An inside look at Pennsylvania's early education system.
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Have you reviewed the
proposed changes to Pennsylvania's Child Care Regulations? The child care regulations were last amended in September 2008. Since 2008, many changes have occurred that affect the regulations and operation of a child care facility. The proposed changes meet the requirements under the Child Care Development Block Grant and align with best practices. Your feedback counts! Read below to find out how you can review the changes, then submit your feedback.
The amazing strides being done throughout the commonwealth have been
presented at a National Conference and
highlighted within several recent studies. The November edition of the PA Early Ed News provides info on these. Check below for:
- A presentation of Pennsylvania's evidence-based home visiting at the National ZERO TO THREE Conference by Sarah Holland and Mary Mikus
- Policylab's Lessons Learned from the Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s Federally Funded Home Visiting Programs
- Educational Testing Service's Comparing the Potential Utility of Kindergarten Entry Assessments to Provide Evidence of English Learners’ Knowledge and Skills
- the Special Issue: Taking Home Visiting to Scale: Findings from the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program State-Led Evaluations, published in the Maternal and Child Health Journal, and
- the 2018 State of State Early Childhood Data Systems by the Early Childhood DATA Collaborative.
We offer our condolences to those in Pittsburgh and surrounding communities as they work to recover from the recent event. In response to traumas within communities, the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) highlights resources for early learning programs, schools, community partners and families. Please visit the
PA Keys website
for a listing of resources.
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Early Education in Pennsylvania
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Public Comment Period Opened for Proposed Changes to Current Child Care Regulations
Comment deadline: November 13
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The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) announce the proposed changes to the Child Care Regulations at 55 Pa. Code, Chapters 3270, 3280 and 3290 are now available for review.
All public comments must be submitted in writing by the closing date of the public comment period on November 13, 2018. All comments, suggestions or objections must reference the Regulation Chapter, Number, Section and Subsection.
Submit via fax: 717-787-1529
Submit via mail:
Tamula Ferguson
Bureau of Certification Services
Office of Development and Early Learning
Department of Human Services
333 Market Street, 6th Floor
Harrisburg, PA 17105
Persons with a disability who require an auxiliary aid or service may submit comments using the AT&T Relay Service at 1-800-654-5984 (TDD users) or 1-800-654-5988 (voice users).
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Pennsylvania Submits Plan for CCDBG
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On August 31, 2018, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) submitted Pennsylvania’s plan for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) for the next plan cycle which spans Federal Fiscal Year 2019 through 2021. At present, the plan in under review by the Administration for Children and Families, the Office of Child Care. The plan is now posted and available for review at the
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) website.
In the plan, OCDEL certifies that Pennsylvania is in full compliance with all CCDBG requirements except for those associated with criminal history background checks. For the background check requirements, Pennsylvania has met all mandated, preliminary milestones – in-state child abuse registry, Pennsylvania State Police, fingerprint background check through the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and in-state sex offender registry. Checks for
inter-state criminal histories, child abuse registries, and sex offender registries as well as a check of the National Sex Offender Registry have yet to be incorporated. OCDEL has requested a one-year waiver to come into full compliance with those requirements by September 30, 2019 and is on-target to meet that deadline.
Questions about the plan may be directed to OCDEL at 717-346-9320.
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DHS Secretary Announces Funding for Evidence-Based Home Visiting Programs in Communities Affected by Opioid Epidemic
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Department of Human Services (DHS) Secretary Teresa Miller recently announced increased funding for evidence-based home visiting programs in communities affected by the opioid epidemic included in Governor Tom Wolf’s 2018-2019 budget. The Department of Human Services currently supports four evidence based home visiting programs: Early Head Start, Healthy Families America, Nurse Family Partnership Program (NFP), and Parents as Teachers (PAT).
Governor Wolf has increased the state investment in home visiting by nearly $15 million during his tenure. A total of $51.9 million is allocated in the 2018-2019 budget through a combination of state and federal funding. This allocation includes $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). This funding will serve approximately 1,000 families around Pennsylvania.
Read more.
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New Vodcasts Provide Info On Operating A Child Care Facility
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Four
new vodcasts
, available from the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) Bureau of Certification, contain important information about operating a child care facility.
These 10-15 minute videos can easily be shared with early learning staff, linked within an email or on a website, or shared via social media.
- Child Protective Services Law Vodcast: This video details the requirements for child care providers in meeting the Child Protective Service Law (CPSL) and the importance of these requirements. Child care providers and other employees who have contact with children are responsible for obtaining the proper clearances and ensuring that clearances are obtained within the proper time frame.
- Requirements for an Effective Director of Child Care Center Vodcast: Child care directors are responsible for the overall management of a successful child care center. This video explains the commitments directors must make to ensure proper communication with staff and parents, maintain up-to-date child and staff files, have knowledge of the Pennsylvania child care regulations, and provide oversight for the overall health and safety of children in care.
