State Partnerships for Prevention: Reducing the Risk Of Maltreatment of Very Young Children Introduction Addendum A: Trainer Selection Addendum B: Projected Costs Addendum C: Curriculum Content FAQ's Online Application
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Introduction

Thank you for your interest in our State Partnerships for Prevention Project (SPP).  Below you will find all the information you need to apply for this project.

The first step is to read through the information below. You will find information on the following topics:

Project Purpose
Project Description
Benefit to States
Background
Curriculum Information
Key Elements for Training
Who is Eligible
Getting Started
Selection Process
Application Requirements

We suggest you work on this application by first printing it out, reading it and then answering the questions in a Word document. You can cut and paste your answers in the appropriate spaces in the online application. Once you start filling out the online application, it must be completed and submitted. It cannot be saved.

There are three (3) Excel documents that need to be downloaded, completed, and then emailed as separate attachments after you've submitted the online application. You can access these documents with the online application.

Please feel free to call or email Linda Gillespie, Assistant Director, State Partnerships for Prevention for additional information.

NOTE :  Applications are due by the COB on October 23, 2007

Linda Gillespie
Lgillespie@zerotothree.org
202-638-1144 ext 657

Purpose

The State Partnerships for Prevention (SPP) project’s overall goal is to strengthen states’ child abuse and neglect prevention initiatives by involving child care in primary prevention efforts. The project trains state-based trainers in the use of the newly published Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: Parent-Provider Partnership (PCAN) curriculum designed to assist child care providers in supporting families and helping them reduce the risk of child maltreatment. The project is seeking applications from states with existing or planned child maltreatment prevention initiatives.

The Project

The State Partnerships for Prevention project (SPP) is a three-year project that involves 12 states that wll to integrate the PCAN curriculum into their ongoing state initiatives.  This project creates a cadre of trainers to provide training to child care providers on supporting families. The intent is to help states involve child care programs in the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Each state will assemble multi-disciplinary training teams consisting of experienced trainers, with some members highly knowledgeable about infant and toddler development, and others having expertise in prevention maltreatment.  Trainers must be committed to co-training in order to bring the needed expertise to the child care community.   

These states are grouped into 2 cohorts of 6 states each. Each state participates for 16 months. Cohort 1 consists of Arkansas, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and South Carolina. ZERO TO THREE currently seeks applications for Cohort 2 from states with existing child abuse prevention initiatives, and/or states with child care improvement efforts which include attention to prevention of child maltreatment or those in the planning stages of such initiatives.  The second cohort of six states will begin January, 2008.

Benefits to States

The SPP project provides a 3-day on-site training for up to 40 trainers in each state (See Addendum A). This will result in a state-based cadre of trainers with enhanced skills and knowledge. They will receive a research and practice-based curriculum to use in helping the child care community understand how to play a role in the prevention of child maltreatment. The SPP project provides ongoing consultation which offers states a national perspective on their work. This consultation supports the goals of the states' initiatives, assisting initiative leaders in integrating the PCAN training into their ongoing work.

The project offers:

• The opportunity to build an ongoing working relationship with ZERO TO THREE, the National Center for Infants, Toddlers and Families, which serves as the nexus of the multidisciplinary infant-family field.
• Audio conferences, web-based and in-person learning activities to support trainers’ efforts in implementing the curriculum.  These multiple learning opportunities will help assure transfer of learning from training to practice, thus maximizing states’ investment in this project.
• A one-day on-site follow-up training that further enhance trainers’ skills and resources.

Selection criteria emphasize the state’s commitment and ability to integrate PCAN curriculum training into ongoing professional development plans and the state’s ability to sustain PCAN training once the project has ended.  ZERO TO THREE’s training and consultation will be provided at no cost to the state.  However, each state will incur cash and in-kind expenses for such costs as training space, in-state travel for trainees, and the purchase of the PCAN curriculum. These costs are detailed in Addendum B.

Background

The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation awarded ZERO TO THREE a three-year grant supporting State Partnerships for Prevention: Reducing the Risk of Maltreatment of Very Young Children in October, 2006. This project is designed to help states involve child care programs in the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect. It particularly focuses on infant-toddler child care, since research shows that the youngest children are most vulnerable to child maltreatment.  This new initiative builds on the previous work described below.

From 2003-2006, ZERO TO THREE implemented a three-year grant from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to create Partnering with Parents: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect. Within this project, ZERO TO THREE developed a curriculum and training for trainers, aimed at bringing child care providers information about the role they can play in the primary prevention of child maltreatment.  Together with NACCRRA (National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies), ZERO TO THREE worked in 12 states, providing training and a training curriculum to 240 trainers affiliated with child care resource and referral agencies.

These trainers went on to use the training curriculum with more than 4,000 center directors, teachers, and family child care providers.  Participating trainers reported increased confidence in their capacity to teach others how to help reduce the risk of child maltreatment. Both trainers and child care providers consistently reported knowledge gains in the curriculum’s key concepts after attending training.  Now available through the ZERO TO THREE Press, the curriculum is titled Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: Parent-Provider Partnerships in Child Care. 

