Exploring Roles in the ECE Community: Local and State Levels

           There are many organizations within the field of early childhood that assist me in working with families and young children on a daily basis.  The first organization provides evaluations to children with special needs under the age of three: Birth to Three in the state of Connecticut. I have always enjoyed working with the consultants and specialists that have come through my classrooms over the years. The work they do serves so many people on a regular basis, and is provided to parents on a sliding scale based on their income.

Birth to Three works in hospitals, schools, and agency settings (where children might go to an office to work one on one with a therapist or specialist). One of the agencies I worked with most was Abilis, providing support to the families that I worked within Stamford, Connecticut. This would be an agency I would love to work for down the road as I feel I could contribute to helping children with special needs by becoming an intervention specialist with the organization. In this role, I could utilize my leadership skills as well as observation tools I have learned in the teacher and director roles. Then, with Abilis, I would visit schools and observe children to help provide additional support to children with learning disabilities, or those that may be on the spectrum.

The Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance (2011 A) is a statewide membership and advocacy organization committed to improving outcomes in the areas of learning, health, safety and economic security, for children from birth to age eight. When I came across this webpage, I immediately signed up to become a member and get on their mailing list. As I perused the different pages, I found out that one of the platforms they are working for is the preservation and expansion of funding for early childhood services (CT Early Childhood Alliance, 2011 B). This is the issue I am choosing for my Capstone, and having this organization as a community of practice, will help me to achieve that goal some day.

References:

Abilis. (2013). Abilis. Retrieved from: http://www.abilis.us/

Birth to Three. (2013). Birth to three. Retrieved from: http://www.birth23.org/index.html

Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance. (2011 A). About. Retrieved from:   
     http://www.earlychildhoodalliance.com/about

Connecticut Early Childhood Alliance. (2011 B). Policy platform 2013. Retrieved from:   
     http://www.earlychildhoodalliance.com/legislative_agenda