Serving Region 3: Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Indiana & Lawrence Counties
Provider Updates -July/Aug. 2022
Official Market Rate Survey
Pennsylvania's early childhood educators should soon receive a letter via the United States Postal Service (USPS) to complete the official OCDEL's Market Rate Survey. As a reminder, the official Market Rate Survey will be sent from Penn State Harrisburg and OCDEL and will be arriving in the mail (NOT via email). This survey is being mailed to all licensed child care facilities in Pennsylvania and may be completed online OR on paper. The letter was printed on light purple / lilac paper and the envelope looks like this. The letter and the online survey will contain OCDEL's logo (as shown in this email.) Check your postal system's mail box for your letter with additional instructions. Get more info.
Announcement ELRC 22-04: 2022 Keystone STARS Performance Standards and Program Manual
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning, Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development has released the Announcement ELRC 22-04, 2022 Keystone STARS Performance Standards and Program Manual. The Announcement provides the 2022 updated Keystone STARS Performance Standards, Program Manual, and corresponding resource documents.
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OCDEL Offers Access to Healthy Minds App for PA Early Childcare Educators
Your access can be found on the Pennsylvania Key website where you will:
1. Search for your Early Learning Resource Center (ELRC) Region,
2. Click on the link and you will be directed to the login page for Healthy Minds.
3. After that, just download the app on your smart phone device and get started.
Your ELRC colleagues have been using the Healthy Minds app, too, and are ready to support you with Communities of Practice (CoP) in your region. Soon, your ELRC’s will be sending out communications on how to participate in the CoP. These are short sessions (15-minutes) where you can engage in a mindful practice together and talk about successes and challenges in practicing. Coming together with other professionals in the field to support one another’s well-being is a powerful moment!
OCDEL recognizes this is just one of many tools and resources in your well-being journey and sincerely hopes you will take advantage of the opportunity and invest in yourself. Should you have any questions about the application, you can connect with the Healthy Minds team. There is a Help Center in the settings section of the app. If you have questions regarding a CoP, please contact your regional ELRC and if you have questions about the overall program, contact Dr. Marnie Aylesworth at the Pennsylvania Key marayl@pakeys.org.
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Office of Child Care (OCC) Compliance Announcements Health and Safety - FAQs
On March 29, 2022, the Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development and Bureau of Certification released the Health & Safety FAQs. The FAQ document provides detail relating to professional development, compliance with new certification requirements, cost of trainings, and more. See the FAQs for more information.
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Face Coverings:
Best Practices and Resources for Child Care Providers - Updates
To protect yourself and others from COVID-19, CDC continues to recommend masking is a critical public health tool for preventing spread of COVID-19, and it is important to remember that any mask is better than no mask. Learn about the types of masks and respirators.
Overall Key Updates (Provided by the CDC, issued January 28, 2022:):
· Masks and respirators are effective at reducing transmission of the Coronavirus when worn consistently and correctly.
· Choose a well-fitting and comfortable mask or respirator that your child can wear properly. A poorly fitting or uncomfortable mask or respirator might be worn incorrectly or removed often, and that would reduce its intended benefits.
· Choose a size that fits over the child’s nose and under the chin but does not impair vision.
· If your child has a hard time breathing, gets dizzy, or has other symptoms while you are trying to get the mask to fit better or when using an ASTM F3502 mask or a respirator, choose a regular cloth or disposable mask. They should continue to follow CDC guidance to protect themselves and others. Consult your healthcare provider if these symptoms do not resolve.
· Parents and caregivers may have questions about NIOSH-approved respirators (such as N95s) for children. Although respirators may be available in smaller sizes, they are typically designed to be used by adults in workplaces, and therefore have not been tested for broad use in children.
· Clear masks or cloth masks with a clear plastic panel are an alternative type of mask that may be helpful when interacting with certain groups of people
Resources: Child-sized high quality respirator masks (KN95/N95).
· How to Find the Best KN95 Face Masks for Kids | Parents
· Amazon.com: powecom kn95 kids
Read more on the Pennsylvania Key website.
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Updated Counties for Department of Health (DOH) Early Childhood Education COVID-19 Reporting Options
The Pennsylvania Department of Health (DOH) has provided two (2) options for Department of Human Services (DHS) certified child care facilities to report positive COVID-19 cases, either by email or phone. This resource has updated counties and provides an outline of the process that should be followed when reporting cases to DOH. Get more info.
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Increase to Child Care Works Base Payment Rates
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development has released Announcement ELRC 21-11 Increase to Child Care Works Base Payment Rates. This Announcement shares information regarding an increase to base rates paid by DHS to certified child care providers participating in Child Care Works (CCW).
Effective Jan. 1, 2022, OCDEL will implement another increase to CCW subsidy base rates. The initiative includes both an increase to the 60th percentile for subsidy base rates paid to DHS certified child care providers and an increase of $1 per day for Relative Providers. This change brings Pennsylvania closer to the federal government’s recommendation of reimbursing child care providers at the 75th percentile.
For details, please see the Announcement ELRC 21-11 Increase to Child Care Works Base Payment Rates.
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Announcement 21 #09 Child Care Works (CCW) Payment During the Ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19)
The Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL), Bureau of Early Learning Policy and Professional Development, has released the Announcement 21 #09 Child Care Works (CCW) Payment During the Ongoing Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The Announcement provides updated guidance regarding Child Care Works (CCW) payment to child care programs participating in CCW and to ELRC staff. This updated policy obsoletes the following announcements in their entirety effective Sept. 30, 2021:
· ELRC Policy Announcement 21 #06 Restoring Child Care Works Invoicing, Attendance and Payment Policies
· ELRC Policy Announcement 21 #04 Child Care Works Payment During the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19); and
ELRC Policy Announcement 20 #17 Child Care Works Payment During the Proclamation of Disaster Emergency
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COVID Vaccine Booster Information
On Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, the CDC issued the recommendation for Comirnaty Pfizer-BioNTech booster doses for the following populations, at least six months following the second dose of their Pfizer primary series:
people 65 years and older and residents in long-term care settings aged 18 and above should receive a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx, people aged 50–64 years with underlying medical conditions should receive a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx, people aged 18–49 years with underlying medical conditions may receive a booster of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx, based on their individual benefits and risks, and people aged 18-64 years who are at increased risk for COVID-19 exposure and transmission because of occupational or institutional setting may receive a booster shot of of the Pfizer-BioNTech Vx, based on their individual benefits and risks. Working in child care where children cannot be vaccinated yet is an occupational risk.
Following this recommendation, eligible individuals should be able to begin scheduling appointments and receiving booster doses.
The dosage and medicine of the Comirnaty Pfizer BioNTech vaccine are the same in the primary doses, the additional doses for people with compromised immune systems, and the booster doses for people over age 65 and at high risk for COVID-19.
Please await further public health guidance regarding booster doses for individuals who received the Moderna or Janssen vaccines for their primary series. The publicly available evidence for booster doses of the Moderna and Janssen vaccines to date is encouraging, and the Department of Health awaits the FDA and CDC’s decisions.
Thank you for all you have done and will continue to do to protect Pennsylvanians from COVID-19. 
COVID-19 Vaccination for Pregnant People to Prevent Serious Illness, Deaths, and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes from COVID-19
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends urgent action to increase Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination among people who are pregnant, recently pregnant (including those who are lactating), who are trying to become pregnant now, or who might become pregnant in the future. CDC strongly recommends COVID-19 vaccination either before or during pregnancy because the benefits of vaccination outweigh known or potential risks. Read more.
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