House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody Tours
Riverview Children’s Center
Child Care Providers Struggle to Remain Open as the Workforce in Southwest PA Returns to Work
VERONA, PA: (October 6, 2020) – Start Strong PA and Pre-K for PA Campaign partner Trying Together hosted a virtual classroom tour at Riverview Children’s Center in Verona, PA today describing the challenges COVID-19 has caused the child care industry. House Democratic Leader Frank Dermody participated in the tour and discussion.
“Our future situation is very tenuous. The center’s enrollment prior to the pandemic was 150 children. After closing in March, we reopened June 15th with only 50 children and have now enrolled around 100. In addition to loss in revenue and increased expenses, we are experiencing significant staffing challenges,” said Betty Lisowski, Executive Director, Riverview Children’s Center. “Being open during COVID and following strict CDC guidance to keep all as safe as possible is expensive, exhausting, and uncertain. We have been flexible to the point of breaking.”
Lisowski offered a glimpse into the early learning center describing both visually and verbally how providers support our children, families, businesses, and are a critical component to our economic recovery. The child care industry in southwest PA and across Pennsylvania immediately needs substantially more funding so that as the state reopens, they can stay open and our workforce can return to work.
In a study on COVID-19’s impact on Pennsylvania’s child care sector, Penn State’s Director of Institute of State and Regional Affairs reports an estimated $325 million in new costs and lost revenues for PA providers since the economic shutdown.
“Without child care, economic recovery is impossible” said Cara Ciminillo, Executive Director, Trying Together, who hosted the tour. “Prior to the pandemic, 70% of PA children under the age of six had all adults in their household in the workforce. Those adults need child care to return to work.”
In the wake of COVID-related closures, the Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA campaigns — representing tens of thousands of Pennsylvania families — have illustrated the urgent need for relief, as Pennsylvania’s child care providers have incurred devastating losses over the past 6+ months. Stabilizing the Commonwealth’s child care and early learning system is a necessary strategy supporting our overall economic recovery.
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PA Stimulus Deal Saves Early Learning as Working Families Prepare to Get Back to Work
Advocates applaud legislature for substantial relief package for
child care / pre-k providers
HARRISBURG (May 28, 2020) — The economic stimulus bill that authorizes the spending of most of the
$3.9 billion in federal CARES Act funding includes $125 million in economic relief for the Commonwealth’s early learning sector, which will be critical in supporting Pennsylvania families returning to work.
The principal partners of the Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA advocacy campaigns issued the following statement regarding the stimulus agreement:
“All Pennsylvania families will benefit from this agreement. Knowing that our economy depends on working families and working families depend on high-quality child care and early learning, the General Assembly and the Wolf Administration moved in a remarkably bi-partisan fashion toward a deal that will allow Pennsylvania to get back to work when the time is right.
“We applaud the prioritization of substantial federal resources in the stimulus authorization deal to help save the Commonwealth’s early learning sector for working families. This outcome, paired with level funding for early learning programs included in the stopgap state budget passed this week for at least the first five months of FY 2020-2021, will greatly aid in preserving child care and pre-k capacity in the coming months.
“In the wake of COVID-related closures, the Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA campaigns — representing tens of thousands of Pennsylvania families — have illustrated the urgent need for relief, as Pennsylvania’s child care providers have incurred devastating losses over the past 2+ months. Stabilizing the Commonwealth’s child care and early learning system is a necessary strategy supporting our overall economic recovery.”
Pre-K for PA launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. Learn more at www.prekforpa.org.
Start Strong PA launched in 2019 to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more atwww.startstrongpa.org. ###
Passage of Stopgap Budget Demands Immediate, Robust Economic Stimulus to Preserve Capacity of Early Learning Sector
HARRISBURG (May 27, 2020)— The anticipated five-month stopgap state budget will preserve Pennsylvania’s current investment in publicly-funded, early learning programs. Under the proposed agreement, PA Pre-K Counts, Head Start State Supplemental, and state funding for child care and evidence-based home visiting services will remain level funded for at least the first five months of the 2020-2021 fiscal year.
The principal partners of the Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, and Childhood Begins At Home advocacy campaigns issued the following statement regarding the proposed budget agreement:
“A level funded, five-month stopgap budget will preserve Pennsylvania’s fiscal commitment to core early learning services in Pennsylvania. During these extraordinary and uncertain times, this agreement shows a bipartisan commitment to our youngest learners and working families of Pennsylvania. However, level funding assumes that pre-COVID-19 child care / pre-k provider capacity will exist in the 2020-2021 fiscal year so that service delivery remains constant. Given the current reality, this may not be a fair assumption. In order for that to happen, stimulus funds must be immediately made available.
