Early Care and Education PDOs Announced
The Pennsylvania Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) recently announced the selection of its six regional Professional Development Organizations (PDOs).
Learn More
The PDOs were created to coordinate and facilitate access to credit-bearing coursework and credentials for early care and education professionals in Pennsylvania.
Regional PDO selections include:
Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC) for:
Philadelphia; and the
Southeast region including:
Bucks;
Chester;
Delaware; and
Montgomery counties
Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania for the:
Central;
Northeast;
Northwest; and
Southwest regions.
See the regional PDO map here.
PDOs will support direct access across each service region for the early childhood workforce to participate in continuing education through a mixed delivery model and coordinate with the Early Learning Resource Centers in improving the quality of early learning programs.
Next Steps
From now through December 31, 2019, the PDOs are performing a needs assessment by region and will develop a strategic plan and timetable for each. Following this period, community outreach will begin. During this transition, professionals who wish to obtain their Child Development Associate (CDA) Credential can find credit-bearing coursework through Westmoreland County Community College and Harrisburg Area Community College.