8.1 Coordination with Partners to Expand Accessibility and Continuity of Care

Lead Agencies must coordinate child care services supported by CCDF with other federal, State/Territory, and local level programs. This includes programs for the benefit of Indian children, infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, children experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. 8.1.1 Coordination with required and optional partners Describe how the Lead Agency coordinates and the results of this coordination of the provision of child care services with the organizations and agencies to expand accessibility and continuity of care and to assist children enrolled in early childhood programs in receiving full-day services that meet the needs of working families. The Lead Agency must coordinate with the following agencies: a. State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care or similar coordinating body (pursuant to 642B(b)(I)(A)(i) of the Head Start Act). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL is the lead agency responsible for facilitating the State Advisory Council on Early Childhood Education and Care (SAC). OCDEL meets a minimum of quarterly with the SAC executive committee to provide updates, allow members to share critical updates, and serve as a forum for stakeholder perspective to be shared. OCDEL also offers members periodic, additional topic specific presentations throughout the year and the SAC sub-committees meet monthly. SAC sub-committees represent five key areas: Access, Physical, Mental and Behavioral Health, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, Professional Development and Child Care Certification and Quality Rating. The goals of SAC engagement are for members to provide insight to support program implementation and coordinate across the continuum of ECE services in Pennsylvania. The result of the coordination has led to better informed policies and procedures. The committee’s feedback has also been instrumental to understanding challenges faced by the field and informing OCDEL’s response to these concerns. b. Indian Tribe(s) and/or Tribal organization(s), at the option of the Tribe or Tribal organization. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination, including which Tribe(s) was (were) involved: [x] Not applicable. Check here if there are no Indian Tribes and/or Tribal organizations in the State/Territory. c. State/Territory agency(ies) responsible for programs for children with disabilities, including early intervention programs authorized under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL is the lead agency for both IDEA Part C (Infant Toddler Early Intervention (EI) program) and IDEA Part B 619 (Preschool EI program). Through the Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports (BEISFS), OCDEL coordinates across child care supported by CCDF funds as well as other early learning programs. For the Infant Toddler EI program, OCDEL/BEISFS oversees, provides funding for, and monitors the performance of, 48 county/joinder programs and their contracted service organizations to provide Infant Toddler EI services at a local level. For the Preschool EI program, OCDEL/BEISFS has agreements with, oversees and funds 34 Intermediate Units (IUs), school districts and a private organization to provide Preschool EI services at the local level. OCDEL’s priorities for EI include early identification of all eligible children in need of service and support; evidence-based service delivery models (coaching and embedded instruction with families, child care and other early childhood program professionals); ensuring smooth transitions for children between EI, child care and other early learning programs, and kindergarten; and increasing professional development opportunities for professionals to support inclusion. One of the performance measures for Infant Toddler and Preschool EI is to ensure EI services are delivered within the child’s natural or least restrictive environments, including their child care program if enrolled. Improving social skills for children with disabilities is a priority for OCDEL. Local EI programs are encouraged and supported to partner with their ELRCs so they can work collaboratively to support the inclusion of children with disabilities. As occurs at the state level, local programs are encouraged to coordinate with child care, EI, and behavioral and mental health services within their community through local interagency coordinating councils (LICC). Leadership from all EI programs are brought together at least six-times a year for updates from OCDEL, including efforts to support child care programs and coordination with ELRCs and behavioral health services. BEISFS monitors local EI programs cyclically to ensure they are partnering with child care, other early learning programs and the ELRCs. EI, child care and other early learning providers have opportunities to work to improve local collaboration through statewide PD opportunities and regionally based meetings. OCDEL began work to reduce suspension and expulsion and increase inclusion in July 2017. This was in response to the U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Education (ED) policy statement recommending that states develop policies and practices to increase the inclusion of infants, toddlers, and preschool children with developmental delays or disabilities in high- quality early childhood programs. OCDEL is continuing to follow the guidance on inclusion from the updated joint policy statement issued in November 2023. OCDEL as the lead agency for both child care and EI has developed resources, PD, and technical assistance to support child care providers and enrolled children with disabilities or delays in development. EI services provided within child care are designed to support the child care educators by weaving/embedding individualized supports for identified children throughout the daily routine of the classroom/program. EI pushes services into rather than pulling children out of their classrooms by supporting improved strategies for coaching child care staff; and being