The Early Childhood Personnel Center: Building Capacity to Improve Outcomes for Infants and Young Children with Disabilities and Their Families

Abstract

There are concerns about the quantity and quality of personnel in early childhood intervention (ECI) as the numbers of infants and young children with delays and disabilities grow in number, needs, and diversity. The Early Childhood Personnel Center (ECPC) was funded to provide technical assistance (TA) to state systems of ECI and institutions of higher education (IHE) through the development of comprehensive systems of personnel development (CSPD). A CSPD is comprised of 6 interrelated subcomponents and each provides the infrastructure necessary to meet the current and future needs of a competent workforce. The subcomponents include recruitment and retention, personnel standards, preservice programs, in-service training, leadership and sustainability, and evaluation. TA audiences have included ECI administrators, IHE faculty, doctoral students, professional development providers, and families that jointly develop, implement, and evaluate effective personnel practices, policies, and systems. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the TA provided by the ECPC over the past 8 years.