- Supervision Vodcast: Supervision is the most critical requirement in keeping children healthy and safe while they are in care. Staff must always be able to see, hear, direct and assess children at all times in order to provide proper supervision. This video is helpful in providing a more in-depth look at supervision, as well as guidance to help staff meet this requirement.
- Writing a Plan of Correction Vodcast: All certified child care facilities are required to undergo an annual inspection. Many times, a facility is in full compliance with all the regulations. However, there are occasions when the Legal Entity has to be cited for non-compliance with one or more of the child care regulations. This video explains the process for writing and submitting a plan of correction for regulatory violations that your certification representative may cite during a licensing inspection.
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Building Capacity for Coaching Initiative
Deadline November 23
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Keystone STAR 3 & 4 providers are invited to apply for the
Building Capacity for Coaching Initiative.
The Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Key, is pleased to announce the Building Capacity for Coaching Initiative. This free professional development and systems building opportunity will leverage coaching supports from Penn State Better Kid Care and other professional growth activities in order to develop internal coaches in STAR 3 and STAR 4 facilities. Selected applicants will demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of early childhood practices and must have the approval of their administrator or director as this will require a time commitment.
Applications are now available
. Deadline to submit applications is November 23, 2018
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Pennsylvania's Evidence-Based Home Visiting Highlighted at National Conference
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Pennsylvania was well represented at the recent National ZERO TO THREE Conference early October 2018 in Denver. Sarah Holland, Special Assistant, Family Engagement OCDEL, and Mary Mik
us,
Early Intervention Technical Assistance (EITA) Consultant, successfully engaged attendees during the poster presentation, highlighting Pennsylvania's comprehensive approach across early childhood programs through family engagement in evidence-based home visiting programs.
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Keystone STAR Providers Invited to Share Their Story
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Are you a Keystone STARS provider? You're invited to share your Raise Your STAR story
about your commitment to quality early childhood education. Celebrate your successes and commitment to quality.
Take a short 5-minute survey today
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Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRCs) throughout the commonwealth are making strides in outreach and assistance to families, early learning professionals and community members.
The ELRC for Region 11,
Community Services for Children, in Wilkes-Barre recently hosted a visit by representatives from Senator Baker’s and Senator Pashinski’s offices, OCDEL and DHS's Office of Legislative Affairs. Both legislators are interested in the new model and how families and providers are being served. Senator Pashinski is particularly interested in how the local ELRC is assisting grandparents who suddenly acquire responsibility for their grandchildren due to the displacement (primarily due to the opioid epidemic) of their parents. Thank you to the ELRC 11 Director, Pam Cho and the local regional manager, Laurinda Rubin, for hosting the visit.
ELRC for Region 10,
Child Care Consultants (CCC)
and their sub-grantee,
South Central Community Action Programs
(SCCAP) recently hosted visitors from the State of Maryland at SCCAP’s Gettysburg office. Maryland is under new CCDF leadership. They reached out to Pennsylvania with a request to learn more about the IT systems we use to support the subsidy and child care licensing systems. The Maryland visitors explored the Gettysburg office to see PELICAN-Child Care Works in action and OCDEL’s Central Region Certification Office to see the Certification and Licensing System. OCDEL is grateful to Christy Renjilian of CCC, Megan Shreve and Marci Place of SCCAP for accommodating the visit.
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Changes are coming to the PA One Book program
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In 2019, the Pennsylvania One Book Program will adapt to meet the increasing need to support early literacy to Pennsylvania’s youngest learners. These changes include a shift in focus to get more books into the hands and homes of more children, and there will be two books available for purchase.
- Barnyard Banter by Denise Fleming, for infants and toddlers (available in English)
- Not a Box by Antoinette Portis, for children ages three to five (available in English and Spanish)
There are no minimum or fixed quantities required! Early learning providers, library staff and community partners can purchase the exact number of books needed. To keep costs more affordable, paperback options are the only available option.
A two-page Family Fun Guide for both titles will be available on the PA One Book website (
www.paonebook.org
) by January 2019. Other guides aligned with the Pennsylvania Standards for Early Childhood will also be available with activities for use by early childhood educators and families.
With this change, copies of the One Book titles will no longer be mailed to early learning programs, however anyone may purchase and donate copies to child care homes and centers, as well as families.
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Feedback Requested on NAEYC Position Statement
Feedback deadline November 18, 2018
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NAEYC has released the first public draft of its position statement on “Professional Standards and Competencies for Early Childhood Educators”. This is a revision of the 2009 position statement on “NAEYC Standards for Early Childhood Professional Preparation”. NAEYC position statements are driven by the early childhood field and serve as an important tool for building understanding and support for significant and often controversial issues related to early childhood education. This position statement is owned by the early childhood field and feedback about the content and clarity of the statement is critical.