“Pennsylvania’s child care providers have incurred devastating losses over the past 2+ months of state mandated closure. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, these impossible to predict financial losses paired with uncertain future demand threaten to collapse the early learning system. Immediate and robust economic stimulus is also needed to ensure our high-quality programs survive to serve children and families in the new fiscal year.
“Governor Wolf and the PA General Assembly must enact a robust plan that provides financial stability for Pennsylvania’s child care providers by reimbursing them for lost subsidized child care co-pays and a portion of private tuition payments. Additionally, child care providers must be protected during the emergency period by granting them immunity from tort liability associated with claims related to COVID-19, and funding must be provided to secure necessary cleaning and PPE supplies needed for reopening pre-k and child care programs. We also must ensure that this year’s Pre-K Counts and Head Start students are ready for kindergarten by offering a one-month summer instruction program if it is safe for students and teachers to do so.
“To accomplish this, policymakers must immediately release the remaining $55 million in federal CARES Act child care funds and allocate an additional $142 million in federal stimulus or Commonwealth funds. Such action would better ensure child care / pre-k provider capacity in the 2020-2021 fiscal year and ready the early learning system for parent’s rapid return to work.
“Families also need support now more than ever during the COVID-19 pandemic, and voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs improve maternal health, child well-being and family self-sufficiency. Staying connected to home visiting services can be a lifeline for families sheltering-at-home, and we must continue to help home visitors get the flexibility and resources they need to deliver home visiting services now and in coming months. Additionally, we are calling for $100 million in federal stimulus funds currently being considered in the U.S. Senate as part of the latest version of stimulus legislation.
“Pennsylvania’s economy depends on working families and working families depend on high-quality child care and early learning!”
Pre-K for PA was launched in 2014 with the vision that every 3- and 4-year-old in Pennsylvania will have access to high-quality pre-k. This statewide coalition’s leadership group includes: Fight Crime: Invest in Kids; First Up; Mission: Readiness; Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children; Pennsylvania Head Start Association; Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children; Public Citizens for Children and Youth; Trying Together; and the United Way of Pennsylvania.www.prekforpa.org
Start Strong PA launched in 2019 to support healthy child development, working families, and the economy by increasing access to and affordability of high-quality child care programs for young children. Learn more atwww.startstrongpa.org.
Childhood Begins At Home is a statewide campaign to help policymakers and the public understand the value of evidence-based home visiting and support public investments in the programs.
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Pennsylvania’s Child Care System in Urgent Need of Stimulus to Prevent Collapse
Survey shows extended economic shut down puts nearly one-third of PA child care providers at risk of closing permanently
HARRISBURG, PA (March 24, 2020) – Principal partners of the Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA advocacy campaigns called for swift action by PA policymakers to save the state’s child care system. Advocates touted a recent survey by the Pennsylvania Child Care Association showing that of the 605 child care providers responding (serving more than 44,000 children across the Commonwealth), nearly one-third indicated that they would not be able to reopen if the state mandated closure lasts for longer than one month.
“Child care is an ‘essential service’, and without this frontline workforce our state would not be able to effectively respond to this pandemic,” said Diane Barber, Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Child Care Association. “What is most startling about the survey results is the frightening reality that when non-essential businesses are able to reopen, child care providers may not. Stimulus funds are urgently needed to stabilize our child care system ensuring that programs survive to play an undeniably critical role in our economic recovery.”
Supporters of Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA are calling for Governor Wolf and the General Assembly to enact the following emergency appropriations as part of any stimulus package to stabilize Pennsylvania’s child care system:
- Continue to pay child care subsidies and contract payments to Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs for the duration of the crisis.
- Provide $17 million to compensate for the share of revenues that would otherwise have been collected as copays until child care services are restored to normal.
- Provide $100 million to support the continued financial viability of child care providers that rely in part, or in full, on tuition payments directly from parents.
- Appropriate $50 million to extend Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs through the summer to stem early childhood learning losses for students.
Additionally, advocates are calling on PA policymakers to take action to ensure the sustainability of the child care sector and protect the health and wellbeing of children by:
- Passing legislation to impose an immunity from tort liability associated with claims related to COVID-19 to all Commonwealth certified child care providers that are authorized to continue to operate pursuant to the Governor’s Executive Order / Declaration of Emergency.
- Prohibiting any adjustments to employer unemployment compensation experience ratings associated with any claims paid as a result of child care centers’ compliance with Commonwealth COVID-19 guidance or directives.
