Overview

For White early intervention practitioners, it is critical to examine the role that systemic racism and whiteness plays in work with children and families. This session will open a dialogue on how and where racism enters into the early intervention system and what we can do about it.

Faculty & P-5 Competency Domains

Faculty: Ashley Cattaneo, MSEd, NYC Department of Education; Marjorie Brickley, MSEd, Bank Street College

P-5 Competency Domains: 

• P-5 (5) Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
• P-5 (7) Professional and Ethical Practices

Presenters have affirmed that they do not have proprietary interest in products, instruments, devices, services or materials discussed in this event, and have confirmed that they have not been compensated in relation to this presentation.

Overview

This Issue Intensive, facilitated by Kandace Thomas, PhD, will explore how racism affects America’s youngest residents–infants and toddlers. The first session will present the extant research on how infants and toddlers perceive race, particularly through facial recognition. It will also include a review of the research on how historical trauma due to race affects families of very young children and what this means for the development of infants and toddlers. The second session will entail an interactive discussion on current issues relevant to systemic racism and racial inequity in the US and the implications of these for the functioning of infants and toddlers. Early childhood practitioners will gain new insights about how racism shapes our lives from our earliest days.

Faculty & Competency Domains

Faculty: Cynthia García Coll, PhD, University of Puerto Rico; Iheoma Iruka, PhD, The Center for Early Education Research & Evaluation, HighScope Educational Research Foundation; Kandace Thomas, PhD, First 8 Memphis; Marva L. Lewis, PhD, Tulane University

P-5 Competency Domains:

• P-5 (5) Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
• P-5 (4) Health and Developmental Protective and Risk Factors

Presenters have affirmed that they do not have proprietary interest in products, instruments, devices, services or materials discussed in this event, and have confirmed that they have not been compensated in relation to this presentation.

Overview

This Issue Intensive will utilize an interactive discussion format and include several opportunities for participant participation. An overview of major early childhood programs serving children and families in American Indian and Alaska Native communities will be provided along with a discussion of the centrality of Native language and culture for supporting child and family health, development, and well-being. Tribal early childhood program leaders will share their experiences integrating Native language and culture into their programs, offering practical advice and lessons learned for others seeking to ground their early childhood programs and practices in Native or other cultural and language traditions. During the session, participants will be encouraged to share reflections, questions, and examples from their own experience of cultural and language integration.

Faculty & Competency Domains

Faculty: Dawn Nixon, PsyD, LP, IMH-E (IV-C); Ekaterina Zoubak, MA, Health Resources and Services Administration; Johanna Wilson, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Project LAUNCH; Lana Garcia, Pueblo of Jemez & Walatowa Head Start Language Immersion Program; Michelle Sarche, PhD, Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health

P-5 Competency Domains:

• P-5 (5) Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
• P-5 (3) Relationship-Based Practice

Presenters have affirmed that they do not have proprietary interest in products, instruments, devices, services or materials discussed in this event, and have confirmed that they have not been compensated in relation to this presentation.

Overview

Family engagement efforts represent a shared responsibility in which early childhood/home visiting programs and other community agencies are committed to meaningfully including parents in the development of program services, procedures, and policies, with the goal of ensuring families have the support and knowledge they need to actively support their children’s development. Equity and inclusion—in the design and implementation of family engagement efforts—ensures that programmatic activities reach all families in the community and reflect a shared and inclusive set of beliefs, practices, and objectives. This Issue Intensive will explore the ways in which an equity and inclusion lens can, and should, shape family engagement efforts and feature an innovative family engagement program that has successfully partnered with a diverse group of parents at the community level.

(Note: Issue Intensive sessions are designed to be delivered in two parts. Part Two of this session is featured on the same day at 3:30 pm.)

