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The New Jersey First Steps Infant Toddler
New Jersey First Steps Infant Toddler Initiative Summary As a NJ Child Care Resource and Referral Agency, CCCC is committed to programs that support excellence in early care and education; one such program is the New Jersey First Steps: A Statewide Infant/Toddler Initiative (NJ First Steps). NJ First Steps was created to assist early childhood educators in offering the very best possible care for children birth through two-half years of age. Three regional agencies, Programs for Parents, Inc. (northern region), Community Coordinated Child Care of Union County (central region), and the Southern Regional Child Care Resource Center, EIRC (southern region) serve as lead agencies for the 16 child care resource and referral agencies across the state.
Each region employs Infant/Toddler Specialists who work with early care providers and center directors providing professional development, technical assistance, consultation services, program assessment and resources. Family child care providers and child care centers who participate in the NJ First Steps Initiative have a classroom assessment conducted by an Infant/Toddler Specialist, using the Infant/Toddler Environmental Rating Scale (ITERS-R). Below is a summary of the 2011 Pre and Post ITERS-R Scores for participating family child care providers and child care centers in the Central Region, which include the following counties: Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset and Union.
In 2009, NJ First Steps announced the availability of funding for Quality Enhancement Grants for child care centers and family child care providers, scholarships for child care center staff and funding to purchase new cribs for child care centers. Funding was made possible through the NJ Department of Human Services, Division of Family Development, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The grants and scholarships were awarded to child care providers in the NJ First Step Central Region.
Quality Enhancement Grants Quality enhancement funds were used to improve the quality of infant toddler programs throughout the State of New Jersey. Licensed child care centers were eligible to receive up to $2,500 per center and family child care providers up to $1,500 for equipment, furnishings and learning materials. This grant was awarded to:
New Jersey First Steps Infant Toddler Initiative Scholarship A financial assistance scholarship was provided for infant and toddler practitioners employed in New Jersey licensed child care centers who were pursuing the NJ Infant/Toddler Credential. Scholarship recipients were eligible to receive up to $4,000 to cover the tuition, fees and book stipend of the two approved college credit classes (six credits) leading toward the New Jersey Infant/Toddler Credential. As a result:
Crib Grants In 2010, funding was granted to provide centers, who participated in the NJ First Steps Initiative, with a grant to purchase cribs which meet the new federal crib guidelines (for more information on crib guidelines visit our Downloadable Forms section). As a result:
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