear what both have to say about why early childhood education is so important to Pennsylvania families.
Wolf Administration Visits Program Helping Mothers Achieve Healthy Pregnancies, Sustain a Positive Lifestyle at Home
Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller recently visited the Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Nurse-Family Partnership to observe its evidence-based home visiting program. The Lancaster program provides a holistic approach to helping mothers achieve a healthy pregnancy and develop and sustain a positive lifestyle in their homes.

“We know that the opioid epidemic does not just affect individuals in isolation; it can have a profound effect on their families,” Secretary Miller said. “The Penn Medicine Lancaster General Health Nurse-Family Partnership is an example of work being done to keep children healthy and safe. By giving parents in treatment the tools to assist them in meeting their child’s needs, we hope to reduce the number of children entering out-of-home care while we support the parents’ recovery.” Read more .
Event Brings Together Home Visiting Professionals
More than 500 professionals from within and outside of the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning's (OCDEL) funded home visitation and family support programs recently attended the Family Support and Home Visiting Conference. OCDEL’s funded family support programs included the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting, Nurse-Family Partnership, Family Centers, Promoting Responsible Fatherhood, Home Visiting Expansion, and Children’s Trust Fund. These programs sit within the Bureau of Early Intervention Services & Family Supports. 

Keynote speakers at the conference included Teresa Miller, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (above center) with an introduction by OCDEL Deputy Secretary Suzann Morris (above right); Dr. Judy Cameron, Center for Neuroscience, University of Pittsburgh; and Diedra Henry-Spires, CEO, The Dalton Daley Group.

In addition to the keynote speakers, a family perspective was shared each day. Sara Helcoski (above left), former participant in the Nurse Family Partnership; Duval Connor, past participant of Franklin Center of Beaver County Promoting Responsible Fatherhood program; and Lotte Powell, past participant in Early Intervention and Early Head Start programs; each shared their stories and perspectives on how these programs impacted their lives. 

For more information about Home Visiting programs in Pennsylvania, visit the PA Promise for Children website.
OCDEL Policy Fellowship Graduates
Congratulations to the 12 emerging leaders who graduated from the OCDEL Policy Fellowship on Friday, June 22, 2018. Each Fellow was assigned to a placement site such as an OCDEL Bureau or partnering organization, like the PA Key or Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA). Fellows were assigned a mentor within his or her assigned placement site based on experience and interest. Some activities at placement sites included shadowing program leadership and assisting on integral projects.

The graduating fellows included Ilecia Buckner, Jessica Chelik, Kimberly Eckel, Elizabeth Farwell, Kelly Fisher, Emily Garcia, Andrea Heberlein, Cory Johnson, Aaron McMahan, Sherlyn Michie, Kamilah Philpotts and Tiffini Simoneaux (above right, with OCDEL Deputy Secretary, Suzann Morris).

The OCDEL Policy Fellowship intends to grow the candidacy pool of future leaders in Pennsylvania’s early learning system at the state and local levels, and ultimately, strengthen the quality of the system to better serve children, families, and providers. The Fellowship has three key components: monthly cohort meetings, individualized placement sites, and an online learning community. For more information on the OCDEL Policy Fellowship, or to apply today, please visit www.paocdelfellows.net . Applications are due on August 10, 2018. 
Governor Wolf Appoints Dr. Janet Haas as Honorary Chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission
Governor Tom Wolf recently announced the appointment of Dr. Janet Haas, M.D. as Honorary Chairwoman of the Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission. Dr. Haas is also the chairwoman and a past president of the William Penn Foundation. 

The Pennsylvania Early Learning Investment Commission is a network of 60 senior business leaders from across Pennsylvania representing 26 counties and nearly every major industry. Commissioners are appointed by the governor to serve as advocates building awareness and support for increased public investments in early learning. Created in 2008 through an executive order signed by Governor Ed Rendell, the commission has helped Pennsylvania become a national leader for engaging business leaders on the issue of early learning.
RTT-ELC Funding Supports Increased Educational Opportunities for ECE Professionals
Pennsylvania early learning professionals now have more options for furthering their education as part of a partnership with institutions of higher education. As part of the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC), Pennsylvania developed a mini-grant program to provide institutions of higher education (IHE) with financial resources to align their Early Childhood Education coursework for ECE professionals with the Core Knowledge Competencies (CKC). The third and final round of Pennsylvania’s RTT-ELC Course alignment grants to IHEs was completed in Spring 2018. In this round, the focus was on aligning coursework specific to the care of infants and toddlers with the Pennsylvania Core Knowledge Competencies and as well as with the ZERO TO THREE Critical Competencies.

