COVID-19 Resources

As we progress through this extraordinary time, we are here to serve as a resource for PennAEYC members and the early care and education community. Please know we are trying to share anything coming out of government that could be helpful, recognizing each program or concept may not help everyone.

Advocating for Early Education Providers

You did it! We did it! $125 Million Allocated to Save Early Learning Each week, over the last five weeks, we asked you to reach out to the Governor and General Assembly and you came through every time! Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA supporters sent over 20,000 emails urging our elected officials to Save Early Learning!

On May 28 the Senate and House voted unanimously to pass the stimulus bill authorizing the spending of the majority of the $3.9 billion in federal CARES Act funding. Today the Governor signed it! The bill includes:

  • $116 million to stabilize child care providers
  • $9 million for to help stabilize Pre-K and Head Start providers, including offering summer programs if it is safe to do so

In addition, earlier this week, the Wolf Administration announced:

  • the plan to release $51 million in federal CARES Act child care (CCDBG) funding. This is another step forward for programs serving subsidized and private pay children in recovering a portion of lost revenue from subsidy parent co-pays and private tuition.
  • that Child Care subsidy payments would continue through June 30th using March 2020 enrollment figures.

We now want to thank the Governor and General Assembly for authorizing substantial economic relief to save early learning. We urge you to take action on our weekly alerts to legislators by clicking this link.

OCDEL Announcements and Information
Phased-in Reopening Resources
 
OCDEL Directive on COVID-19 Phased Reopening: Child Care Providers in Yellow Counties Governor’s Phased In Plan “Understandably, you have many considerations to make when deciding to open your facility if you have remained closed during the Governor’s proclamation. You will not need a waiver to operate when you are in a yellow county. Families looking for child care are referred to the Department of Human Services website. Your facility will reflect open on the website unless you notify by email to RA-PWOCDELFacilclose@pa.gov that you decide to remain closed. If you decide to permanently close your facility, please notify the regional OCDEL Certification office and return your certificate of compliance.
 
Additional Announcements, FAQs and Waiver details
OCDEL, Bureau of Certification, in collaboration with the Pennsylvania Key, has recorded webinars on the CDC guidance for child care providers including:   
*OCDEL has noted that documents will be updated and re-released on a recurring basis as new information becomes available. 

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PennAEYC Email Messages
 
General Resources

We encourage you to continue to consult these resources for updates on COVID-19, information on staying healthy, and updates on the situation in Pennsylvania.

We also encourage you to visit www.sharedsourcepa.org for helpful resources that you can use with families and staff to reduce the level of anxiety, communicate what is known to be most appropriate health, hygiene and safety practices, as well as interim guidance for child care businesses.

Professional Development for Providers 

PennAEYC has a list of upcoming online sessions on our Upcoming Events page. We also want to share other resources from partners across the state:

Resources for Providers and Parents

Our partners at NAEYC host a a site for families, NAEYC for Families. Our partners in Southeast PA at First Up: Champions for Early Education has a list of parent resources. Also, our partners in Southwest PA at Trying Together host a parent page.