Initial PBC Steps for B-3QI

In August of this year the NC Infant Toddler Quality Enhancement Project, which offered technical assistance for child care providers serving infants and toddlers in all counties of the state, transitioned to become the new NC Birth-to-Three Quality Initiative (B-3QI). B-3QI is administered through Child Care Services Association as an activity of the statewide Child Care Resource & Referral Council and receives its funding from the Division of Child Development and Early Education. The initiative took a necessary five-month pause in normal service delivery to receive professional development training and to plan new offerings to meet the needs of NC birth-to-three providers.

Members of B-3QI have been hard at work the last few months preparing to return to the field in full force starting in January 2023. Our Birth-to-Three Specialists kicked off the new project in August by collaborating on the creation of resource packages based on common challenges seen in child care facilities across the state. Some resources compiled include support for ITERS-R and addressing biting behavior. Many more handouts, documents, and web-based resources are being compiled based on a wide variety of topics centered on birth-to-three care and education.

In September, our team spent a week together at Lake Junaluska learning how to implement the new Practice-Based Coaching (PBC) framework for coaching and intensive birth-to-three workforce support. There, the team practiced with goal setting, action planning, focused observations, and reflection and feedback. The PBC Pilot Group facilitated many of the activities used during the team meeting to foster a deeper understanding of the PBC model, why we use it, and what it might look like in different child care settings across the state.

In October, B-3QI launched its first Connect & Chat Forums. These virtual sessions are facilitated by select regional Specialists and are open to participants across the state. The Birth-to-Three Connect & Chat Forum was crafted with the intention of empowering and connecting North Carolina’s birth-to-three workforce, which is foundational to our state’s functioning. The Forum’s mission is to foster a sense of community, collaboration, and partnership among early care and learning practitioners through peer education and support, facilitated by Birth-to-Three Specialists who provide clarity, answers, and resources around all topics related to birth-to-three care. The Connect & Chat Forum’s vision is a safe and welcoming virtual space where participants across the state convene to release and unburden themselves of daily stress through being heard and held with compassion and sharing laughter and enjoyment with colleagues and coworkers. For more information on this platform, email b3qi@childcareservices.org.

In November, the B-3QI team attended the NC CCR&R Institute where the management team presented on our project’s changes, activities, and updates. We were delighted to see so much interest in our work and to be able to respond to thoughtful questions. Our team anticipates future presentations similar to this in order to spread the word about what we have to offer in this new iteration.
The NC CCR&R Council website houses the new B-3QI page and it can be accessed here:  https://www.childcarerrnc.org/special-projects/b3qi/.