responsive to screenings and referrals. For more than 20 years, Pennsylvania's EI program has worked in partnership with the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University and Pennsylvania's federally funded University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Education, Research, and Service, to support the development of family leaders that have children receiving EI services. A primary goal of this partnership is to develop family leaders with deep knowledge of OCDEL programs and the tools to network and influence others in their community to support coordination of services and supports for families of young children with disabilities. Parents as Partners in Professional Development (P3D) links family members to EI professional development and pre-service opportunities. Families share their insight and expertise in such roles as co- presenters, university guest lecturers, and publication reviewers. A goal of this network is to provides OCDEL with the ability to access family wisdom, stories, lived experience and expertise to inform communications related to consumer education, and promotion of accessibility and access to services. Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania links families of children and adults with disabilities or special needs on a one-to-one basis with a peer supporter for purposes of support and information. A primary goal of Parent to Parent is to ensure that families of children with disabilities have access to support and information. A goal of the coordinated process with all of these entities that have a focus of supporting families of children with disabilities, is to ensure that this population has access to quality care, consumer education, resource and referral supports that meet their needs. The Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium Collaborative Action for Family Engagement (CAFE) is the federally funded Statewide Family Engagement Center for Pennsylvania and Maryland. CAFE continues to support the work started with the Family Engagement Coalition that developed the Pennsylvania Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Family Engagement Framework to continue to promote, expand and enhance family engagement from early childhood through K-12. The work of CAFE is guided by an advisory body that includes family members, early childhood, school age and out of school time stakeholders. OCDEL will leverage the variety of stakeholders involved in CAFE to support access to consumer education for families, and to inform OCDEL on consumer education and resource and referral needs. OCDEL will provide additional information related to efforts to support continuity of care and access to high-quality care. d. State/Territory office/director for Head Start State collaboration. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL is the lead agency for the Head Start State Collaboration Office (HSSCO). The HSSCO Director will offer feedback and distribute the CCDF Plan to Head Start grantees and make them aware of the public hearing and comment period via listserv. In Pennsylvania, Head Start (HS)/Early Head Start (EHS) agencies are exempt from child care licensure unless they are offering fee-for-service child care. The coordination goals with the HSSCO occurs primarily around capacity building for Head Start programs and collaboration with other OCDEL programs/initiatives. In support of a shared goal to promote continuity of care, a capacity building effort for HS is the allowance that children eligible for EHS or HS do not need to complete the child care subsidy program redetermination as long as they remain enrolled in EHS or HS. As needed, the HSSCO director can access all supports and have input into planning through participation on the SAC and direct access as needed to OCDEL leadership. Additional coordination occurs with the grantees regarding the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and Keystone STARS. OCDEL has had a process in place for several years for HS to participate in STARS. A HS/EHS grantee in good standing with federal monitoring can be designated as STAR 4 in the QRIS. e. State/Territory agency responsible for public health, including the agency responsible for immunizations. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: On an annual basis, the Department of Health (DOH) selects providers to visit to review immunization records for the children in care. Then the DOH shares their immunization records report with the OCDEL Bureau of Certification Services. DOH and OCDEL work jointly to ensure providers comply with immunization requirements for children. The goal for the relationship between OCDEL and DOH is to align policy and practice for ECE providers; establish and maintain sources of expert advice and recommendation; and when needed, access technical support. f. State/Territory agency responsible for employment services/workforce development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL provides workforce development supports through contracts with the PDOs, who partner and coordinate with local/regional workforce agencies (e.g., 1199C state ECE sponsored apprenticeship). The goal is to provide an alternative pathway for the child care workforce to obtain an advanced credential. DHS implements a Contractor Program Partnership (CCP) across its contracts to support employment. This program establishes expectations that agencies in receipt of grant funds have set targets to employ Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) clients within their organizations. ELRCs, as regional business partners, participate in CPP. The goal is to provide clients receiving TANF opportunity to move into the workforce. g. State/Territory agency responsible for public education, including pre-Kindergarten. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: In Pennsylvania’s governance structure, OCDEL is a dual deputate, or office, with program funding and responsibilities to two state agencies, the Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). As such, OCDEL is the lead agency for The Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts (PKC) and Head Start Supplemental Assistance Programs (HSSAP). PKC and HSSAP are Pennsylvania's high-quality, state-funded pre-kindergarten programs. Both programs are established by PDE and administered by OCDEL, with the goal of ensuring access for children and families to coordinate across Pennsylvania's mixed delivery system. These programs make quality pre-kindergarten opportunities available to children and families across the commonwealth. OCDEL is an integrated office that offers opportunities for coordination across programs for child care, EI, pre-kindergarten and family support services like home visiting. Through Pennsylvania child care subsidy policy, there are two goals achieved in the implementation of the program. The first is child care stability. Child Care providers participating at the highest two levels of the state’s quality rating system are eligible to receive grants funds that support operations. For enrolled families meeting the eligibility criteria for PKC, enrollment in the state’s subsidy program is prioritized to afford children a full day of care, if needed. h. State/Territory agency responsible for child care licensing. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: Child care licensing in Pennsylvania is referenced as certification and is housed within OCDEL under the authority of the Bureau of Certification Services. Certification staff conduct inspections and certify all the child care facilities in Pennsylvania. The Bureau of Certification Services coordinates with the Bureau of Early Learning Resource Center Operations and the Bureau of Policy and Professional Development to ensure the goal is met that CCDF monies are afforded to programs that are in compliance with health and safety regulations. If a program fails to meet health and safety standards and is sanctioned or under investigation, the Bureau of Certification notifies the Bureau of Early Learning Resource Center Operations and the Bureau of Policy and Professional Development and the STARS status of the program is suspended, thereby cutting off the additional monies that are afforded to the program. Also, if there is imminent risk to children, the Bureau of Certification will order that children be immediately removed from the program and notifies the Bureau of Early Learning Resource Center Operations, so monies are stopped. All licensing summaries are publicly posted on our consumer education website for parents and caregivers searching for information on a child care provider. i. State/Territory agency responsible for the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and other relevant nutrition programs. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: CACFP is a program office within PDE. OCDEL coordinates with the CACFP program office by providing the agency a list of child care providers who have been sanctioned weekly. When a program is sanctioned by OCDEL, CACFP suspends payment and purposes to terminate the program from the CACFP. The goal is that the provider must be in good standing, meeting all the health and safety regulations and have a regular license to participate with CACFP. CACFP staff notify OCDEL of any suspected regulatory noncompliance, illegally operating facilities, or potential instances of fraud. j. McKinney-Vento State coordinators for homeless education and other agencies providing services for children experiencing homelessness and, to the extent practicable, local McKinney-Vento liaisons. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL continues to coordinate with the PDE McKinney-Vento Liaison to provide guidance for identifying children experiencing homelessness. OCDEL works with PDE to identify the coordinators for services to families experiencing homelessness in each of the state's school districts. Through this collaboration, OCDEL continues to identify families and how to best meet their child care needs as part of their broader plan to secure permanent, stable housing, and greater self-sufficiency. To support families experiencing homelessness, OCDEL implemented waivers for certain verification and immunization requirements. Under presumptive eligibility, families experiencing homelessness may receive up to 92 days of child care while seeking employment. Children from families experiencing homelessness are also prioritized for funding to ensure expedient connection to services. Head Start has a 3 percent capacity they can hold to serve families experiencing homelessness. HSSCO continues to educate the field about this rule and OCDEL continues to present its services at the Pennsylvania Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness State Conference. k. State/Territory agency responsible for the TANF program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL works collaboratively with Office of Income Maintenance (OIM), the office within DHS responsible for managing the TANF program. OCDEL and OIM work together to establish policies and rules for TANF child care that comply with federal requirements and that support, to the fullest extent possible, parents' efforts towards self-sufficiency, including families transitioning off TANF as a common, over-arching goal. Coordination processes include linkage of the information technology systems that support the TANF and child care programs, monthly meetings with staff, conducting mutual training for staff and subgrantees, and collaboration on the development of the regulations and policies. l. State/Territory agency responsible for Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL's subgrantees, the ELRCs, assist families applying for child care with applications for Medicaid and Pennsylvania's Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). ELRCs serve in the role of COMPASS Community Partners to assist families with using COMPASS, the DHS electronic portal to assistance programs, to apply for Medicaid and CHIP. Pennsylvania's CHIP offers health coverage to all children, up to the age of 18, regardless of income. Children from families qualifying for subsidized child care automatically qualify for CHIP. The goal is to provide access to health coverage to as many children as possible. Coordination processes include sharing of information from applications submitted by families for child care and medical coverage, access to data systems, and comprehensive resource and referral by the agencies responsible for both programs to ensure families are connected to services. m. State/Territory agency responsible for mental health services. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) is the state agency responsible for mental and behavioral health services across the lifespan. OCDEL and OMHSAS have a consistent meeting to support collaboration at the local, regional, and state level between early childhood programs/systems partners and the behavioral health system. Current coordination goals include cross-sector capacity building related to an infant and early childhood mental health competent workforce and increasing access to evidence- based prevention and intervention services. n. Child care resource and referral agencies, child care consumer education organizations, and providers of early childhood education training and professional development. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: OCDEL as the lead agency establishes the program expectations for the ELRC to serve as Pennsylvania’s resource and referral agencies. OCDEL provides an annual scope of work and meets monthly with ELRC leadership for program implementation, special topics and discussion of local stakeholder feedback. In its role as a resource and referral agency, the ELRCs collaborate and coordinate services with other programs in the child care system, such as the Pennsylvania Key which is responsible for the PD Registry, and the Professional Development Organizations (PDOs) which are responsible for providing funding and other supports to the ECE workforce with particular focus on child care move-up from STAR 1 and 2 to higher levels of quality (STAR 3 and 4), and PA Promise for Children, which provides consumer education materials to the public. The ELRCs convene Regional Leadership Council meetings on a quarterly basis that include local agencies, community organizations, and groups concerned with improving the quality and capacity of child care services. The goal is to coordinate resource and referral services and identify any gaps. The ELRCs make every effort to support, not duplicate, services in the local community. o. Statewide afterschool network or other coordinating entity for out-of-school time care (if applicable). Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: The Pennsylvania Key and ELRCs collaborate regularly with the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA), the Pennsylvania School Age Youth Development Network (PSAYDN), and Pennsylvania School Age Care Alliance to identify trends and needs across the state as they pertain to the needs of families. All three of these are member organizations and continually stay in connection with a multitude of providers including DHS certified programs, the federally funded 21st Century Learning Programs, and recreation-based programming. These processes include conducting needs surveys by PSAYDN and making them accessible to OCDEL, the Pennsylvania Key, and partnering PD organizations. Not all school age children in Pennsylvania have access to afterschool and summer programming. Therefore, another process in place includes PSAYDN collaborating with a legislative caucus to support access and quality care through legislation. Additionally, with the support of PDG-R funds, mental health consultation supports have been expanded to include school- age child care (SACC) programs who participate in QRIS. Four mental health consultants are regionally located to serve SACC programs via teleconsultation and on-site consultation for complex program or classroom concerns. p. Agency responsible for emergency management and response. Describe the coordination and results of the coordination: Within Pennsylvania's governance structure, each agency is assigned responsibilities under the State's Emergency Operations Plan. As such, DHS is responsible for Emergency Support Function #6, Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services which coordinates the delivery of federal mass care, emergency assistance, housing, and human services when local, tribal, and state response and recovery needs exceed their capabilities. DHS has an office of Disaster Human Services and Emergency Operations which serves as the liaison between local, regional, and state agencies, Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), and federal offices. The coordination goals between OCDEL and Disaster Human Services has and will continue to involve communication strategies between offices, emergency preparedness training for staff, and responsiveness in the event of an emergency. Disaster Human Services also coordinates the family reunification process during a disaster in collaboration with the Offices of Children, Youth, and Families (OCYF) and OCDEL. The primary goals of the coordination are mutual information sharing, support of preparedness at the local and state level, and the capacity building of local, regional, and state level systems to respond to disasters. Disaster Human Services and OCDEL meet a minimum of yearly to discuss updates and needs. One specific area of coordination between OCDEL and PEMA is the sharing of all licensed child care provider locations. These locations are shared from OCDEL data system. PEMA populates the locations into a statewide map so all local emergency management agencies can access the information in the event of emergency. PEMA also posts emergency planning and response resources that child care and other early learning providers can access at https://www.pema.