Start Early

Join us this fall for an engaging six-part webinar series introducing ACSES - a practical, action-oriented framework for creating more equitable early childhood classrooms. The ACSES Introductory Series kicks off with a FREE webinar: Beyond the Talk: Creating Racial Equity in the Classroom on Thursday, August 29, 2024 at 12-1 p.m. CT. Stay tuned for more information about how to register for the remaining webinars in the series, earn CEUs and count sessions towards your CDA. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g7FQu9b6

In May the Illinois General Assembly finalized its Fiscal Year 2025 Illinois state budget, which included only a $6 million increase for Early Intervention (EI) – an amount well below the level that advocates across the state tirelessly pushed for. In a recent op-ed published in the The State Journal-Register, longtime Start Early partner Jen Crick, President of the Illinois Developmental Therapy Association, explores existing and growing challenges facing Early Intervention and what additional, substantial funding would mean for families and the workforce. Read more on why increasing EI funding is crucial in our home state of Illinois: https://lnkd.in/dXrZV85F.

As a proud partner, Start Early is able to provide classrooms at Educare Chicago, a program of Start Early, and our friends at Educare West DuPage with Tonieboxes to promote language development, literacy and social and emotional learning for young readers and pre-readers. Their screen-free design and library of familiar characters make it a treasure trove for imaginative play, in the classroom and beyond! Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gYKzhvCZ

“We were asking those with very low pay … to do these extraordinary things,” Martha Christenson Lees, former director of the Smith College Center for Early Childhood Education said. An article by The Hechinger Report asked two early childhood professionals about their experiences and journey to rebuild 4 years after the pandemic. Both providers share the major financial burden the pandemic caused and admit they are still recovering from it to this day. Lingering health struggles from contracting Covid as frontline workers and difficulty paying bills are just a few of the problems many early learning and care workers continue to deal with post pandemic. Read more about the long-term effects of the pandemic on the early childhood field: https://lnkd.in/gmxPFNDi

A new blog by Judy Reidt-Parker outlines how recent the Child Care Development Fund (CCDF) rule changes will provide a new opportunity to improve families’ access to child care. Child care remains inaccessible and unaffordable for too many families across the country. Ensuring access to high quality child care is an imperative for parents and children, providers, communities and the economy. Making eligibility determination and application process easier and faster for families, leveraging application guide for best practices in benefits application design and processes and clarifying how states can implement presumptive eligibility are some of the ways to utilize the new rule changes. Read more highlights and considerations for state child care leaders and advocates as they update their CCDF plans: https://lnkd.in/gfW4w8gF

Registration for the 2025 National Home Visiting Summit is now open! Join us February 12-14 in Washington, D.C. The Summit aims to integrate policy, practice, and research to influence systems change, with the goal of advancing equitable and high-quality home visiting services, structures, and systems. NEW THIS YEAR: the Summit will be offering Continuing Education Units (CEUs) included with your registration fee! Discounted early bird registration is now available through October 31 – register today to secure your spot: https://bit.ly/3VE3CcS

How can #ECE leaders support quality improvement in their programs? Check out our case study showing how The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care and Early Education Leaders, an Institute at UMass Boston, partnered with Start Early Professional Development to do just that. The multi-year partnership included various leadership supports, including Start Early's Essential 0-5 Survey, to help improve the quality of early education in Massachusetts. Using organization-wide data about program culture and climate, the team was able to address problems of practice, and deploy impactful leadership training in the form of courses, communities of practice, and coaching. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gs69gTDt

Did you know the Essentials Practices of Educare (EPE) trainings are aligned with the Child Development Associate credential? Check out our new crosswalk between the Essential Practices of Educare and the CDA Preschool Competency Standards to see how you can obtain or renew your CDA with EPE professional learning: https://lnkd.in/gRs5KHz9

Help shape the conversation at the in-person 2025 National Home Visiting Summit, Feb. 12-14, in Washington, D.C.! The Summit seeks workshop proposals addressing systems change within the home visiting field and early childhood system of care. Systems change can and should be influenced at multiple levels, including family, workforce, community, state, and federal and should include voices with lived experience and expertise within the early childhood ecosystem. Submit your proposal by August 30, 2024. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3zfpDaj

The U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services declared a “renewed commitment and urgency” in supporting young children with disabilities and developmental delays when updating their policy statement on early childhood inclusion at the end of 2023. “Building Inclusive State Child Care Systems,” a new resource by Start Early and The Division for Early Childhood, is a tool intended to continue to drive change and help build more inclusive child care systems by providing an overview of the requirements for inclusion of children with developmental delays and disabilities in child care programs. Explore key findings and read the new resource: https://lnkd.in/gxWR-X7j