What is the Early Childhood Community of Practice?

A Community of Practice (COP) in general can be described as an affinity group or virtual community based on roles or areas of interest that provides regular opportunities to interact around common interests and build relationships that are supportive and/or task-oriented. The Community of Practice Model builds ongoing communication and collaboration among its members.

The TA Partnership is pleased to have seven early childhood system of care communities that make up this Community of Practice, which focuses on providing services and supports to infants, toddlers and children ages birth to 6. These participating communities are Allegheny County, Pennsylvania ; Sarasota, Florida; Southeastern Connecticut; Multnomah County, Oregon; Los Angeles County, California; Denver, Colorado; and the State of Rhode Island.

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What's New?

Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children
Effective January 1, 2008, the Center for Evidence-Based Practice: Young Children with Challenging Behavior becomes the Technical Assistance Center on Social Emotional Intervention for Young Children, or TACSEI. TACSEI is a continuation and expansion of the work of CEBP and gives decision makers, caregivers and service providers an enhanced awareness and understanding of, and ability to use evidence-based practices for improving the social-emotional outcomes for young children with, or at risk for, delays or disabilities.

Moving the Infant-Toddler Policy Agenda Forward Together: Strategies to Build Successful Coalitions (PDF)
At the local, state and federal levels, advocates are increasingly working together to bring the voice of infants, toddlers and their families to public policy. In many cases, they have formed coalitions or alliances of distinct partners who come together temporarily to take joint action in support of an infant-toddler policy agenda. Working in coalition can have many advantages for advocates, as it allows partners to have a larger impact with fewer resources. It is also a method by which diverse partners can come together around a common issue, and provide a united, clear message to policymakers about what is best for very young children.

Study Links Preschool Teachers' Stress to Student Expulsions (free registration required)
Conducted by the Yale University's Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy, this study found that of teachers who reported high job stress, 14.3% also reported one or more expulsions in the last year, while 4.9% of teachers with low job stress reported expulsions. The expulsions were also linked to high student-teacher ratios -- 12.7% of teachers reported an expulsion in classrooms with 12 or more children per adult, compared with 7.7% of teachers who reported an expulsion when there were fewer than eight children per adult.

Report Shows Cost of Care for Four Year Olds Among Highest Household Expenditures
The National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) released new data on the cost of child care around the country, finding that only housing and transportation cost more in most or all of the regions.

New Reports on the Promising Practices Network
The Promising Practices Network (PPN) is dedicated to providing quality evidence-based information about what works to improve the lives of children, youth, and families. They vet research according to their rigours review criteria and post it on their Web site.

Updated 02-25-2008

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Previous Events:

Early Childhood Community Pre-Conference Meeting Minutes – July 31, 2007 (PDF)

March 1, 2007 Early Childhood Conference Call

Early ChildhoodPolicy Maker’s Summits
The materials, presentations and summary of discussions from all four Policy Maker’s Summits (2003, 2004, 2005, and 2006) can be found on the web site for the Center for Evidence-based Practices: Young Children with Challenging Behavior.

December 7, 2006 Early Childhood Conference Call

October 17 Early Childhood Conference Call Materials

Early Childhood Community of Practice Team Planning Meeting

Early Childhood System of Care Communities Networking Meeting at the Georgetown Training Institutes

Update on MCH Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems (ECCS) grants: Opportunities for Collaboration

Diagnostic Classification 0-3 (DC 0-3 R)

Following up on the National Evaluation Meeting

Discussion with Sarah Hoover, PD of Project Bloom in Colorado

Everything you always wanted to know about developing an early childhood system of care community but did not know who to ask with Charlie Biss, Vermont Children Upstream Services (CUPS)