Programs share best practices among early childhood education providers in the state by expanding efforts to increase collaboration and efficiency of services, including improving transitions that happen across all age spans in early childhood. Furthermore, these programs provide interdisciplinary professional development to build shared understanding and connections across early childhood education, health, and human services providers that serve families with young children.
Specific Workforce Related Activities
Workforce Commission Implementation aims to develop and implement an infrastructure to support continued collaboration and communication across sectors and to build on existing relationships and efforts statewide to fulfill the vision of elevating Early Childhood professionals to a priority profession. View the Commission Report.
The Coaching Collaboration seeks to improve Early Child Care Education quality and reduce staff turnover by providing coach training, reflective practice, and technical assistance.
Step Up to Quality offers Early Childhood Education Providers the support and resources necessary for quality child care and connects families to high quality care providers.
The Center on Reflective Practice assists in mitigating the effects of the emotionally intrusive nature of the work by helping individuals examine their current and past actions, emotions, experiences, and responses in order to evaluate their work performance and learn to improve in the future.
Social Emotional Support Infrastructure gathers information to ascertain current efforts underway and identify opportunities to address early childhood social emotional community needs so as to assist the community in focusing on priorities and gaps and begin the process of identifying an infrastructure and model to address these needs in a systemic way through collaboration and partnership.
Cultivating Healthy Intentional Mindful Educators (CHIME) , created by University of Nebraska Extension, seeks to support and enhance the well-being of EC educators. The program provides education and guidance on how to incorporate mindfulness and reflective practice into daily routines, teaching and care-giving. Benefits for the health and well-being of both providers and young children include reduced stress, improved emotion management, better sleep quality, increased focus and attention, and enhanced relationships.
All Our Kin Expansion: Provides a model that includes training on business practices for family child care providers that promotes sustainable operations, maintaining necessary licenses, and continuing focus on teaching and learning.
Wonderschool is a platform designed to provide business training and mentorship for family child care providers, which helps providers set their rates, market their program, bill and collect, and communicate with parents.
Building a strong early childhood workforce is a cornerstone of Nebraska's Preschool Development Grant efforts, connecting educators, health professionals, and family service providers through shared learning opportunities. By encouraging collaboration across disciplines, the initiative helps ensure that young children and their families experience consistent, coordinated support during the earliest years of development, when foundations for lifelong learning and well-being are being formed.
Professional development activities within the grant emphasize expanding the knowledge and skills of those who work with infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Training opportunities, shared resources, and peer learning networks are designed to help providers stay current with best practices in early learning, child health, mental health, and family engagement, ultimately strengthening the quality of care and education offered across communities.
The Workforce Commission Implementation focuses on creating sustainable infrastructure that supports recruitment, retention, and advancement of early childhood professionals. By addressing compensation, training pathways, and career recognition, the work aims to elevate the field as a respected profession and to reduce turnover that can disrupt important relationships between children and the adults who nurture their growth.
Collaboration across age spans is another key feature of the workforce strategy. Programs work to smooth transitions for children and families moving from infant care into preschool, from preschool into early elementary years, and between different service systems. Coordinated handoffs help maintain continuity, reduce gaps in support, and ensure that children remain ready to learn at every stage.
Ultimately, the workforce development activities supported by the Preschool Development Grant reflect a commitment to equity, quality, and community-based solutions. By investing in the people who serve young children and their families, Nebraska is working to build an early childhood system that is responsive, well-trained, and prepared to meet the diverse needs of children across the state.
