Supporting the Workforce
ECLP is working with local organizations to expand the
number of registered and licensed child care
opportunities for very young children. In 2021, ECLP
created a Master’s Degree program, The Policy and
Practice of Nurturing Care, in collaboration with
Castleton University. This program was developed to
encourage and nurture intermingling of disciplines
including but not limited to early care and learning,
higher education, healthcare, social services, nursing,
and the business sector. Whereas educational
programs typically occur in siloed systems, this
program crossed specialties to promote greater
understanding, acceptance and collegiality. The seven
elective courses were designed and taught by ECLP
colleagues and specialists. The
participants were be largely from Addison County, which
helped integrate the activities and ideas
generated. Fees per credit were kept as low as possible
with grants and subsidy available.
Expansion Project
At Early Care and Learning Partnership, we are dedicated to addressing the need for quality, affordable early care and learning in our community. We strive to make sure that all children in our community have access to the best possible start in life, and to this end, through the Community Child Care Expansion Project (C3EP), we plan to double the existing combined capacity of Otter Creek Child Center and College Street Children’s Center, providing access to quality care for more families. This would not be possible without our community partnership with Middlebury College, who are a vital and integral part of this important project.
Supporting Local Business
ECLP is working with members of the Addison County business community to ensure the focus of creating, maintaining and supporting a strong workforce is
recognized as a fundamental concern for Addison county. Ensuring early care and learning opportunities for all children will reduce parental stress and thus
enable the parental workforce to be more productive, to perform better and with more consistency in the workplace.
Research
The community that learns and reflects together learns content and the skills and abilities of their colleagues in other agencies deepen our understanding with focus groups specific to subsets of the community. This makes access to care easier, especially for those without transportation, internet, or English language skills.