New Events for Pennsylvania Providers in October & November

Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) is sponsoring and/or organizing a series of exciting events for child care providers across Pennsylvania this fall.

Check out our list of upcoming events and make plans to attend one in your area today.

Three Important Events for Child Care Providers in Philadelphia

Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) is sponsoring and/or organizing three important events for child care providers in Philadelphia in October 2011.

October 11
Community-Based Child Development Associate Program

October 13
Learn How to Market Your Home Child Care Business

October 15
Professional Development Workshops for Child Care Providers

Don’t miss out!

Looking for CCPUnited California?

We have recently split up the Pennsylvania and California web sites. If you are trying to find Child Care Providers United of California, please go to www.cachildcareproviders.org.  Thank you!

The Bipartisan Assault on Home-based Caregivers

A highly relevant article that grounds Republicans’ regressive legislative maneuvers in state capitals across the nation in 2011 within the context of family child care providers.

It’s a must-read for any child care provider who’s ever joined a union.

Click here to read more.

Lobby Day 2011 in Harrisburg

Please join us for a legislative visit with elected officials in Harrisburg on Tuesday, April 12, 2011.

On that date, Child Care Providers United (CCPUnited) of Pennsylvania will tell state legislators that child care and early education are critical to economic recovery, school readiness, and success for America’s next generation of citizens.

Nationally, more than 250,000 family child care providers have joined the movement for quality child care.

However, as Republican governors like Scott Walker in Wisconsin seek to strip civil servants of their collective bargaining rights and return them to 19th century-style working conditions, child care providers must take this opportunity to speak out and demonstrate our solidarity.

Sign up for CCPUnited’s 2011 lobby day today!

Transportation and lunch will be provided.

CCPUnited’s annual Lobby Day for family child care features skills training, leadership development, and face-to-face meetings with lawmakers, where child care providers can talk about such important issues as subsidy rates, Keystone STARS, etc.

Experienced providers mentor newer ones, and everyone has an opportunity to meet with at least two legislators or their staff.

This year, the urgency is even greater.

Contact Juanita Rodriguez (412-638-2541) or Bonnie Caldwell (814-761-7277) for more information.

You can also reach us using the following information:

42 South 15th Street #1305 Philadelphia, PA 19102  1-866-647-3330  215-564-3440 fax pa@ccpunited.org

5001 Baum Avenue #630 Pittsburgh, PA 15213  1-866-647-3330  215-564-3440 fax pa@ccpunited.org

Valentines for Tom Corbett

Valentine’s Day is coming!

Let’s see how much Governor Corbett loves children and quality early education by sending him a valentine.

Click here to use a template…

…or let your creativity run wild!

Tell Corbett how much we early educators love children and invite the governor to send us back some love.

Send your valentines to:

Governor Tom Corbett
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, PA 17120

 Please encourage parents, families, and friends to participate.

Protect the Promise of a Brighter Future

This week the House of Representatives will vote on a proposal to roll back domestic discretionary spending to 2008 levels as a condition of passing a budget for FY 2011 and 2012 by March 4.

Without a budget, the federal government will officially run out of money on that date.

However, rolling back domestic spending to 2008 levels would gut critical programs for many children, youth, and families in southeastern Pennsylvania.

• Click here to urge your Congressional Representative to reject any proposal to roll back or freeze domestic spending.

In the two years since the recession began, demand for safety net services such as SNAP (formerly known as food stamps), Medicaid, and child care for low-income working families has reached unprecedented levels.

Many families are barely getting by.

Rolling back spending on education, child care, and other programs designed to build a brighter future will slow our economic recovery and increase unemployment.

This is the last thing we should be doing right now.

• Please act now to urge your Congressional Representative to reject any proposal to roll back or freeze domestic spending.

Once the House passes its version of the budget, the Senate must decide whether to follow suit.

Now is our time to weigh in, as Congress works to make key budget decisions over the next two weeks.

• Click here to urge Senator Casey to reject any proposal to roll back or freeze domestic spending.

Make sure Senator Casey knows you want him to preserve important safety net provisions for Pennsylvania’s families.

CPSC Approves Strong New Crib Safety Standards To Ensure a Safe Sleep for Babies and Toddlers

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) voted unanimously to approve new mandatory standards for full-size and non-full-size baby cribs as mandated by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA). The federal crib standards had not been updated in nearly 30 years and these new rules are expected to usher in a safer generation of cribs.

