New Year: New Challenge 

The ECAC is starting 2012 with an action-oriented approach to moving our early childhood agenda forward. Though New York State was not chosen for an Early Learning Challenge Grant, many of the proposed features of the application originated in the ECAC strategic plan. Currently, the ECAC is poised to move forward by working through its work groups to ensure key strategies from the proposal are emphasized in our ongoing work. Some examples are highlighted below:    

• Implementation of QUALITYstarsNY is underway. 
•  ECAC Quality Improvement Work Group is producing a brochure that will serve to provide basic information on QUALITYstarsNYand increase its visibility to a broad-based, statewide audience.  
•  Family Engagement strategies within the Early Learning Challenge Grant application will be considered as part of the ECAC Strong Families Work Group work plan, including the QUALITYstarsNY standards on parent engagement.
•  QUALITYstarsNY center based program standards were finalized and approved at the January ECAC Quality Improvement Work Group meeting. School aged and Family Child Care standards will be finalized soon.
•  QUALITYstarsNY readiness trainings sponsored by the Early Care and Learning Council are being conducted across the state. Trainers are doing 90 trainings of three modules each from January through March, 2012. As part of this effort, an online training tool is also being developed.  
• Work is underway on the development of an online data system for QUALITYstarsNY which will provide parents with information on early learning and development programs' quality rating and licensing information. 
• Strong Families Work Group and the NYS Parenting Education Partnership (NYSPEP) are convening an Expert Work Group to garner input on the content and style for a Parent Guide that will be part of the New Parent Kit.   
• The ECAC is developing an ad hoc technology group that will identify capacity of early care and learning providers to access internet to obtain resource information to provide for parents in their programs.  
• The rollout of the Core Body of Knowledge and the Early Learning Guidelines will be initiated at the April 2012 New York State Association for the Education of Young Children (NYSAEYC) conference.  
• The ECAC Workforce Development Work Group is developing plans for statewide dissemination of the Early Learning Guidelines and the Core Body of Knowledge, including developing a web-based training tool.  
• The ECAC Promoting Healthy Development Work Group will develop resources for programs to meet the QUALITYstarsNY physical wellbeing and health standards.  
• The ECAC Promoting Healthy Development Work Group will lead efforts to increase early learning and development program participation in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP).

  Council on Children and Families Welcomes Center for Women

and Government Fellow

The Council on Children and Families welcomes Dorcey L. Applyrs as a 2012 Women in Public Policy Fellow, a program of the University at Albany's Center for Women in Government. Dorcey is currently a second year doctoral student at the University at Albany School of Public Health pursuing a Doctorate in Public Health with a concentration in Social Behavioral Community Health. She has extensive knowledge and training in HIV/AIDS prevention and has worked in the field of HIV/AIDS for 7 years. Dorcey will contribute her talents and experience to several Council on Children and Families initiatives, including some ECAC-related priorities involving the development of the New Parent Kit, coordination and training for Health Care Consultants, and family engagement initiatives.