Eleven institutions receiving awards represented community colleges, private colleges and universities, private two-year colleges, state universities and state-related commonwealth universities. Awards ranged from $7,500 - $15,000. Seventy-four courses were aligned or developed, including undergraduate, graduate and workshop for credit courses. Several IHEs used innovative strategies such as collaborating with local training providers, developing a resource data base, and creating a handbook for cooperating teachers and students on the expectations of the practicum experience. Read more about PA's RTT-ELC grant .
Updated PA Position Statements for the Environment Rating Scales
One of the options programs have for quality assessment in Keystone STARS is the Environment Rating Scales (ERS). There are two important companion documents early learning programs should become familiar with to understand how best practice is assessed using the ERS tools – the authors’ Notes for Clarification and the PA Position Statements. The Position Statements have been updated for the 2018-2019 Program Year. New revisions to the PA Position Statements reflect the revised STARS framework and updates to the ERS Notes for Clarification. Additionally, PA Position Statements for the ECERS-3 have been newly created to provide the same level of guidance for this ERS tool. Find out what they mean for early learning professionals .
Pennsylvania District of Kiwanis International: Early Learning Resources to At-Risk PA Families
Kiwanis PA District Logo
The Pennsylvania District of Kiwanis International, long-time supporters to early learning and early literacy resources in the most at-risk communities throughout Pennsylvania, increased outreach efforts in 2018. This year, with funding provided by the Pennsylvania Kiwanis Foundation, they purchased 3,400 of the 2018 PA One Book, My Cousin Momo. 1,800 were distributed in June to the attendees of the Home Visitation and Family Support Conference, which will then be provided to the families served by these programs. 300 were distributed to Family Design Resources for families adopting foster children. Head Start programs in south central Pennsylvania received the balance of the books.

In addition to the distribution of books, local Kiwanis Clubs and Kiwanis members have continued their sponsorship and distribution of early learning activity guides to at-risk families and children. The activity guides are donated to school districts for Kindergarten enrollment, and to home visitation providers, Head Start programs and child care providers throughout Pennsylvania.

For more info, contact Kevin Thomas at Kevin@pakiwanis.org or 717-540-9300.
State-to-State Sharing of Philadelphia's Cross-Systems Collaboration
A Philadelphia partnership was invited to share their model of cross-systems collaboration between shelters and early childhood programs. Building Early Links for Learning (BELL) provided highlights during the New Jersey Head Start Association Conference in May to an audience of primarily Head Start and Early Head Start partners in Atlantic City.  
 
Director of Pennsylvania’s Head Start State Collaboration Office (HSSCO) Tracy Duarte and BELL Project Director Roslyn Edwards spoke to a packed room of Head Start and Early Head Start staff from New Jersey. The presentation was formatted to engage conversation and sharing among participants. Ms. Duarte shared national information on homelessness and background on the federal regulations for serving families experiencing homelessness. Ms. Edwards shared highlights of the cross-system collaboration model in the City of Philadelphia.
Betsy Saatman Invited As an White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellow
Betsy Saatman, Technical Assistance Specialist at the PA Key, has been invited to be a part of the seventh class of White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellows.

The White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship is a ten-month learning experience offered by the Riley Institute at Furman in partnership with the Charles S. Mott Foundation. Grounded in deep discussion of actual case studies and led by policy change-makers, the Fellowship will equip graduates with a real world understanding of the art, science, possibilities and realities of policy making around afterschool and expanded learning time. 
Partnership to Meet Growing Needs of Early Learning Workforce
A new partnership aims to meet the growing needs of the early learning workforce. Shippensburg University, led by grant writer Dr. Jennifer Pyles, received a grant award from the Pennsylvania State Department of Education as part of Pennsylvania’s Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge Grant.

The project, Community Connections: Building the Early Childhood Pathway Program, is comprised of a community collaborative group working together to create a professionalized system for the early childhood field. Partners include the Harrisburg Area Community College, Capital Area Head Start, Bright Futures early learning program, Tiny Learners early learning program, Harrisburg School District, Steelton-Highspire School District, The Center for Schools and Communities and the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN).

The Pathway Program has three main parts to be planned by the community partnership, 1) The Early Childhood Professional Pathway, 2) The Teacher Academies, and 3) The Communities of Professionals.

