The Pennsylvania Key is seeking an Infant Toddler Coaching Consultant to work directly with the OCDEL Early Head Start- Child Care Partnership agencies. This position will support infant/toddler staff in childcare facilities through a coaching initiative designed to address the fundamental work around classroom environments, pedagogical perspectives, child-staff interactions and engagement of children in learning/activities. The [...]
On Friday, Aug. 19, 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released two new resources for educators related to monkeypox. The first is a set of frequently asked questions from Schools, Early Care and Education Programs, and Other Settings Serving Children or Adolescents about monkeypox. The second is a factsheet about What You [...]
The PA NAPSACC Wellness Grant is accepting applications for the 2022-2023 year. Application deadline is September 16, 2022. All licensed child care programs are eligible to apply. The grant provides an opportunity to engage in a continuous quality improvement process focused on obesity prevention practices and policies within an early care and education setting, and [...]
Important Notice Immediate Action Required for Regulatory Compliance – Please Read Carefully If you hold a license to operate a facility licensed by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS), there are two changes to the Civil Rights Compliance process. First, there is a new Civil Rights Compliance form when submitting a new licensing application [...]
Pennsylvania’s Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), with technical assistance from the State Capacity Building Center within the Office of Child Care Projects at the federal level, has embarked on an initiative to rewrite Pennsylvania’s child care certification regulations. Once completed, the new regulations will: Increase alignment with quality improvement Promote greater equity; [...]
The Office of Commonwealth Libraries has developed a series of print resources to share early literacy tips with families and caregivers of babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. These brochures are available at no cost to Pennsylvania early learning programs. The materials include: Healthy Bodies Brochure: A great selection of books that promote healthy eating or gives [...]
The Pennsylvania Key's Program Quality Assessment (PQA) team invites Family Child Care Providers and Group Child Care Providers in a residential building to join a Business Administration Scale (BAS) Community of Practice (CoP) cohort. This opportunity is for providers who want to enhance their knowledge of the Business Administration Scale (BAS), gain a deeper understanding [...]
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) is asking all licensed child care facilities to share information about tuition rates and the true cost of care. OCDEL, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Key and the Institute of State and Regional Affairs at Penn State Harrisburg, invites all licensed child care facilities to [...]
June 28, 2022: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning parents, caregivers, and health care providers not to use neck floats with babies for water therapy interventions, especially with babies who have developmental delays or special needs, such as spina bifida, spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) type 1, Down syndrome, or cerebral palsy. The use [...]
On June 8, 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) kicked off the virtual Summer Learning and Literacy Road Trip. During June – August 2022, early childhood educators, community partners, and families with young children can discover highlighted Pennsylvania libraries and the resources available to support early literacy and learning. Early [...]
