Proposed Regulation Withdrawn
On August 13, 2010, the Department of Public Welfare withdrew the proposed child care regulation concerning professional development and training, which had been published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin on June 26, 2010. The Department chose to withdraw the regulations because there was not enough time to conduct a thoughtful consideration of the public comments, or time to complete final regulation prior to the close of the current legislative session.
Proposed Child Care Regulations
On June 26, 2010, OCDEL published proposed amended child care regulations in the Pennsylvania Bulletin. The regulation amendments focus on the professional development requirements for staff persons who work with children in child care centers, group child care homes and family child care homes. Comments on the proposed changes were due to the Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) by July 25.
Department of Public Welfare (DPW) key proposed changes include:
- Five year phase increase of training hour requirements for child care staff from six hours currently to 24 hours of training annually. The phased increases would begin January 2012.
- An annual professional development plan developed for each staff person.
- Staff new to child care complete an orientation curriculum established by the department
- Acceptable professional development will be conducted by an accredited college or university or organization or individual approved to conduct professional development for professional educators (i.e., Act 48 or PQAS).
- Acceptable professional development topics include children’s growth and development, the environment, curriculum and content, working with families, child assessment, communication, professionalism and leadership, health safety and nutrition, and inclusive practices. Depending on the staff position, some of these topic areas are required.
- Documentation of staff persons’ professional development shall be maintained in their record at the facility.
To fully understand the proposed changes, please read the proposed regulation as it appears in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.
The Pennsylvania Child Care Association's president, Terry Casey, sent comment on the proposed changes to the child care facility regulations in Chapters 3270, 3280 and 3290.
"PACCA appreciates the opportunity to provide comment on Reference Regulation No. 14-519 and offer our recommendations to the Department's proposed changes to the child care facility regulations. We hope these comments are helpful and look forward to working with the Department of Public Welfare, the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, and the General Assembly to ensure the health and safety as well as the care and education of young children of the Commonwealth," said Casey.
PACCA's Comments on the Proposed Child Care Regulations