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx q. The following are examples of optional partners a Lead Agency might coordinate with to provide services. Check which optional partners the Lead Agency coordinates with and describe the coordination and results of the coordination. i. [x] State/Territory/local agencies with Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants. Describe: Since 2009, the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) has been a grantee for federally funded Early Head Start (EHS). In 2015, OCDEL expanded its role by becoming an Early Head Start-Childcare Partnership (EHS-CCP) grantee. As a state-level grantee, OCDEL leveraged this opportunity to use state resources in child care licensing, subsidized child care, quality improvement, and -professional development to align with OCDEL= Early Head Start-Child Care Partnerships. These partnerships have raised quality and increased access in critical geographic areas for essential populations. OCDEL’s innovative implementation exemplified a "system approach," successfully integrating child care subsidies, the state’s Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), and a robust statewide early education infrastructure. The lessons learned from administering an EHS program have been applied to other programs focused on raising quality and supporting infants and toddlers. In March 2024, OCDEL applied for the Early Head Start Expansion grant to provide comprehensive, high-quality early childhood education and support services to 325 children across the state. This initiative addresses the needs of eligible infants, toddlers, and their families, particularly in high-poverty areas within the Commonwealth. OCDEL will collaborate with high-quality providers, selected through a competitive Request for Application (RFA) process, ensuring dedicated and capable service delivery. If awarded, the program will offer full-day, year- round services for a minimum of 1,380 hours annually, with flexibility to meet community needs. Services will cater to low-income or categorically eligible families, including children with disabilities. The initiative focuses on holistic development through relationship-based experiences provided by qualified staff with access to exceptional professional development. Emphasizing seamless transitions and continuity of care, OCDEL aims to create a stable and supportive environment for children. Statewide collaborations will support physical health, mental health, education, inclusion, nutrition, social services, family support, and staff wellness, ensuring all aspects of a child's development are addressed. The OCDEL Early Head Start Expansion grant will serve eligible infants, toddlers, and their families in high-poverty areas across the Commonwealth, aiming to make a significant impact where it is needed most. OCDEL continues to work collaboratively with the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence (PCADV) to create targeted training opportunities for home visitors. OCDEL and PCADV previously worked together to provide home visitors with resources and professional development to strengthen their skills in screening caregivers for intimate partner violence and better understand how it may impact the caregivers and children served. Additionally, PCADV and OCDEL work to provide information to local domestic violence agencies on OCDEL supported programs, including Family Support and Home Visiting, to have cross- systems understanding, and strengthen the local agency’s understanding. OCDEL plans to continue its relationship with PCADV moving forward and will partner to develop additional resources as requested or needed. ii. [x] State/Territory institutions for higher education, including community colleges. Describe: ECE professionals work in a practice-based profession where they are responsible for helping all young children learn and supporting their healthy development. A goal of OCDEL is to create a PD framework that focuses primarily on achieving this through providing credit-bearing PD. Colleges and universities in Pennsylvania are required to be authorized to award degrees. PDE is the state authorization agency for post-secondary education. Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) exercises limited jurisdiction over colleges, universities, and community colleges. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education governs 14 State System universities. The State System has a twenty-member Board of Governors. The Chancellor is responsible for the operation of The State System. Each State System institution has its own president and Council of Trustees. Private colleges and universities appoint members to their boards of trustees in accordance with the provisions stated in their articles of incorporation. Pennsylvania has 14 public community colleges located throughout the commonwealth. Community college boards of trustees are appointed by the local sponsor (school district, county, etc.) and are required to be representative of the region to be served by the college. OCDEL and Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) collaborate and streamline funding so higher education is positioned to develop the knowledge, skills, and capacities needed to improve early childhood teaching and learning, relevant for the ECE workforce. Working together on this goal means, coordination amongst IHEs, OCDEL and the Office of Postsecondary and Higher Education (OPHE). The coordination of these entities works to ensure seamless articulation between associate and bachelor’s degree programs. This process is critical to ensure the success of our workforce in an achievable, cost- effective way. To make this change, two-year and four-year IHEs must meet the needs of the 0-8 workforce in ways that early learning employers can help to manage. Responsive planning and communication on the part of IHEs and OCDEL is a must to make the process a collaborative success. Coordinating stakeholders to identify resources and supports will help increase access to higher education for the ECE workforce. The PDOs work under contract with OCDEL to develop partnerships with Pennsylvania-based IHEs and community-based partners to provide credit-bearing professional preparation for ECE professionals working to provide high-quality early learning services to children and families. Credit-bearing coursework must align with Pennsylvania’s Early Childhood Education Career Pathway. The