Created in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Pennsylvania Key implements the work and supports the policies developed and managed by OCDEL. Learn More. >
Created in 2007 by the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), The Pennsylvania Key implements the work and supports the policies developed and managed by OCDEL. Learn More. >To:
From:
Shante’ A. Brown,
Deputy Secretary, Office of Child Development & Early Learning
Issue Date: 08/29/2025
Effective Date: 8/29/2025
End Date: 06/30/2026
To provide guidance related to supporting the enrollment of PA Pre-K Counts children in DHS licensed programs, when the PA PKC program experiences a delayed start date.
PA PKC programs may be experiencing a delayed start for the 2025-2026 school year. Families unable to wait until the program’s PKC program year begins may prefer to enroll in child care, using CCW, privately paying or using other funds available to the program.
22 Pa. Code § 405.41. requires that PA PKC programs offer 180-days of instruction. Programs who experience a delay in starting the 2025-2026 school year are still expected to meet this requirement.
If a PKC provider is unable to begin programming and a family requests full-time preschool care, the family may choose to enroll in child care using CCW, private-pay or another funding source. In this case, the child is no longer considered enrolled in PKC and is instead served through traditional preschool child care. The child may remain on a waiting list if already determined eligible and the family chooses to transition back to PA PKC once the program begins.
Any PKC enrollments for children using CCW, private pay, or another funding source should be end dated in PELICAN. PKC enrollments should only reflect enrolled students at the time PKC programming occurs.
PKC providers are in compliance with 22 Pa Code § 405.23. Disallowance of Duplicate Funding, as long as the child care provided using CCW, private pay or other funds does not overlap with the 180-days of required instruction for PA Pre-K Counts and/or the program hours listed for PKC in PELICAN.
Under no circumstances may families be mandated to pay for services or provide payment to secure their slot in PA PKC. Families with children who choose not to enroll into a traditional child care program and prefer to wait until the PA PKC program starts, must be maintained by PA PKC grantees as accepted/enrolled in Pre-K Counts until the program starts.
PA PKC providers must accurately reflect program start dates and child enrollment dates for PA PKC participation in PELICAN based on the actual delayed program start dates. The classroom session start date should reflect July 1, 2025, as noted in the PELICAN User Guide, however, the school year start date should reflect the actual delayed start date of PKC programming.
PKC providers must communicate any delay in start dates for PKC to their Preschool Program Specialists (PPs) and to relevant ELRCs to support families with access to child care.