The Council offers many services that can improve program quality and increase the skills and knowledge of child care providers. Our experienced, highly trained staff will work closely with you to realize your goals for your program and help you deliver quality services for children.
The Council has government and private funding that allows us to offer many of our services at no or low cost to you!
BASIC TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE (TA)
Basic Technical Assistance is done by email, phone, or fax and is limited to less than 1 hour. There is no charge. Basic TA can be used for questions about best practices for child care, business issues, OCFS regulations, program start-up information, training questions, and other information.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AFTER ATTENDING A COUNCIL TRAINING
After attending a training, both basic and on-site TA are available to help bring the learning into your program. There is no cost for Basic TA. There may be a fee of $75 an hour for on-site TA.
FAMILY/GROUP FAMILY DAY CARE PROVIDER SERVICES
Early Childhood Specialists are available for free technical assistance for family and group family providers. The specialists can assist providers in many areas, for example, program start-up, creating a curriculum based program, marketing, family engagement and issues related to quality improvement. Some free resources are available. For more information, please contact Idie Benjamin at (914) 761-3456, ext 108 or Idieb@cccwny.org for information.
INFANT/TODDLER SERVICES
Infant/Toddler Specialists are available for technical assistance (TA) and on-site training for programs serving infants and/or toddlers. The specialists assist center, family, and group-family programs in promoting best practices. The Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale (ITERS), and the Family Child Care Environment Rating Scale (FCCERS) assessments are often used to improve the quality of your program. For more information, please contact Laura Cleare, Infant/Toddler Specialist at (914) 761-3456, ext. 169 or Miriam Kerness, Infant/Toddler Regional Coordinator at (914) 761-3456, ext. 134.
PRESCHOOL SERVICES
A Preschool Specialist is available for technical assistance (TA) and on-site training for programs serving children ages 3-5. There is no charge for TA if it is covered by a grant. If not covered, the charge for on-site TA is $75 an hour. The specialist assists Center programs in promoting best practices and often uses the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) assessment to improve the quality of your program. For more information, please contact Latonia Hill at (914) 761-3456, ext. 219.
THE SEXAUER EARLY LITERACY PROGRAM
AND THE GLICK SHOOLMAN EARLY LITERACY PROGRAM enhance literacy in infant, toddler, and “3’s”, classrooms of child care centers and family and group/family programs. They both bring quality books to children and to their families through book bag lending libraries that each classroom or program receives. Environment Rating Scale are administered to work to improve program quality. In addition, there are workshops for staff and parents. Programs also receive quality improvement grants to purchase literacy enriching materials. Participating programs report very positive responses from children, parents and staff! For information, contact Idie Benjamin, Director, Professional Development at (914) 761-3456 ext 108 or Idieb@cccwny.org.
Early literacy is what children know about reading and writing before they actually read and write. Those skills begin to develop long before a child enters kindergarten. Infancy through age eight is the most critical period for the development of those skills that are linked to academic achievement, reduced grade retention, higher graduation rates and even enhanced productivity in adult life.
Early literacy skills include:
- Vocabulary Development – Knowing the names of things
- Narrative Skills – Being able to describe things, events and tell stories
- Letter Knowledge – Understanding that each letter is unique and has a name and a sound
- Print Awareness – Knowing how to handle books and follow words across a page
- Print Motivation – Interest in and finding enjoyment in books
- Phonological Awareness – Ability to hear and play with the small sounds that make up words
Because we don’t want to waste the unique opportunity child care programs have to launch children with the early literacy skills they need, the Council will continue its focus on early literacy, initiated in 2009 with funding from the TD Charitable Foundation and with subsequent support from the Thomas and Agnes Carvel Foundation, the Edith Shoolman Glick Children’s Foundation, the Glickenhaus Foundation and the Sexauer Foundation.
In 2012, 27 classrooms in 10 centers and 5 family and group family providers caring for 286 children participated in the Council’s Early Literacy Family Book Bag Program. Working with the Council’s Quality Specialists, the programs/providers learned new techniques for engaging the children in early literacy and started sending home weekly book bags filled with great new books for families to enjoy. Children eagerly looked forward to bringing the books home, parents thanked the programs/providers for making family reading so convenient and staff enjoyed connecting with families on such a positive activity. The initiative continues in 2013, with over 500 children participating!
Childhood memories are powerful. As part of our celebration of the 2013 Week of the Young Child, we asked adults to recall their favorite childhood books. You may recognize some of the classics or perhaps some new titles to share with your children, grandchildren or students. Enjoy and make some new memories that will last a lifetime! View the list here.
YOUNG EXPLORERS COMPUTERS
Bridging the Digital Divide! Through a generous grant from IBM in conjunction with the United Way of Westchester, pre-school classrooms in community-based and school-based settings that serve children from economically-disadvantaged households receive Young Explorer Computers and Kidsmart Children’s Software. Staff receive free training on how to best use the Kidsmart Children’s Software with the children they serve. For information, contact Idie Benjamin, Director, Professional Development at 914-761-3456 ext 108 or Idieb@cccwny.org.
INSTITUTE FOR SCHOOL AGE CHILD CARE (ISACC)
The Institute for School Age Child Care (ISACC) supports organizations, programs and staff in their mission to provide safe, affordable and quality out-of-school time programs for children and youth. Call Susan M. Edelstein, Director, ISACC, at (914) 761-3456, ext. 127 or at susane@cccwny.org for information on technical assistance, specialized training and quality improvement activities.
SCIENCE IS COOL IN AFTER SCHOOL started in fall 2012. Funded by TD Bank, this project provided four (4) after school programs that serve low income/subsidized children with science activities, tools and training. At the end of the project, each participating program created a dedicated science area in the program that offers numerous science opportunities for children.
ACCREDITATION SUPPORT for CENTER AND GROUP/FAMILY
We help center based and family programs initiate the NAEYC or NAFCC accreditation process and review final documentation to assure that it is accurate and complete. For information, please contact Idie Benjamin (914) 761-3456, ext. 108 or Idieb@cccwny.org.
ASSISTANCE WITH QUALITYstarsNY
Many Council trainings can assist your program in preparing for QUALITYstarsNY. Look for the star next to the training’s description. For more information about Quality Improvement Services, please contact Idie Benjamin at (914) 761-3456, ext 108 or Idieb@cccwny.org. for information.
For information on quality initiatives or additional services your program may need,
contact Idie Benjamin, Director, Professional Development, at
(914) 761-3456 ext. 108 or Idieb@cccwny.org
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