  • The first part will entail grant partners planning coherent and cohesive paths so early learning teachers can sequence their achievements according to qualification levels. This could lead to more complex professional possibilities in the future.
  • The second part will blend studies with field work. Early learning teachers will accumulate multiple field hours, all planned and aligned with Pennsylvania’s Early Learning Standards, the Pennsylvania Standards Aligned System, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s Standards for Professional Development.
  • The final part is to provide each participant with a culture of professional connection. Through this process, The Center for Early Childhood Education will be established at Shippensburg University. Located within the College of Education and Human Services, The Center for Early Childhood Education will be designed to support early childhood professionals, archive important resources, and communicate regulatory requirements and current trends.

For more information about PA's Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant, visit the PA Department of Education website.
Save the Dates
Pennsylvania's PD Registry: Things To Know and Do
Coming Soon: New PD Plan in the PD Registry

The PD Registry team is actively working on a new Professional Development (PD) Plan for providers in the new PD Registry system. In the meantime, if you did not save your PD Plan in the former Registry, you can find a blank plan on the PD Registry page on the PA Key website. Once you have completed this document, you can print it or upload it to your PD Registry account under the “Professional” section. More information on the new plan coming soon.
Of Interest
Apply now for the 2018-2019 Pennsylvania Education Policy Fellowship Program
Apply now for the 2018-2019 Pennsylvania Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP). EPFP Fellows develop a broadened understanding of the public policy process and the various aspects of education policy; enhance their communication and decision-making skills; strengthen their capacity for leadership; and expand their network of professional colleagues. Find out how to apply.
New: Juice Box Talks!
Join Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) of PA this summer for a new series of discussions around early language and literacy development. Get access to resources you can share with families and use in classrooms and centers. Juice Box Talk: Sounds and Songs of Summer! on Thursday, July 26th. 

Choose from two different 30-minute sessions:
New Name Reflects Changes for DVAEYC
The Delaware Valley Association for the Education of Young Children (DVAEYC) is now First Up: Champions for Early Education. The new name confidently embodies their core commitment to early educators. It asserts that those first relationships children develop with family, caregivers, and early childhood professionals are crucial in creating a path forward to success.

First Up will remain responsive to the needs of their providers, professionals, partners, and the community. Contact them at info@firstup.org with any questions or comments you may have.
2018 PACCA Awards: Call for Nominations
Deadline July 31
The Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA) is accepting nominations for the 2018 Educator of the Year and the Award of Excellence. The awards recognize contributions made by PACCA members to the early care and education profession. 

The Educator of the Year award honors outstanding service and accomplishments in the delivery of services to children. It is given to an individual at a PACCA member agency who has contributed significantly to the direct care and education of young children. We are seeking nominations for both center-based and family child care educators.

The Award of Excellence honors outstanding service and accomplishments in the field of administration. The award is presented to a member of PACCA who has demonstrated qualities of vision (ability to see possibilities for making things happen and communicating this vision to others), teamwork (ability to work with and support others) and leadership (willingness to reach out to benefit the child care community).

Nomination deadline is July 31, 2018. Click here to submit a nomination.
Resource to Help Implement Health and Safety Practices
ECELS has a new resource for early learning professionals will find helpful to implement health and safety practices. Build on the knowledge you learned in the (required) Health and Safety Basics: Requirements for Certification professional development. The document has brief, concise answers to questions that follow Model Child Care Health Policies , 5th Edition topics. When an early learning program reviews and develops policies, this tool and Model Child Care Health Policies are great resources. Use these resources to address following Keystone STARS Standards:

  • LM.2.2 A policy manual is provided to staff to support their understanding of program policies, procedures, roles and responsibilities.
  • FC.2.4 A Family Handbook is distributed to outline program policies and practices beyond those required for Certification.

Use the link above to access the online and form-field versions of Model Child Care Health Policies.
#SummerOfSTEM
The PA Department of Education (PDE) is launching #SummerOfSTEM and early learning providers and programs are invited to get involved! Let PDE know about the STEM programs, activities and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) projects you are coordinating this summer by including #SummerOfSTEM in your social media posts. PDE might highlight the program on social media or even stop by to check it out!
Latest on Social Media
Research and Reports
Study Shines New Light on Delayed Gratification Study Using Marshmallows

