Parents & Families

Who can use the Early Learning Resource Center?
Anyone can use the services of the ELRC! The ELRC offers services for families, early learning professionals and community members. Contact your ELRC to find services to help you.

We can:

• Help you find the best child care for your child.
• Connect you to services, like Child Care Works that helps pay for child care.
• Share information and supports for early learning programs, like PA Pre-K Counts, Head Start and Early Intervention.

Quality Child Care Means:

• Your child is safe and secure while you are at school or work.
• Your child’s teachers support and challenge your child to explore and learn new things.
• Your child learns skills needed for kindergarten.
• You and your child feel supported.

The ELRC Region 7 will implement the Rapid Response Team (RRT) approach through a multi-tiered system of supports, with the shared goal of preventing suspensions and expulsions. ELRC Region 7 Quality Coaches will continue to assist providers in developing and implementing suspension and expulsion policies. Providers will be encouraged to adopt these plans and include referrals to the RRT as needed. This approach will enable a timely, short-term response to referrals from early care and education (ECE) providers and help establish structured care plans as alternatives to suspension or expulsion. The objective is to ensure that referrals are made before incidents escalate to immediate suspension or expulsion.

This process will involve collaboration among ECE providers, classroom teachers, families, children, and community resources. The multi-tiered approach provides unified guidance throughout the process, preventing families from struggling to navigate services independently. It also equips providers with strategies that benefit not only the identified child but the entire classroom.
 

The RRT will respond to referrals within two business days, completing intake and pre-observation paperwork. A classroom observation will then be scheduled for the child's classroom, utilizing a two-pronged observation strategy.
• Child-Specific Observation: A contracted early childhood mental health professional will assess the child and identify potential referrals for ongoing services as needed.
• Classroom Observation: ELRC Region 7 Quality Coaches will observe the classroom environment, provide strategies to the teacher and program leadership, and participate in the multidisciplinary team as appropriate.
 

Following these observations, a case-based collaborative action plan will be developed. The RRT will offer short-term support to the ECE workforce and families, facilitate seamless transitions to community resources, engage families as active team members, and participate in data collection to support cross-site evaluation.

TO MAKE A REFERRAL TO RAPID RESPONSE, CLICK HERE