Click here for more info and to provide feedback.
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Teacher Certification Grade Spans Legislation Enacted
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House Bill 1386 (Phillips-Hill -R) was recently amended to eliminate the proposed changes to the grade spans for teacher instructional certificates, except for combination of the two special education spans. This means the pre-k to grade 4 span is maintained and the overlapping kindergarten-grade 6 span was eliminated from the language. The Senate and House passed this version of the bill unanimously and Governor Wolf signed it into law on October 19, as Act 82 of 2018.
See PennAEYC, PAEYC and DVAEYC position statement for more info.
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LIHEAP Applications Now Being Accepted
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Qualifying Pennsylvanian's needing assistance with heating expenses can now apply for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). LIHEAP helps families living on low incomes pay their heating bills in the form of a cash grant. Crisis grants also are for households in immediate danger of being without heat. With cash grants, a one-time payment is sent directly to the utility company/fuel provider, and will be credited on the bill. Cash grants range from $200 to $1,000 based on household size, income, and fuel type. Visit the
PA Department of Human Services website for additional information, such as eligibility and how to apply.
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Car Seat Recommendations Updated in 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics
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New car seat recommendations are available, as highlighted in this article from
ECELS.
Motor vehicle crashes remain the leading cause of death for children 4 years and older. The AAP updated the
Child Passenger Safety
policy statement and
technical report based on new evidence gathered over the past 10 years. The documents will be published in the November issue of
Pediatrics. The updated guidance advises children to ride rear-facing as long as possible. Two years of age is no longer a specific age criterion when a child changes from a rear- to a forward-facing car safety seat.
View the AAP New article.
Angela Osterhuber, Ed.M., Director, PA Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics, PA Traffic Injury Prevention Project (TIPP) offers this advice:
- Secure infants and toddlers in a rear-facing car seat until they reach the highest weight or height allowed by the manufacturer of the car seat. In Pennsylvania, children younger than two years must be secured in a rear-facing car seat.
- Never place a rear-facing car seat in the front seat that has an active passenger-side front air bag. If the airbag inflates, it will hit the back of the car seat, right where the baby's head rests, and could cause serious injury or death.
- Traveling rear-facing is safer than forward-facing.
- Call TIPP at 800/CAR-BELT x24 (in PA) for help with questions about the new recommendations.
Car seats must be used correctly to properly protect your child in a crash. The AAP’s parent magazine, HealthyChildren.org, has an article titled
Car Seat Checkup with other car seat tips for families, such as:
- The safest place for all children younger than 13 years to ride is in the back seat regardless of weight and height.
- If an older child must ride in the front seat, putting the child in a forward-facing car seat with a harness may be the best choice. Be sure you move the vehicle seat as far back from the dashboard (and airbag) as possible.
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National Head Start Association Garden Grants Initiative
Deadline: November 15
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The National Head Start Association and the Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation have launched a
new multi-year Garden Grants Initiative, which seeks to bring the life-enhancing benefits of gardens to more Head Start children and families, increasing healthy food access and fostering a lifelong love of gardening. Grant recipients will receive $5,000, plus a garden kit, to create or expand a garden in their community.
Schools, community action programs, non-profits, hospitals, community centers and inter-generational groups that hosts Head Start programs are eligible to apply. Application deadline for the 2018/2019 program year is November 15, 2018.
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2019 Youth Garden Grant
Deadline: December 17
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Any nonprofit organization, public or private school, or youth program in the United States or US Territories planning a new garden program or expanding an established one that serves at least 15 youth between the ages of 3 and 18 is eligible to apply for the 2019 Young Garden Grant. The selection of winners is based on demonstrated program impact and sustainability.
Get info on how to submit and application.
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Child Development Associate (CDA) Series and Renewal
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The Westmoreland County Community College will offer a Child Development Associate (CDA) series and renewal for the Spring/Summer 2019. Welcome and orientation will be held December 4, 2018.
See the brochure for additional info.
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Check out these recent highlights featured on social media.
Facebook:
Twitter:
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Lessons Learned from the Evaluation of Pennsylvania’s Federally Funded Home Visiting Programs
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Home visiting services are voluntary, in-home services provided to under-resourced pregnant moms and families of young children. To understand how these programs are faring in Pennsylvania, PolicyLab has partnered with Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) on the evaluation of Pennsylvania’s MIECHV-funded home visiting programs since 2011. This large-scale, mixed-methods study includes a comprehensive examination of these programs’ impact on the lives of the families they serve that has led to an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of wide-spread implementation of home visiting services. Following the completion of this rigorous evaluation and the publication of several journal articles detailing individual findings,
PolicyLab produced a webinar about the discoveries and how the Commonwealth is using the evaluation to ensure these programs meet the needs of families.
