State leaders are at the forefront of creating innovative early childhood care and learning systems around the country. The Child Care State Capacity Building Center (SCBC), one of the Office of Care’s Technical Assistance (TA) Centers, released a number of new resources this month that provide state leaders with early childhood technical assistance (TA) support.
The SCBC, along with their new resources, plays a critical role in helping state and territory lead agencies promote consistent, high-quality programs across states and local communities. Specifically the SCBC focuses on enhancing state level expertise in order to build partnerships and strengthen state early childhood systems.
New resources include:
- Infant-Toddler Resource Guide
- This guide offers information to support implementation of policies for high-quality care for infants and toddlers. It is helpful for everyone from CCDF administrators, infant-toddler teachers, center directors, family child care providers and much more.
- The Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) Six Essential Program Practices for Relationship-Based Care
- This six-brief series helps state leaders communicate the importance of a variety of issues including: continuity of care, culturally sensitive care, inclusion, individualized care, primary care, and small groups. Each brief provides essential program practices to ensure quality is included in early childhood programs that serve infants and toddlers.
- State Early Childhood Systems: Examining Program Integration
- This resource is for states considering innovative approaches to integration as a way to improve quality, efficiency, and effectiveness of services delivered to the early childhood field.
- State-Local Models and Approaches Designed to Build Strong Early Learning Systems: What States Have Learned
- This paper explores a variety of state-local models of early childhood system governance, including common characteristics of state-local approaches and vision statements from eight states.
- Using Contracts and Grants to Build the Supply of High-Quality Child Care: State Strategies and Practices
- The following resource provides examples of how states and territories are using grants and contracts to advance CCDBG goals, as well as contract and grant payment and monitoring practices.
- CCDF Fundamentals PowerPoint Tool
- Lastly, this resource is a power point tool that explains the fundamentals and goals of the CCDF Administration as well as support implementation of CCDBG.
Research shows us that when young children experience quality early care and learning they have better education, health, social and economic outcomes in life – increasing their productivity and reducing the need for spending later on. The SCBC’s resources once again play a critical role in helping state leaders enhance and implement high-quality early care and learning for our nation’s youngest learners.