Pennsylvania’s Quality Rating and Improvement System, Keystone STARS, is one of the most mature systems in the country to improve quality in child care and early learning programs. In 2017, The Keystone STARS Think Tank Team, in partnership with thousands of stakeholders, developed principles to guide the STARS revision process. During the 2017-18 program year,...Read More

All certified child care providers in Pennsylvania are subject to an annual inspection of the facility.  A certification representative with the Office of Child Development and Early Learning will conduct a renewal inspection of the facility at least once every 12 months. Upon completion of the inspection, the provider will be notified of the Department’s...Read More

Expanding access to high-quality, early childhood education is a proven investment and priority for the Wolf administration. Governor Tom Wolf recently announced more Pennsylvania families will have access to high-quality early learning programs, with approximately 2,125 new slots in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and 490 new slots in the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP) being...Read More

The PA Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has announced that effective August 1, 2018, the Child Care Works (CCW) program will both lift the base rate freeze for STAR 1 and STAR 2 providers, as well as, apply a general Maximum Child Care Allowance (MCCA) base rate increase of 2.5% across all...Read More

Long-time early learning partners, PA Kiwanis, will host the Early Childhood Education: A Bridge to School Success breakfast on Friday, August 10, 2018 from 8 am to 10:30 am at the Doubletree Hotel in Greentree. Enjoy breakfast and learn new techniques and ideas for expanding learning experiences for Early Childhood Education. This breakfast is open...Read More

Human Services has posted the following Solicitation RFP 07-18 for Pennsylvania receives funding through the Child Care and Development and Block Grant (“CCDBG”) to support low-income working families’ access to high-quality child care. The work to support the CCDBG grant is currently performed in Region 18 (Philadelphia) by two types of OCDEL business partners, the...Read More