- Decreasing the risk of subsequent infection by requiring every child care and other early childhood education program to attend free training on the practices needed to sanitize all spaces in which children and early learning staff are working before programs can be reopened.
“We appreciate that for those providers receiving state child care subsidy, the Governor mandated that those payments will continue through April 30,” said Jen DeBell, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children. “However, we know that for the majority of providers, that funding stream is either not available to them or not enough to sustain them. That’s why we are collectively calling on Pennsylvania lawmakers to take swift action to prevent the collapse of our child care system.”
“The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the fragility of the child care system that many have warned about for years,” said Cara Ciminillo, Executive Director, Trying Together. “Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, working families struggled to find and afford high quality child care. This problem was identified by the Keystone Workforce Command Center as a major barrier to workforce participation. If nearly one-third of Pennsylvania’s current providers close permenantly, this will most certainly jeopardize our economic recovery.”
Pre-K for PA and Start Strong PA represent thousands of early learning providers and supporters across Pennsylvania. From birth to age 5 early learning is happening, and our coalition of advocates is committed to ensuring that families can access it in high-quality, developmentally appropriate settings. For more information visit www.prekforpa.org and www.startstrongpa.org.
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Pennsylvania’s Working Families Need Greater Investment in Early Learning Services
2020-21 State budget proposal: modest growth for pre-k; fails to expand critical child care and evidence-based home visiting services
HARRISBURG, PA (February 4, 2020) –The principal partners of Early Learning Pennsylvania (ELPA), a statewide coalition of advocates focused on supporting young Pennsylvanians from birth to age five, are calling on the General Assembly to go beyond Governor Wolf’s budget proposal and prioritize greater state investments in high-quality pre-k, child care and evidence-based home visiting services to help Pennsylvania’s working families. ELPA operates three issue-based advocacy campaigns: Pre-K for PA, Start Strong PA, and Childhood Begins at Home. Reaction statements from these respective campaigns regarding Governor Tom Wolf’s 2020-21 budget proposal follow.
PRE-K
“Governor Wolf deserves to be acknowledged for his continuous support of expanded access to publicly-funded, high-quality pre-k in PA. If approved, his proposed $30 million in new state funding as part of the 2020-21 Executive Budget will provide the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of high-quality pre-k to more than 3,200 young learners.
“Research shows that high-quality pre-k benefits children’s cognitive, social and emotional development. This is why, according to recent polling, an overwhelming majority of Pennsylvania voters support investing additional state dollars to expand access to pre-k for children in every corner of the commonwealth.
“Unfortunately, only 44 percent of eligible children in Pennsylvania are currently enrolled in publicly-funded, high-quality pre-k, according to the most recent data available (FY 2018-19). That means 56 percent of eligible children do not have access to this vital early education opportunity due to limited state funding. We must do better, faster, if we are to move the needle on these dismal statistics. PA is being outranked by states like Georgia, Alabama and West Virginia when it comes to expanding access to publicly-funded, high-quality pre-k. PA ranks 19th –- a drop from the 2018 study — among the 28 states that also publicly fund high-quality pre-kindergarten programs with similar quality standards.
“Pre-K for PA, representing tens of thousands of Pennsylvania families, appreciates that policymakers in Harrisburg understand the irrefutable value of investing in high-quality pre-k. We strongly urge the General Assembly to make a bold move and boost funding for both access and quality to Governor Wolf’s proposed pre-k investment. By investing now, Pennsylvania can serve more eligible children and take steps to adjust quality pre-k provider rates for inflation.”
CHILD CARE
“Start Strong PA agrees with Governor Wolf that the critical shortage of affordable, high-quality child care is a major barrier to workforce participation for many Pennsylvania families.Given that 70 percent of Pennsylvania children under the age of five have all adults in their household in the labor force, high-quality child care is an essential workforce support. This finding was a focal point of the January 2020 Keystone Economic and Workforce Command Center reports — which included input from Pennsylvania business leaders — and recommended greater access to affordable high-quality child care.
“Start Stong PA is disappointed that the Governor’s budget proposal commits no new state funding to help Pennsylvania’s working families find and afford high-quality child care.
“Although the Governor’s budget proposal utilizes $15.3 million in federal funding toward child care subsidy base rates, this proposal will have no impact in addressing the list of children waiting to gain access to subsidized care or improve the quality of that care.
“Less than half of certified child care capacity in Pennsylvania currently meets high-quality standards. And only 34 percent of infants and toddlers that receive subsidized care attend programs that have met high-quality standards.
“Start Strong PA urges the Pennsylvania General Assembly to invest in our youngest children, their families and our workforce by allocating additional state funding for more children to gain access to high-quality child care.”