About the Curriculum

The PCAN curriculum fills a unique niche by focusing on the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the child care setting.  It is different from the typical mandated reporter training currently provided to child care professionals.  This curriculum offers child care professionals concepts and information focused on helping them to recognize the importance of relationships and the power of those relationships to reduce some of the risk factors associated with abuse and neglect.  The curriculum focuses on three over-arching areas:

• Building effective relationships with parents and their very young children.
• Understanding the impact of abuse and neglect on infants and toddlers.
• Helping directors build workplaces that support staff in reducing the risk for child  maltreatment. 

Ten units of instruction provide 60 hours of training activities and materials.  Eight of these are focused on providing early care and education with concepts, skills and exercises to prepare them to help in the primary prevention of child maltreatment. Two are aimed specifically at center directors. Taken together, these sessions offer the opportunity for child care professionals to consider a range of issues related to child abuse/neglect prevention. Additionally it helps them build a core of knowledge, understanding, and skills relating to the prevention of child abuse in families with very young children.  Individually, each session provides useful knowledge and skill-building on its own.

Curriculum units may be modified to be presented in lengths varying from 1-1/2 to 6 hours.  The units are designed for use with groups of 30, but can be adapted for smaller or larger groups.  A more detailed description of the curriculum can be found in Addendum C.

Every unit in the curriculum incorporates a relationship-based and reflective approach to learning.  Activities, exercises, and the overall structure of each session provide opportunities for participants to experience learning relationships with their trainers and with one another.  Additional themes integrated into each unit include cultural diversity; the link between the content of that unit and prevention of child maltreatment; and the concepts and skills needed to support effective relationship-building with very young children and their families.

Directors, others in leadership roles, teachers, and family childcare providers are the intended audience for this training curriculum.  The information in this curriculum is aimed at the introductory and mid-level learner for whom the material may be entirely or partially new.   

Key Elements of Training for Trainers

2. Ongoing consultation with ZERO TO THREE Training Specialists through phone, email, and distance learning opportunities.

3. Follow up onsite training 6-9 months after the initial training.


Who is Eligible?

States May Apply If:

1. They have either a child abuse/neglect prevention initiative or a childcare improvement plan that includes a focus on the prevention of child maltreatment. States planning such initiatives may also apply.
2. Agree to participate in the activities as described in the State Project and Application Requirements.
3. Have a State Administrator from the child care, child welfare, or other related state office and the chair or leader of the maltreatment prevention initiative leadership team endorse the application.
    

Getting Started:
State Project and Application Requirements

In order to apply and participate if selected, states must do the following:

1. Identify a contact person to coordinate state activities with ZERO TO THREE who will:

• Communicate expectations, commitment, and logistical information to trainers.
• Coordinate the consultative meetings between ZERO TO THREE and the state’s initiative leadership team.

2. Identify the members of the existing leadership team that guides the state’s initiative.

3. Identify an outcome measure for their participation in the State Partnerships project.

4. Assemble multi-disciplinary training teams with a maximum of 40 members who will work together to train child care providers (see Addendum A for team composition guidelines).

5. Using the PCAN curriculum, hold a minimum of two trainings per individual who takes part in the training for trainers. For example, a state that has a 30 member training team will be expected to hold 60 workshops over a 16-month period.  Exceptions to the minimum requirement will be considered on a case by case basis and are dependent on the state’s plan.

• Trainings need to be a minimum of 1.5 hours
• Trainings may include community-based workshops, conference presentation, or content integrated into CDA or higher education classes.
• We will provide forms for documentation of these trainings.

6. Provide training space and AV equipment: (LCD projector, flipchart, speakers and screen)

7. Purchase the PCAN training curriculum that provides in-depth, detailed, and user friendly content to support trainers in offering accurate, current, relevant, and practical content to infant-toddler child care providers.  (Cover price of the curriculum is $249.99 with discounts available for bulk orders of 5 or more). Addendum B has more detailed information on bulk ordering and shipping costs. 

8. Provide cash and in-kind match, such as, payment of costs for participants to travel to training for trainers, purchase of refreshments for this training, and provision of training space and AV equipment for the training of trainers.  The match must also support the state’s trainers in implementing the training, if needed. There is no specified percentage of cash and in-kind match required, though there are some fixed costs (for example, the cost of the curriculum.  States may identify cash match from federal, state, and private funders as well as local foundations. (Information on projected costs can be found in Addendum B). 

9. Participate in data collection and reporting for evaluation purposes. 

10. Participate in this initiative for a period of 16 months.

Selection Process

1. ZERO TO THREE will hold two optional technical assistance audio conferences to answer questions about the application process. Questions for the audio conferences can be submitted to Linda Gillespie, at lgillespie@zerotothree.org at least 48 hours before the audio conference.  The audio conferences are scheduled for:

Thursday, August 2nd from 3:00 - 4:00 EST
Tuesday,  September 4 from 3:00 - 4:00 EST

Those interested in participating must contact Ms. Gillespie within 24 hours prior to the scheduled date in order to receive the call-in number.

The online application must be submitted to ZERO TO THREE by the close of business Eastern standard time on Oct. 23, 2007. 
 
2.  ZERO TO THREE’s selection committee will review applications and notify states both through email and USPS by Nov. 16, 2007. 

 Application Requirements

1. Please read through entire application before filling it out.
2. After completing online application, download 3 Excel documents as follows: 1) Leadership Team Document, 2) Trainers List, and 3) State Partnership Budget Template. These must be completed to fulfill the application requirements. Upon completion please email to lgillespie@zerotothree.org
3. To get started with online application process, please Click Here.