Once they become effective, the mandatory crib standards will: (1) stop the manufacture and sale of dangerous, traditional drop-side cribs; (2) make mattress supports stronger; (3) make crib hardware more durable; and (4) make safety testing more rigorous.

CPSC has recalled more than 11 million dangerous cribs since 2007. Detaching drop-side rails were associated with at least 32 infant suffocation and strangulation deaths since 2000. Additional deaths have occurred due to faulty or defective hardware. These new standards aim to prevent these tragedies and keep children safe in their cribs.

Effective June 2011, cribs manufactured, sold, or leased in the United States must comply with the new federal standards. Effective 24 months after the rule is published, child care facilities, such as family child care homes and infant Head Start centers, and places of public accommodation, such as hotels and motels, must have compliant cribs in their facilities.

The full-size and non-full-size crib standards adopted the current ASTM International voluntary standards with additional technical modifications.

For more information on crib safety and safe sleep environments for baby, visit CPSC’s crib information center or call the CPSC Recall Hotline at (800) 638-2772.

Child Nutrition Reauthorization: Eight Facts You Need to Know NOW

This morning, President Obama signed The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHFKA) into law, accompanied by a commitment to work with Congress to reverse the cuts made to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

Click here to read the full remarks that he and the First Lady made about hunger, obesity and nutrition.

The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act has many important and excellent provisions for child nutrition programs.

While many of these provisions will take time to implement, there are many that you as child care providers can start working on right now.

Here are the eight facts about the Act that you need to know NOW:

1. Every state will be able to participate in the Afterschool Meal Program, allowing afterschool programs in low-income areas in all states to receive federal funding to serve a full meal, and retroactive funding may be available.
2. Federally funded jobs in state child nutrition and agencies serving women, infants, and children (WIC) must now be excluded from state layoffs and furloughs.
3. Nonprofits will be able to serve meals through the Summer Food Service Program at more sites and to more low-income children.
4. New paperless options for universal meal service will mean that more schools with high percentages of low-income students will be able to feed all children at no charge.
5. Children may now be certified to receive WIC benefits for a full year at a time, rather than six months.
6. Less paperwork will make it easier for parents and family child care providers to enroll in the child care food programs, ensuring that more children have healthy food in child care.
7. Nutrition education resources may be made available at no cost for parents and child care providers participating in the child care food program.
8. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is required to make significant nutrition improvements in school meals and eliminate junk food from vending machines.

Over the next two months, the Food Research Action Center (FRAC) will be hosting a series of introductory webinars dedicated to Child Nutrition Reauthorization and how to implement the new provisions.

Click here for more information.

Calling President Obama

Last week, we called on Congress to create an Early Learning Challenge Fund and to boost funding for child care and Head Start.

Now it’s time to tell the White House.

On Tuesday, November 30, advocates from across the country will remind Congress that 300,000 children and their families rely on child care and Head Start to help them succeed in school and in life.

Because the President and his staff help set funding priorities, we need to let them know that in these difficult times early care and education are even more crucial to young children and families.

Please take action today by contacting the White House.

1. Call 202-456-1111 and leave a message for President Obama in support of early childhood education programs.

• My name is ________ and I’m a (Role) from (City, State).

• I’m calling on you to urge Congress to boost funding for child care and Head Start and to include an Early Learning Challenge Fund in their next appropriations bill. 

• These programs support families who have to work for a living and help children succeed in school and in life.

• More than 300,000 children across the country are relying on you.  Thank you.

You may need to call more than once if you get a busy signal.

2. Send President Obama an e-mail in support of early childhood education programs.

• Go to www.whitehouse.gov/contact.

• Modify the following text accordingly and then copy and paste it into the web form.

• My name is ________ and I’m a (Role) from (City, State). I’m calling on you to urge Congress to boost funding for child care and Head Start and to include an Early Learning Challenge Fund in their next appropriations bill.  These programs support families who have to work for a living and help children succeed in school and in life. More than 300,000 children across the country are relying on you.  Thank you.

3. Tell five of your friends and colleagues to join you on Tuesday, November 30 for national call-in day when we will ask Congress to act.