Beginning immediately, an exemption has been added to the CDA Voucher Guidelines. Students currently enrolled in a Career and Technical Education (CTE) program may submit documentation on school letterhead indicating you are enrolled and currently working in a STARS facility. Meeting the 20 hours weekly will be waived. The Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential is...Read More

Beginning August 2018, the Program Quality Assessment blog Let’s Talk Quality! Program Quality Assessment in PA will have a new URL! Let’s Talk Quality (www.letstalkqualitypa.com) is a shorter and easier URL to use. Please be sure to change bookmarks or clear any history in your browser using the old URL. What is Let’s Talk Quality?...Read More

All users in the system who have fully completed their Professional Development (PD) Registry profile will be automatically entered into a random drawing to win a new Apple iPad! Two winners will be notified by November 15, 2018. Contest ends on October 31, 2018. How to enter: 1. If you have already completed your profile,...Read More

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