A new study, Revisiting the Marshmallow Test: A Conceptual Replication Investigating Links Between Early Delay of Gratification and Later Outcomes, published in the May edition of Psychological Science, reframed the marshmallow test findings, concluding that confounds not accounted for in the original study—including social and economic background—explain most of the association between delayed gratification and achievement. They also suggest the test may measure other cognitive abilities that contribute to achievement test scores rather than ability to delay gratification.
Two Studies Show Money Makes the Difference for Kindergartners in the Summer
What kind of impact does access to summer camp and cultural outings and daily reading have on a child transitioning into kindergarten? Two new studies show that the summer learning gap between the lower and middle classes may be narrowing while the rich surge ahead of everyone.
Texting and Family Engagement in Early Learning Settings
In a new study, Exploring the use of texting to support family-school engagement in early childhood settings: teacher and family perspectives, released in Early Child Development and Care, researchers examined the nature of current communication (including texting) between school and home. They also examined openness among teachers and families to the idea of sending or receiving home-school communication via text. They also examined beliefs among teachers and families about how texting can support various aspects of family-school engagement.

Researchers suggest that many teachers and families are enthusiastic about using texting. They also view texting as a tool to further family-school engagement and communication and to enhance child outcomes.
The Need to Raise Workers’ Wages
In a new report, At the Wage Floor: Covering Homecare and Early Care and Education Workers in the New Generation of Minimum Wage Laws, released by the University of California (UC) Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, the UC Berkeley Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, and COWS at UW-Madison, researchers examine wages for workers who provide home care and early care and education services to the very young, people with disabilities, and those who are frail due to age or illness.

The authors present a case for the need to raise workers’ wages and argue that significant public investment is a necessary part of the solution, both to deliver minimum wage increases to these workers and to cover the significant unmet need for care. The authors provide background about the shared and divergent challenges in the homecare and early care and education industries. Finally, they review emerging policy initiatives to fund wage increases for homecare and early care and education workers and identify principles they suggest can inform public policy going forward.
Resources
Free Resources for Caregivers and Agencies working with Separated Immigrant Children 
Two resources are now available from the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health to help those caring for recently separated immigrant children. The first is a letter that presents the idea of SAFE Communication to assist alternative caregivers to help the children begin to make sense of what has happened to them and offers strategies to increase the children’s sense of safety and protection. This tool also provides concrete suggestions for bridging the likely language barrier between the caregiver and the child. Short and easily accessible, this tool is aimed at providing foster parents much needed support in their endeavor to help traumatized children.

Also available is a children’s story – Cecilia and the Long Walk - to help children understand their recent experience, providing language to help organize internal confusion and terror. The story is presented as a coloring book, with version available in both English and Spanish. An audio recording of Cecilia and the Long Walk (Cecilia y la Larga Caminata) is also available on YouTube so that children can listen to the story being read in their native language.
Free training available: Watch Me! Celebrating Milestones and Sharing Concerns
Have you ever had a concern about the development of a child in your care? Too many young children with developmental delays or disabilities miss the opportunity to benefit from early intervention services that can help them reach their full potential. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers a FREE, 1-hour online continuing education course to provide early care and education providers tools and best practices for them to work with families to monitor every young child’s development and help children with developmental delays get the early support they need.
10 Ways to Promote the Language and Communication Skills of Infants and Toddlers
This guide from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute describes 10 practices that early childhood educators can use to support the development of language and communication skills of infants and toddlers. Because research supports the importance of adult-child interactions for infants and toddlers, the practices are designed to be done one-on-one or in small groups. Each practice draws upon the types of interactions that research suggests promotes language and communication skills. 
Infographic: What does racism look like?
As part of an ongoing public awareness campaign on racial equity, Frank Porter Graham's award-winning Committee on Race, Culture, and Ethnicity has published an infographic that demonstrates the impact of racism on housing, criminal justice, public health, education, and banking.
USDA Team Nutrition Webinars: Thirty on Thursdays – Available in English and Spanish
USDA Team Nutrition offers FREE monthly webinars on a variety of nutrition topics. Attendees will have a chance to submit questions to the presenters and check their knowledge through interactive polling questions. For more information, including recordings of past webinars and dates and topics of future webinars, please visit the CACFP Halftime: Thirty on Thursdays webpage . 
First Pathways Toolkit
First Pathways Toolkit is an online platform for parent-child playtime activities that promote healthy brain development. Every time a parent logs on, they can access descriptions and instructional videos of age-appropriate activities that require only simple household items that can be played almost anywhere. For families with children ages birth to age six. 
June & July 2018 Editions of Baby Talk Now Available
The June 2018 edition of Camille Catlett's Baby Talk share resources and information about social-emotional development in the first three year; navigating the what, when and how of infant and toddler feeding; and more. 

The July 2018 edition of Baby Talk contains information on physical development delays, making eye contact with infants, songs and rhymes that build readers and more. 
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