pathway is best realized through a sequence of stackable, portable credentials that reflect developmentally and culturally appropriate content supporting ECE professionals in teaching practice, need to advance their individual career, and education attainment. PDOs address the broad needs of their regions while supporting the individual needs of professionals through partnerships that demonstrate a strong relationship between IHE and community-based organizations. Included in this work are plans for IHEs to offer high-quality learning opportunities and apprenticeships that allow the incumbent workforce to be rewarded for their experience, increase their understanding of child development, and extend learning and reflection to the children in their program. iii. [x] Other federal, State, local, and/or private agencies providing early childhood and school-age/youth-serving developmental services. Describe: The Pennsylvania Family Centers, administered by OCDEL Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports, are funded by both state and federal funds. Pennsylvania Family Centers provide evidence-based home visiting to eligible families. OCDEL has brought together Family Centers with other home visiting programs such as the Maternal, Infant, Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) and IDEA Part C programs to better align their services and supports to families and their young children. iv. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for implementing the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting (MIECHV) programs grant. Describe: OCDEL is the lead agency for federal MIECHV which is administered by OCDEL's Bureau of Early Intervention Services and Family Supports (BEISFS). The MIECHV program provides evidence-based home visiting using models that include Parents as Teachers (PAT), Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP), Early Head Start (EHS), Healthy Families America (HFA), Family Check-Up, and Safe Care Augmented to eligible families. Pennsylvania has invested additional funds in evidence-based home visiting and community-based Family Centers administered by OCDEL's BEISFS. A shared goal between Pennsylvania’s home visiting and CCDF programs is the support of vulnerable families as they move into the workforce, going back to school or job training to be connected to safe and stable child care that meets their needs. v. [x] Agency responsible for Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment Program. Describe: The DHS Office of Medical Assistance Programs (OMAP) is responsible for the Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic, and Treatment (EPSDT) program in Pennsylvania. Beyond screenings completed by physicians, child-serving programs also complete screenings, such as the OCYF, HS, home visiting programs, and IDEA Part C Early Intervention programs. In Pennsylvania, EPSDT services are available to all children with a disability based only on the income of the child. OCDEL's subgrantees, the ELRCs, assist families applying for child care with applications for Medicaid and Pennsylvania's CHIP. Pennsylvania's CHIP offers health coverage to all children, up to the age of 18 years, regardless of income. Children from families qualifying for subsidized child care automatically qualify for CHIP. The goal is to provide access to health coverage to as many children as possible. Coordination processes include sharing of information from applications submitted by families for child care and medical coverage, access to data systems, and comprehensive resource and referral by the agencies responsible for both programs to ensure families are connected to services. vi. [x] State/Territory agency responsible for child welfare. Describe: OCDEL collaborates with Office of Child Youth and Families (OCYF) to prioritize child care for children in foster placement. County children & youth agencies receive funds in their needs-based budgets to provide child care to foster children while they are waiting for CCDF funding. OCDEL and OCYF issued a joint bulletin requiring child care programs serving these children to participate in the state's quality rating improvement system, Keystone STARS, at a STAR 2, 3, or 4 level. The goal of these joint policies is to ensure our most vulnerable children are receiving high- quality child care services in a timely manner. vii. [x] Child care provider groups or associations. Describe: OCDEL regularly convenes various stakeholder groups comprised of providers and staff from statewide, regional, and local provider group and associations. Groups typically meet quarterly providing updates, input on OCDEL policy and feedback on implementation. Groups are staffed by OCDEL program staff with direct responsibility for program implementation and co-chaired by stakeholders. Program staff and group co-chairs work in coordination to develop meeting agendas, implement meeting activities and provide follow-up information to group members including member contact information, notes, and next steps. In addition to the program staff that coordinate with co-chairs, OCDEL's Special Assistant for External Relations is charged with coordination between stakeholder groups and overall stakeholder engagement. OCDEL convenes the following groups: The Keystone STARS Think Tank is a group of stakeholders involved in the implementation of Keystone STARS, Pennsylvania's QRIS system. This group provides ongoing feedback on the implementation of the newly re-visioned STARS program with the goals of smoothing transitions for children between programs and as they transition to the public schools, enhancing and aligning the quality of services for infants and toddlers through school-age children, developing the supply of quality care for children receiving Child Care Works (CCW) in child care and out-of-school time settings. In addition to child care, PKC and HSSAP providers, provider groups and associations that regularly participate in these stakeholder groups include the Pennsylvania Child Care Association (PACCA), a state-wide non-profit membership group representing certified family, group