The Child Care COVID-19 Pandemic Relief Award application is now open. Deadline for submitting applications is Feb. 12, 2021.
The one-time award of $600 is paid to eligible child care employees and child care support staff of Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) certified child care providers. This award is paid through Early Learning Resource Centers (ELRC) on behalf of Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) directly to eligible certified child care providers. DHS certified child care provider’s owner/operator/director will apply on behalf of their eligible child care employees and child care support employees currently working directly with children for a minimum of 20 paid hours a week and employed at the child care agency as of Jan. 1, 2021. Holiday, sick or other approved time off will not be considered when determining the eligibility criteria of working a minimum of 20 paid hours a week. This requirement pertains to the employees regularly scheduled work week. The child care eligible employees will be paid directly by the DHS certified child care provider’s owner/operator/director.
COVID-19 Update from PHMC
PHMC and ELRC 19 continues to monitor information on COVID-19/coronavirus. We are focused on quality care for all participants and ensuring organizational preparedness, including our employee’s health and wellness. We are continuing to provide services to our clients and are ensuring extra preventive and precautionary measures are in place based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. If you have a specific question about ELRC 19 services, please contact us.
Internal Assessment Process (IAP) Guide
OCDEL released announcement ELRC 20 #16 along with the below statement and documents.
"Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, OCDEL has temporarily changed the requirement for Program Quality Assessment (PQA), in the 2020 Keystone STARS Performance Standards for all STAR 3 and 4 programs for FY 2020. The updated requirement is found in quality indicator EC 3.4.5. Previously, Keystone STARS required all programs seeking to move to a STAR 3 or 4 or renew their STAR 3 or 4 designation to have an external PQA using either Environment Rating Scales (ERS®) or Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS®) and meet the minimum threshold scores for each STAR level.
As explained in ELRC Announcement 20 - #12 Keystone STARS Performance Standards and Program Manual, programs will not be required to have an external ERS® or CLASS® assessment in order to move up to or maintain a STAR 3 or 4 designation during FY 2020. Suspending the Keystone STARS quality indicator that requires an ERS® and CLASS® external assessment for programs seeking to renew their current STAR 3 or 4 designation or move to a STAR 3 or 4 at this critical time will allow programs to focus on maintaining or reopening operations safely. Additionally, the PQA team, ELRC staff and others, will be responsive to the emergent health and safety support needs of Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs."
Keystone STARS Internal Assessment Process Guide (PDF Writeable)
Keystone STARS Internal Assessment Process Initial Cycle Planning Document Template (PDF Writeable)
Keystone STARS Internal Assessment Consultation Summary (PDF Document)