During the late summer and early spring, the PA Department of Health’s (PDH) vital records office often sees spikes in birth certificate orders due to sports registration and the new school year. Ordering your child’s certificate now can help you to avoid the rush later.  Birth certificates can be ordered through the mail with an Application for a Birth Certificate with a printable/fillable PDF or online through the PA Vital Records’ official storefront. In person requests are not required, certificates can be mailed to you, and most orders are processed within two weeks. 

If your child was born in another state, you will need to request their birth certificate from that state. See the National Center for Health Statistics’ website for contact information.

The PDH Bureau of Health Statistics and Registries is the official custodian of the Commonwealth’s vital records. Third-party vendors may offer vital records services for an extra fee and claim they can get you a copy of your vital record much quicker. However, they generally use the information you provide to submit an order on paper or online back to PDH. To avoid those extra fees and processing steps, it is recommended you apply directly through PDH.

For additional information, including information on how to modify or amend a child’s birth certificate, please visit the Department of Health’s Records webpage. If you would like to share this information with your educational communities, PDH has created a graphic to share on your social media profiles. 

Click here to Vital Records Information.

The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (DHS) and the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) are announcing the schedule for annual statewide training sessions offered to all participating School-Based ACCESS Program (SBAP) teams. Local educational agencies (LEAs) that are interested in beginning to participate in the SBAP are also welcome to participate in annual training.

Live trainings are scheduled across two dates, which will be recorded and made available through the SBAP Website. You may register to attend the sessions based on your location and availability. Registration is required; (instructions below).

Participation is strongly encouraged. LEAs are encouraged to assign at least one representative to attend each training session in order to receive important SBAP information.

LEAs are encouraged to submit questions in advance to DHS at [email protected] with “Fall Training Question” included in the subject of your email. Presenters will address as many of these as possible during relevant sessions, and they will be used in compiling a list of Frequently Asked Questions to be issued after the annual trainings are complete.

Itinerary
DAY ONE
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 – PROGRAM BASICS
General Participation Requirements and Compliance (8:30 AM – 10 AM)
Random Moment Time Study (RMTS) and Reimbursement (10:15 AM – 11:45 AM)
LUNCH BREAK 11:45 – 12:45
SBAP Systems (12:45 PM – 2:15 PM)
SBAP Handbook Updates (2:30 PM – 4 PM)

DAY TWO
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2024 – PROGRAM DEEP DIVES
Direct Services (8:30 AM – 10 AM)
SBAP Reports and How to Use Them (10:15 AM – 11:45 AM)
LUNCH BREAK 11:45 – 12:45
SBAP Reimbursement and Business Management (12:45 PM – 2:15 PM)
Behavioral Health and Mental Health Services in Schools (2:30 PM – 4 PM)

Registration is required. Registration is available for each live session online via the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) at https://www.pattan.net/events/. Recorded trainings will be made available on the SBAP Website for any who are not able to attend at the time of the live training.

Please contact Sharon Kennedy at [email protected] with any registration questions. For content questions, please contact DHS at [email protected]or the SBAP vendor at [email protected].

Governor Josh Shapiro joined Pennsylvanians with intellectual disabilities and autism (ID/A), caregivers and advocates, and legislative leaders for a ceremonial bill signing to highlight the 2024-25 budget he recently signed into law. Before the signing, the the governor hosted Special Olympics Pennsylvania for a bocce tournament and brunch at the Governor’s Residence.

The budget stands up for Pennsylvanians with ID/A and the direct support professionals (DSPs) who care for them by securing $354.8 million in federal and state funding to provide more resources for home and community-based service providers, which includes $280 million to help raise wages for the direct support professionals who care for Pennsylvanians and $74.8 million to begin the process of clearing the emergency waiting list – ensuring more Pennsylvanians receive the care they need and deserve.

The bipartisan 2024-25 budget investments build on the $17.49 million secured in the 2023-24 budget to help an additional 850 Pennsylvanians with ID/A get off the home and community-based services waiting list.

For more information, click here.

On July 25, 2024, the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) announced $250,000 in grant funding available to compensate master’s level Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP) graduate students during their school-based placements in Pennsylvania LEAs during the 2024-2025 school year, encouraging more students to seek placements in schools and school communities. This funding is available to local education agencies (LEAs) that establish or expand school-based placements that provide high quality services to students, families, and school staff. LEAs can apply for a $5,000 stipend per master’s-level SLP, totaling $250,000 statewide.

Eligible LEAs include school districts, approved private schools, career and technical education centers (CTCs), charter schools, cyber charter schools, and intermediate units. The ultimate goal of the grant is to provide support to LEAs experiencing challenges securing speech-language pathologist externs and increase the number of speech-language pathologist students that pursue instructional I certification or educational specialist certification and work in LEAs within Pennsylvania.

LEAs interested in pursuing this opportunity are encouraged to attend an overview webinar scheduled for Monday, August 5th, from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM. The session will be recorded and made available on the APR Repository.

PDE is committed to bolstering the educator pipeline and supporting both students and schools by providing opportunities for the highly skilled, highly qualified individuals that make up our educator and school workforce. There is a significant shortage of speech-language therapists in schools, and an increasing need for these services and professionals. Offering a stipend in public schools attracts and retains highly educated, qualified individuals to fill these vital positions. PDE is committed to offering support for future special educators, school psychologists, paraprofessionals, and related services to help kids grow and thrive. 

PDEt has made it a priority to distribute grant funding, recently announcing more than $1.4 million to grow Pennsylvania’s special educator workforce. Last year, PDE announced grant funding to help paraeducators earn special education teaching credentials, and awarded $1.5 million to universities to bolster the special education teacher workforce. The recently announced Speech-Language Pathologist stipend is part of PDE’s effort to highlight and distribute funds available to Pennsylvanians seeking or continuing careers in schools across the Commonwealth.

In the 2024-25 budget, Governor Josh Shapiro secured historic investments in public education, including a $100 million increase for special education that builds on the $50 million increase secured last year, and an additional $10 million for student teacher stipends. These investments will help to better serve both current and future students and educators and address the education workforce shortage—making sure students have the support they need to succeed.