EVIDENCE-BASED HOME VISITING
“The Childhood Begins at Home campaign has credited the Wolf administration over the past three state budgets for making the state a national leader for delivering voluntary, evidence-based home visiting programs that ultimately improve maternal health, child well-being and family self-sufficiency.
“Unfortunately, the proposed $2.4 million included in the 2020-21 state budget is disappointing, because it does not build upon the steady progress of investing in evidence-based programs to expand services to additional children and families.
“We understand state funds will preserve federal slots through the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) and support Medicaid managed care organizations offering short-term, in-home services for first-time mothers. However, the proposal is a missed opportunity as only 5 percent of the pregnant women, children and families who would benefit the most from evidence-based home visiting programs currently receive services.
“While we’re not losing ground, we’re not gaining it either, and building successful families by providing healthy and safe home environments through consistently demonstrated, evidence-based home visiting programs takes a greater commitment than maintaining the status quo.”
“From birth to age 5 early learning is happening, and our coalition of advocates is committed to ensuring that families can access it in high-quality, developmentally appropriate settings. The lack of state resources for early learning creates deep inequity among families at a very early age.We, and our tens of thousands of supporters, urge lawmakers to boldly invest in early learning in 2020 – it is an urgent necessity.”
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Pennsylvania’s Ranking Stagnant Among States Investing in High-Quality Pre-K
New report shows states with similar political landscapes outpacing
PA in per capita pre-k investments
Pennsylvania Partnerships for Children (PPC), in its role as a principal partner of the Pre-K for PA Campaign, today released the Campaign’s third report comparing Pennsylvania’s per-capita investments in pre-k. The report shows states with similar political compositions and quality standards are making stronger per capita investments, putting their early learners on the road to success in school and in life at a faster pace than Pennsylvania.
According to The Road to Success Includes High-Quality Pre-K, Pennsylvania ranks 19th out of the 28 states that also publicly fund high-quality pre-kindergarten programs with similar quality standards, remaining nearly stagnant since the first state comparison report was released in 2017.
“Giving all eligible preschoolers a chance to attend high-quality pre-k should be a top priority for all of our state policymakers, regardless of political party affiliation,” said PPC President and CEO Kari King. “If we want to pave the way to success in adulthood for our early learners, we need to increase our investments in high-quality, publicly funded pre-k, because 56 percent of eligible children do not have access to this vital education.
When the Pre-K for PA Campaign released its first report comparing per capita pre-k investments in 2017, Pennsylvania ranked 20th out of 28 states and the District of Columbia that were analyzed. Another state-by-state comparison was done the following year in 2018, ranking Pennsylvania at 18th out of 30 states when looking at per capita investments in high-quality pre-k.
King noted the body of academic research supporting the benefits of high-quality pre-k goes back decades, revealing improved outcomes for enrolled children that are difficult to dispute: the programs prepare students for kindergarten and beyond by supporting the development of the whole child, provide an early chance at proactively impacting the development of Pennsylvania’s future workforce, and are particularly beneficial for low-income children, who are more likely to have road blocks along the way than their peers.
Michigan – where the political landscape is like Pennsylvania – has invested at a higher per capita rate than the Commonwealth and ranks 4th. Its General Assembly is controlled by Republicans and the governor is a Democrat.
During a media webinar PPC hosted as part of the report’s release, King was joined by: former Michigan Senate and House Majority Leader Ken Sikkema, a Republican who served in the state legislature for 20 years and was a champion for pre-k during his tenure; and Republican State Rep. Corley Ellis of Alabama, who advocates for pre-k funding as a member of the House Republican Caucus Agenda Committee and oversees education spending on the House Ways and Means Committee.
“I was not convinced we could move the needle for pre-k funding in Michigan until I read a study showing the longitudinal benefits. At the time, both the executive and legislative branches in Michigan were very conservative, but no one could argue that high-quality pre-k delivers results. That was in the 1990s and early 2000s, and Michigan has been a leader for its pre-k investments ever since,” said Sikkema.
“Alabama has a long history of Republican-led legislative and executive branches and we’re viewed as a pre-k model nationally. I’m proud that we’re ranked 5thin this report because it shows that it doesn’t matter if you are a Republican or a Democrat in state office, prioritizing high-quality pre-k is just good policy.”
In Pennsylvania, an increase of $243 million in high-quality pre-k (Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program) by the 2022-23 fiscal year will put the state on par with others that deliver similar high-quality programs.
The Road to Success Includes High-Quality Pre-K can be found here.
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