home and center based child care providers, the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children, Pennsylvania's AEYC affiliate representing high- quality early learning programs along with Trying Together (formerly the Pittsburgh AEYC) and First Up (formerly the Delaware Valley AEYC), the Pennsylvania Head Start Association (PHSA), the state wide membership association representing Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. The State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) is a governor appointed advisory group to the Early Intervention program and system partners. This advisory group provides feedback and input into the operations, policies, procedures, federal reporting and goal setting for the EI program. viii. [x] Parent groups or organizations. Describe: OCDEL has developed a variety of collaborative relationships with Parent Groups/Parent Organizations to support our Consumer Education and Resource and Referral processes. PA Promise for Children: The PA Promise for Children website and related resources allows parents and the greater public, to access information on OCDEL's early childhood programs in a user-friendly way. Through a website, social media, and an app (The Early Learning GPS, available in both English and Spanish), PA Promise for Children provides a multimodal way for families to access a variety of resources, information, and make connections to OCDEL's early learning programs. The primary goal of this website is to provide Consumer Education and support families’ access to resource and referral information including, but not limited to, accessing quality ECE programs, child care subsidy, Keystone STARS, early childhood learning and development (including accessing Early Intervention and Home Visiting supports), and how to connect to other community resources and supports. OCDEL will coordinate with the PA Promise for Children website, social media platforms and related app The Early Learning GPS, to ensure that required Consumer Education information is accessible and maintained. For more than 20 years, Pennsylvania's EI program has worked in partnership with the Institute on Disabilities at Temple University and Pennsylvania's federally funded University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, Education, Research, and Service, to support the development of family leaders that have children receiving EI services. A primary goal of this partnership is to develop family leaders with deep knowledge of OCDEL programs and the tools to network and influence others in their community to support coordination of services and supports for families of young children with disabilities. Parents as Partners in Professional Development (P3D) links family members to EI professional development and pre- service opportunities. Families share their insight and expertise in such roles as co-presenters, university guest lecturers, and publication reviewers. A goal of this network is to provides OCDEL with the ability to access family wisdom, stories, lived experience and expertise to inform communications related to consumer education, and promotion of accessibility and access to services. Parent to Parent of Pennsylvania links families of children and adults with disabilities or special needs on a one-to-one basis with a peer supporter for purposes of support and information. A primary goal of Parent to Parent is to ensure that families of children with disabilities have access to support and information. A goal of the coordinated process with all of these entities that have a focus of supporting families of children with disabilities, is to ensure that this population has access to quality care, consumer education, resource and referral supports that meet their needs. The Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium Collaborative Action for Family Engagement (CAFE) is the federally funded Statewide Family Engagement Center for Pennsylvania and Maryland. CAFE continues to support the work started with the Family Engagement Coalition that developed the Pennsylvania Birth through College, Career, Community Ready Family Engagement Framework to continue to promote, expand and enhance family engagement from early childhood through K-12. The work of CAFE is guided by an advisory body that includes family members, early childhood, school age and out of school time stakeholders. OCDEL will leverage the variety of stakeholders involved in CAFE to support access to consumer education for families, and to inform OCDEL on consumer education and resource and referral needs. OCDEL will provide additional information related to efforts to support continuity of care and access to high-quality care. ix. [ ] Title IV B 21st Century Community Learning Center Coordinators. Describe: x. [x] Other. Describe: The Early Learning Investment Commission (ELIC) - Founded in 2007, ELIC is a network of senior business leaders working as knowledgeable, effective advocates to build awareness and support for increased public investments in high-quality early learning programs. The purpose of the Commission is to secure support for public investment in early learning by focusing on educationally, economically, and scientifically sound practices. The larger Commission is made of regional groups that identify strengths and goals for geographic regions within the state and develop an action plan for Commissioners. OCDEL staff regularly coordinates with ELIC to provide Commission members updates on OCDEL programs to inform their work. ELIC also host events to strengthen relationships with various stakeholders and Commissioners. The coordination of work between OCDEL and ELIC is done with the goals of increasing awareness of the connection between quality early childhood investment (social, intellectual, physical, and emotional development) and a strong Pennsylvania economy; building a public- private partnership of leaders from all sectors at the state, regional, and local levels to advocate for quality early learning investment; and expanding access to high-quality early learning opportunities in local communities for at-risk children.