Now available are the updated Keystone STARS Performance Standards and Program Manual, effective July 1, 2018. On July 1, 2017, the revised Keystone STARS Performance Standards were released. During the 17/18 Fiscal Year, Early Child Care and Education programs had the opportunity to become familiar with the revised STAR Standards during a “Hold Harmless” Year. Also during FY 17/18,...Read More

OCDEL Budget Overview Listen to the June 29, 2018 call with OCDEL Deputy Secretary, Suzann Morris. Click here to view the 2017-18 and 2018-19 comparison.  On Friday, June 22, 2018, Governor Wolf signed the 2018-19 budget into law. The 2018-19 budget continues to build on the governor’s commitment to high-quality early learning services. Thank you to all...Read More

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...Read More

One of the options programs have for quality assessment in Keystone STARS is the Environment Rating Scales (ERS). There are two important companion documents that 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 ERS authors’...Read More

An infographic, Educating Pennsylvania’s Youngest Learners, from the PA Key shares a snapshot of the expenses related to child care in Pennsylvania. All families in Pennsylvania deserve access to quality early care and education programs, but quality programs can come with a hefty price tag. The infographic is based on information from a recent study, Examining Child...Read More