The Early Learning Challenge (ELC) program awarded more than $1 billion in four-year grants to 20 States to implement comprehensive and cohesive high-quality early learning systems that support young children with high needs and their families. A key lever in making these improvements was the enhancement of States' Quality Rating and Improvement…

Research Findings: Research suggests that early care and education programs are most effective when they include strong components of family involvement. The Center for the Study of Social Policy recommended that early care and education programs build family-centered practices to strengthen families and reduce the incidence of child abuse and…

Parents are children's first and foremost teachers. In today's world, a second significant influence on children ages 0 to 5 is the teachers or caregivers who provide child care and early education. Wisconsin's young children typically spend significant amounts of time in early care and education (ECE) programs, like family child care homes, child…

This final report of the Wisconsin Family-Centered Inservice Project describes the development, testing, implementation, and evaluation of an interdisciplinary inservice course for early interventionists and parents. The inservice course focused on attitudes, knowledge, and skills in four principal topic areas: (1) family-centered care, (2)…