Principal Investigator:
Darlene Grant, Ph.D.
Duration: 95 – 97
Four agencies pooled their intellectual, concrete, and other resources to contribute to the development and enhancement of high-quality, educational child care across each center. These agencies included Austin Community Nursery Schools, Community Advocates for Teens and Parents, Ebenezer Child Development Center, and Open Door Preschools.
The three goals of the collaboration were:
- to develop a practical process for program and services evaluation, specifically related to child care and development, parenting and family support, and staff training and development;
- to share resources to enhance the quality of programs and services across agencies; and
- to develop a unified voice of advocacy for quality early care and education for children of low income families.
The major accomplishments of the collaboration were:
- developing common intake forms to collect data about children and their families,
- identifying common developmental assessment tools for assessing children across centers,
- developing a common waiting list to permit expedient referrals when possible, and
- hiring of a master teacher whose talents and skills are shared across agency sites.
In conclusion, the collaboration was positively received by the staff of each center, and there was clear evidence of a positive impact on the parents and families of the enrolled children.
Sponsor:
Austin Community Nursery Schools, Austin, TX
Health and Human Services Department, City of Austin
Health Department, Travis County