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. >In November 2023, the Pennsylvania Key, on behalf of the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), awarded 18 Rapid Response Team mini-grants for $200,000 to begin a 6-month Planning with six months Implementation or a 1-year implementation grant starting January 2024. The work will support a grassroots and collaborative approach which emerged in several Pennsylvania communities to provide a cross-sector Rapid Response Team (RRT) deployed to early childhood education (ECE) programs when an ECE program is struggling with the challenging behavior of a child who is at immediate risk of expulsion.
The development of this collaborative service at the local level has been in response to the increase in challenging behaviors in ECE settings, combined with historically long waiting lists for the statewide Infant Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation (IECMHC) program. Locally developed RRTs typically include, but are not limited to, behavioral health professionals, Early Intervention (EI) professionals and Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) staff.
Early childhood programs should work with their ELRCs to explore existing programmatic needs to determine what supports or services would best fit the circumstances. The RRT is meant to enhance the system of supports available within Pennsylvania’s early childhood system and is a piloted, short-term triaging support to enhance the early childhood system of support in each ELRC region throughout Pennsylvania, which also include quality coaching, IECMH and School-Age Child Care, focused mental health consultation, Early Intervention Services and Supports and Home Visiting.
This project is supported by the Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five Initiative (PDGB5), Grant # 90TP0096-01-00, from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.
Learn more about Rapid Response Team (RRT) Implementation Mini Grants. >