May 2008 E-Newsletter
We are pleased to offer the fifteenth edition of the e-newsletter of the National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative at ZERO TO THREE, a project of the Child Care Bureau, Office of Family Assistance, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
You are receiving this communication because you have indicated that you are interested in information about improving the quality and supply of infant/toddler child care. If you do not wish to receive future newsletters, you can unsubscribe through the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom of this newsletter.
Karen Heying, Project Director
and the Initiative Staff
In This Issue
Intentionally Building Quality Rating Systems Inclusive of Infants and Toddlers
Development of an Infant Toddler Specialist Network in Virginia
Webinar: Financing to Support Infant-Toddler Services
The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture
Early Care and Education Legislation Database
Intentionally Building Quality Rating Systems Inclusive of Infants and Toddlers
The Child Care Bureau and the National Child Care Infant & Toddler Initiative (NITCCI) welcomed 35 early childhood professionals to an Issues Meeting on May 6 in Bethesda, MD for a full day discussion focused on the inclusion of infants and toddlers into Quality Rating Improvement Systems. Participants included State CCDF Administrator representatives from Illinois, Maine, Maryland, and North Carolina along with representatives from the National Child Care Information and Technical Assistance Center, Child Care and Early Education Research Connections, the Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning, Healthy Child Care America, Midwest Child Care research Consortium, and foundations.
The meeting began with an expert panel framing discussion by Peter Mangione (WestEd, PITC), Jerlean Daniel (NAEYC), Marty Zaslow (Child Trends), and Judie Jerald (Save the Children, US Programs). Their discussion centered on four key elements within a quality rating system most relevant to infant and todler care: professional development, learning environment and curriculum, family involvement, and administrative program policies for infant toddler care. The panel of experts then facilitated small group discussions based on the four elements to identify key issues and recommendations for the inclusion of infants and toddlers in State QRIS. The discussions explored three main questions:
- How can QRIS support the needs of infants and toddlers in care? What standards and indicators are needed?
- What supports are needed to help programs and caregivers meet these standards of quality?
- How can infant and toddler quality initiatives (such as Early Learning Guidelines, core knowledge and competencies) be integrated with QRIS?
Information from this meeting will be summarized in a White Paper, which will be used by NITCCI to develop technical assistances resources that support the development of QRIS inclusive of infants and toddlers. In addition, the NITCCI will host a Infant Toddler QRIS Webinar in September 2008 for CCDF Administrators, Child Care Technical Assistance Network Partners and other stakeholders to share the information synthesized from the meeting.
Development of an Infant Toddler Specialist Network in Virginia
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to establish an infant/toddler specialist system. In collaboration with families and the community, the sub-recipient will implement a system to empower and strengthen care and education programs to enhance the healthy growth and development of infants and toddlers (0-36 months of age). The goals of the initiative are to:
- improve the quality of care and education that infants and toddlers receive while away from their parents;
- increase the educational level and competency of infant/toddler caregivers/teachers/directors;
- promote community connections to increase awareness of caregivers, teachers, directors and families of available resources/services concerning healthy, safe and nurturing care for infants and toddlers; and
- implement an effective, efficient and accountable infant/toddler specialist system and increase its capacity to offer services.
The National Infant Toddler Child Care Initiative has provided technical assistance to support the development of an Infant Toddler Specialist Network within the state of Virginia. The technical assistance began in November 2007 with a review of other state IT Specialist Networks and steps to begin the process for Virginia.
The RFP release is a culmination of many months of planning and review of the states' existing support for infants and toddlers and how to incorporate the IT Specialist Network to meet their goals as stated above. An orientation meeting with prospective applicants is scheduled for May 19, 2008.
Webinar: Financing to Support Infant-Toddler Services
Do you want to know more about how states are funding services for at-risk infants and toddlers? The ZERO TO THREE Policy Center is hosting a webinar/web-based conference call on Thursday, June 5, at 2:00 pm eastern about financing for programs serving infants and toddlers. This webinar will feature the lessons learned from the implementation of an infant-toddler set-aside in Illinois' early childhood block grant and the establishment of an early childhood endowment fund in Nebraska. Participants will hear from leaders in Illinois and Nebraska about their innovative financing mechanisms.
More information about the webinar and online registration are available here.
The Timing and Quality of Early Experiences Combine to Shape Brain Architecture
A new working paper from the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (NSCDC) summarizes the most recent scientific advances in understanding the importance of sensitive periods on brain development, and the implications of those findings for policy.
A pre-publication copy of the report is available here.
Early Care and Education Legislation Database
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) has developed a new Early Care and Education Legislation Database, which offers up to date, real time information on early care and education bills that have been introduced and enacted in each state including the District of Columbia. The database is searchable by category, state, keyword, status, title or author.
The database is available here.
Quick Links
National Infant & Toddler Child Care Initiative
Child Care Bureau
ZERO TO THREE
For questions about building early care and education systems that meet the needs of infants and toddlers, contact us at 202.857.2673 or itcc@zerotothree.org
The Initiative Team
Karen Heying
Project Director
kheying@zerotothree.org
Dianne Stetson
State Technical Assistance Specialist
dstetson@zerotothree.org
Kathie Boling
State Program Specialist
kboling@zerotothree.org
Valeri Lane
Program Analyst/Writer
vlane@zerotothree.org
Michelle Brown
Information and Training Specialist
mbrown@zerotothree.org
Judith Davis
Consultant
jdavis@zerotothree.org
Karen Alexander McGinley
Consultant
kmcginley@zerotothree.org