nc infant toddler enhancement projectnc infant toddler enhancement project created to mirror best...
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NC Infant Toddler Enhancement Project
Lanier DeGrella, Ph.D.Project ManagerChild Care Services Association
NCSL Legislative Summit, 2008
Why does NC need I/T Specialists?
Increasing numbers of infants and toddlers in child careLowest quality of care in infant/toddler classroomsLowest professional preparation among infant/toddler teachers
Project History
2004 – NC Division of Child Development sought strategy from NC Child Care Resource and Referral Council NC Infant Toddler Enhancement Project created to mirror best practice in other statesGoal: Increase the availability of high quality infant toddler child care settings by
ensuring statewide access for infant toddler teachers to relevant information and resourcesspecialized training and technical assistance
Who are the Infant Toddler Specialists?
Early childhood professionals withBachelor degrees or higher and experience in infant toddler programsSpecialized training and certification including
Program for Infant Toddler Care (PITC)Consultation in Child CareI/T Safe Sleep/SIDS ReductionITERS-R and FCCERS
What do they do?
Provide infant/toddler trainings on key topics, including ITS-SIDSSupport development of and access to the Infant Toddler Care Certificate (16 credit hours)Support individual professional development planningLink I/T teachers to resources
T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Infant Toddler Scholarships
T.E.A.C.H.® I/T Scholarships
20712344
2817
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
3000
2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008
I/T Total
The specialist’s role continued
Provide on-site technical assistance to support implementation of best practices learned in training/courseworkProvide access to current I/T information
Lend resource materialsPublish I/T topical articles in provider newsletters
Collaborate across systems to strengthen services to I/T teachers
Technical Assistance2004-2007
TA Consultations with Infant/Toddler Caregivers
188
279
162
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
04-05 05-06 06-07
Avg.TAs per ITSpecialist
Quality Rating Improvement Program
Intensive TA provided to eligible infant/toddler classrooms Requires signed agreement and a minimum 3-month commitment Pre and post Environment Rating Scales (ERS) assessments used to measure outcomes
2006-2007 Quality Rating Improvement Program
Goal800 infant-toddler spaces will improve their ITERS-R score as a result of technical assistance
Actual Outcome1,004 infant toddler spaces in 102 classrooms showed measurable improvement
Average pre-assessment score was 2.53Average gain was 1.33
2006-2007Quality Rating Improvement Program
% Classrooms Scoring 5-7 Points on ITERS-R Subscales
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Personal Care Routines
Space and Furnishings
Program Structure
Interactions
Activities
Listening and Talking
PostPre
Comments of TA recipients
“The infant toddler specialist helped me figure out the classes I needed to be a good infant/toddler teacher.”
“The infant toddler specialist gave a written and clear plan of what to work on for improvements.”
“The infant toddler specialist explained the scales (ITERS-R) in a way my teachers could understand. She made us feel valued and professional.”
New roles
Support roll-out of NC’s new early learning guidelines
Development of introductory training Development and implementation of trainer training
Participate in NC’s new initiative with the Center for Social Emotional Foundations of Early Learning (CSEFEL)
Other systems of support in NC
NC Star Rated License (QRS)Emphasis on staff education and program quality
NC Partnership for Children/Smart StartChild Care W.A.G.E.$® and other compensation initiativesT.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood® Health Insurance ProgramHealthy Social Behaviors Statewide ProjectChild Care Health Consultants
Questions?
Visit www.childcareservices.org to read the 2006 Executive Summary of the Who’s Caring For Our Babies? Study(2008 update available soon)Contact information
[email protected] ext. 1910