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Pennsylvania's Kindergarten Entry Inventory (KEI) was included as a kindergarten entry assessments (KEAs) in a
new report from ETS (Educational Testing Service), a document-based, comparative case study aimed at increasing understanding about the potential of state KEAs to provide evidence of English learner (EL) kindergartners’ knowledge and skills and inform kindergarten teachers’ instruction.
Using a sample of nine purposely selected state KEAs, the study explores to what extent these measures contain items specific to ELs, allow or mandate linguistic accommodations, and have policies on assessor or observer linguistic capacity, as well as whether research supports use of such measure with EL students. Results have implications for policymakers tasked with selecting or developing KEA.
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Taking Home Visiting to Scale: Findings from the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program State-Led Evaluations
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All states and territories receiving MIECHV funding are encouraged to evaluate their programs. This special issue highlights evaluations from 11 awardees—Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee. With the wide expansion of home visiting since the onset of MIECHV, the state-led evaluations contribute to the understanding of replication and scale-up of evidence-based home visiting.
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2018 State of State Early Childhood Data Systems
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Pennsylvania was noted as the only state in both 2010 and 2013 surveys that linked all ECE programs at the child and program levels per a recent release of
2018 State of State Early Childhood Data Systems by the Early Childhood DATA Collaborative. The report included information about Pennsylvania’s Enterprise to Link Information for Children Across Networks (PELICAN).
In April 2018, 50 states responded to an Early Childhood Data Collaborative (ECDC) survey to assess states’ capacity to link child-, family-, program-, and workforce-level data across ECE programs. Linking child-, family-, and program-level data means having the ability to follow individual children, programs, and staff across programs and over time. Data may be housed in different systems or within the same system. The 2018 Survey included questions about linking child-, program-, and workforce-level data; data governance and policies; and uses of coordinated early childhood data.
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Understanding and Improving Access to ECE for Children in Low-Income Hispanic Families
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A new brief,
Research Priority Areas for Understanding and Improving Access to Early Care and Education (ECE) for Children in Low-Income Hispanic Families, from the National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families highlights areas researchers should focus on to build a complete understanding of the barriers between Hispanic families and access to early care and education. To improve low-income Hispanic families’ access to high-quality care that supports healthy child development, researchers should focus on understanding the mismatch between families’ work schedules and early care and education schedules, the types of care available, and the characteristics and preparedness of the workforce serving these families.
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Report Highlight Findings from Cost of Quality Early Learning Think Tank
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The Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes (CEELO) recently published a
new report highlighting presentations, discussions and resources from a Cost of Quality Early Learning Think Tank held May 16-17, 2018 in Chicago. The meeting provided state and local leaders, advocates, and national experts engaged in cost studies of early learning programs an opportunity to take stock of what they are learning about collecting, analyzing and using cost data to inform and drive policy decisions about financing high-quality early learning programs.
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Will this program work here? Assessing Feasibility
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Family involvement programs can look great on paper and yet fail. Programs can have defined goals, a well-defined time frame and program structure, research-based curricula, proven results for a specific target population, and still fail to produce the positive outcomes we expect. Before we ask “Is this program beneficial to families?” it is a good idea to first ask “Can we successfully implement this program here?”
Read the blog post from NIEER.
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Updated 2018 Emergency Preparedness manual for early childhood programs
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Programs can use this manual as a guide for their emergency planning process. Find the latest tools and resources to support children, families, and communities before, during, and after an emergency. An emergency may be a catastrophic natural event, like a hurricane, flood, or wildfire, or a man-made disaster, such as a shooting. No matter the crisis, early childhood programs need to be ready with impact, relief, and recovery plans. Explore the resources on the
ECLKC Emergency Preparedness page
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Stages of Infant Development and Feeding Skills
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During early years, a child's relationship with food is crucial for his or her health and development. Learning the physical stages that relate to feeding is important to understanding this process. Once it is determined that a child is ready to start consuming solid foods, providers should work closely with parents to determine which foods are introduced first. New foods should be introduced gradually and when the child is developmentally ready, the CACFP provider must offer all other components in the infant meal pattern.
Here's a great tool from CACFP for both providers and parents to help recognize developmental milestones.
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Resources for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren
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Nationally, one out of 4 children under the age of five is cared for by a grandparent while parents work or go to school. ZERO TO THREE says thank you to all the amazing grandparents out there with
three short films
profiling families who share the care. Check out additional grandparenting resources
here.
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The Center for the Promotion of Social & Emotional Learning (CPSEL) has announced a newly launched website
www.CPSEL.org. Visit and learn about their services and how they support the social and emotional learning efforts.
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The PA Early Ed News is a project of the PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning, and the PA Departments of Education and Human Services to inform early learning professionals, the early childhood community, policymakers, community leaders and the public on developments in early childhood education and care in Pennsylvania.
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