Family engagement is essential to high quality services for all children in early childhood care and education. From the beginning of life, families nurture their children and the capacities they will need to be ready for school. The Parent, Family, and Community Engagement (PFCE) Framework for Early Childhood Systems is a guide to understanding…

Explores several approaches to infant/toddler education and offers suggestions for developing an effective program that reflects the best of what is known about how infants and toddlers grow and learn. (RH)

The booklet examines child care as a major resource for the prevention of child abuse, and is intended to bring child care and child abuse workers together. An introductory section on child abuse is followed by an update on the family, including historical perspectives and a case study illustrating cooperation of parents and day care staff. A…

Designed to help develop a model for training and support in childminding, this report provides a close analysis of regional meetings on training and support needs in London, England. The discussion is presented in three sections. The first part provides examination of the background of the project, current trends and approaches, and justification…

In efforts to address child care provider concerns about the staffing crisis, many Smart Start counties in North Carolina are seeking to implement substitute programs to promote release time for child caregivers to return to school or to cover staff illness and leave time. This type of substitute program involves the use of regularly employed,…

Noting that a family with young children is under tremendous pressure and that a babysitting cooperative can give parents relief during a vital stage of a family's development, this book provides guidance for mothers of preschool children in starting and maintaining a Smart Mom's Babysitting Cooperative based on the University Place Baby-Sitting…

Maintains that parents and teachers of toddlers need to see "toddlerhood" as a special and distinct stage of development with its own set of tasks and behaviors, when creating age-appropriate activity programs in home or group settings. Gives eleven ways that such programs can be made to fit toddlers. (BB)

An administrative and curriculum guide are presented for the High School/Preschool Partnership Program in which high school students gain experience with handicapped preschoolers in a mainstreamed setting. The program is intended to expand services to high schoolers (parenting skills and career skills) as well as preschoolers. The administrative…

Discusses advantages of and criteria for development of effective caregiving teams in child care programs. (BB)

Four manuals on implementing the Partners Respite Model, which provides respite care for children with disabilities or chronic illnesses, comprise this document. The Community Planning Manual offers a step-by-step guide to replication of the Partners Respite Model and is divided into sections on developing the Partners program, implementing the…

This handbook addresses questions childminders might have as they begin and continue in the job. Discussion focuses on (1) registration; (2) aspects of childminding such as planning, housework, equipment, toys, safety, and health; (3) play, (especially as related to imaginative play, painting, writing and drawing, water, dough, outdoor play, and…

A guide for providing after school day care for school age children is presented in this document. Tips are given on how to get a program started (e.g., how to meet with community members, survey needs, and consider alternative forms of day care). Steps in establishing non-profit status are listed. These include obtaining legal assistance,…

Noting that providing child care is a business as well as a service to families, this videotape from the Indiana Child Care Collection details the basics in starting and maintaining a family child care program. The 28-minute video begins with a series of questions to help in the decision to become a child caregiver and features childcare providers…

This article offers guidelines for designing inservice education for personnel working with young children with disabilities and their families. Discussion covers definitions, assumptions, support and start up, initial planning, program design, evaluation, implementation, and follow-up. It identifies special considerations and circumstances…

Temporary child care programs, such as crisis nurseries or respite care services for children with special needs, need to develop and implement a risk management program to address any difficulties that might be encountered in providing direct care services. Risk management is a structured process to minimize potential liability, avoid harm to…