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Who We Are
Since December 1989, the PA Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (PA AAP) has been running the Early Childhood Education Linkage System (ECELS) to boost the quality of early childhood and school-age child care programs. In 1995, the federal government created the Healthy Child Care America programs, inspired partly by ECELS, and the program was renamed “ECELS-Healthy Child Care Pennsylvania.”
ECELS focuses on providing professional development and technical help about health and safety in child care, mainly in Pennsylvania, but we also share our resources with others around the world. We connect efforts to improve quality from government, early childhood educators, health professionals, and other organizations. For over 20 years, state, federal, and private grants, along with amazing volunteers, have kept us going. Currently, we’re funded by the PA Key through the PA Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning, the PA Department of Health, and fees from workshops and professional development reviews.
