loading…
loading…
loading…
341 | P a g e FFY 2025–2027 CCDF State Plan
q. The following are examples of optional partners a Lead Agency might coordinate with to provide services. Check which optional partners the Lead Agency coordinates with and describe the coordination and results of the coordination. i. [ ] State/Territory/local agencies with Early Head Start – Child Care Partnership grants. Describe: ii. [x] State/Territory institutions for higher education, including community colleges. Describe: The Lead Agency collaborates regularly with higher education to train staff and deliver supports and services through a Two-Generation (2Gen) framework. Through the 2Gen initiative, the Lead Agency and higher education coordinate services for student parents and refer parents who are interested in post-secondary education opportunities. The agency collaborates with the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) and with individual technical colleges to help targeted audiences attain ECE credentials. This includes supporting infant/toddler teachers in attaining an infant/toddler specific credential, supporting high school students to begin a career in early learning, and piloting efforts to increase the state's bilingual workforce. The Commissioner of TCSG and the University System of Georgia's Executive Chancellor for Academic Affairs sit on the Georgia Children's Cabinet along with agency heads of all Georgia's child serving agencies, including the Commissioner of the Lead Agency. The Georgia Children's Cabinet connects all departments and agencies serving children in the state to align state priorities and programs. The Georgia Children's Cabinet meets every two months to ensure ongoing communication and information sharing. The Lead Agency is collaborating with TCSG on a 2Gen student parent pilot where Lead Agency staff are located on TCSG campuses to enhance supports for child care assistance. iii. [x] Other federal, State, local, and/or private agencies providing early childhood and school-age/youth-serving developmental services. Describe: The Lead Agency is the leader of the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Act Early Georgia Team, which is a collaboration focused on supporting the development of young children. Partners include The Georgia Department of Education, the Georgia Department of Public Health’s Babies Can’t Wait program, the Georgia Head Start Association, Early Intervention Services, and the Georgia Department of Human Service’s Better Brains for Babies program. The Lead Agency also partners with The Rollins Center for Language and Literacy on the LITTLE grant program to support language and literacy initiatives with families and early childhood professionals. The Lead Agency participates in the Office of Child Care’s Infant Toddler Specialist Network meetings alongside other state agencies to build and strengthen infant toddler specialist networks and increase access to high-quality child care. The Lead Agency collaborates with the National Center for Pyramid Model Innovations, a collaborative funded by the Office of Special Education, to improve state and local capacity to implement and sustain effective practices and policies to support the outcomes of young children who have or are at risk of developmental delays or disabilities through our Pyramid Model training and coaching. The Lead Agency is the facilitator of the Pyramid Model State Leadership Team, which includes members from the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS), the Georgia Association for the Education