Faculty & P-5 Competency Domains

Faculty: Eve Wilder, MPH, Massachusetts Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Project, Massachusetts Department of Public Health; Larisa Mendez-Penate, EdM, Massachusetts Department of Public Health; Roxanne Hoke-Chandler, MS, Massachusetts Department of Public Health; Shantel Meek, PhD, Children’s Equity Project, Arizona State University

P-5 Competency Domains:

• P-5 (5) Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness
• P-5 (2) Family-Centered Practice

Presenters have affirmed that they do not have proprietary interest in products, instruments, devices, services or materials discussed in this event, and have confirmed that they have not been compensated in relation to this presentation.

Overview

2020 began with long-standing challenges facing the youngest children and their families and promising visions of creating a better world for them. Little did we know then what the year would bring. To open the ZERO TO THREE Annual Conference we have asked Joan Lombardi, PhD, a longstanding champion for young children in the US and around the world, to reflect on the status of young children and families before COVID-19 as well as the impact of the pandemic, and to provide a call to action moving forward into a new and better future.

Faculty & P-5 Competency Domains

Faculty: Joan Lombardi, PhD, Senior Advisor & Director, Early Opportunities

P-5 Competency Domains: 

• P-5 (6) Leadership to Meet Family Needs and Improve Services and Systems
• P-5 (4) Health and Developmental Protective and Risk Factors

Presenters have affirmed that they do not have proprietary interest in products, instruments, devices, services or materials discussed in this event, but have been compensated by ZERO TO THREE for this presentation.

Overview

Faculty & P-5 Competency Domains

Faculty: Michael Yellow Bird, MSW, PhD, Dean and Professor Faculty of Social Work, University of Manitoba

P-5 Competency Domains:

• P-5 (6) Leadership to Meet Family Needs and Improve Services and Systems
• P-5 (5) Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness

Presenters have affirmed that they do not have proprietary interest in products, instruments, devices, services or materials discussed in this event, but have been compensated by ZERO TO THREE for this presentation.

This presentation will focus on the intersection between race/racism and emotional development in preschool settings. Participants will be provided with a set of emotionally supportive practices, for particular use with Black children and boys, to support emotional learning and existing emotional development curricula.

Evandra Catherine, Postdoctoral Fellow

The breakout session will provide information about advancing equity in early childhood education though intentional practice by using the "Start With Equity" 14 Priorities to Dismantle Systemic Racism in Early Childhood Education.

Lisa Wilson, Director of Equity and Outreach

Many people have read books like "How to Be an Anti-Racist" and still struggle to connect that awareness to daily action. Participants will use self-compassion and body-based exercises as a bridge between awareness and action. Participants will use this framework to address oppression in their contexts.

Siemone Smith, Nurse Educator

Nat Vikitsreth, Founder

This session engages attendees in the process of Indigenous culture/language curriculum in birth-to-age-3 classrooms in a tribal nation early learning center. Attendees will hear how language/culture and classroom teachers have come together to develop land-based and tribally specific curriculum and consider opportunities for applying the work in their respective settings.

Thomas Williams, Lushootseed Language Teacher

Anna Lees, Associate Professor

Have you tried to implement an evidence-based curriculum or innovation, only to find it doesn’t work or can't be sustained in your agency and community? This session will detail approaches to using implementation science strategies to interrupt long-standing concerns such as the disproportionate use of exclusionary practices.

Meghan Johnson, Assistant Professor ? Department of Special Education

Sondra Stegenga, Professor Early Childhood/Early Intervention

Erin Kinavey Wennerstrom, Director, Learn & Grow (QRIS)

Participants will engage in reflective exercises examining their unconscious biases and how they have been impacted by gender, and orientation, and racial stigma. They will leave holding in mind how they can be the change and the prevention for future generations.

Jennifer Lopez, Owner and Founder

Lina Acosta-Sandaal, Director, Military Family Projects

In 2020, the American Professional Society of Child Abuse declared that racism is a form of psychological maltreatment. The growing population of multicultural, immigrant, and refugee children and families require culturally valid theories and research to identify strengths and vulnerabilities for effective practice and inclusive policies. Findings from research unpack caregiver emotions that serve as mediators and moderators of bias and colorism on the acceptance and rejection of children. Take heart in strategies to promote awareness of race-based emotional responses and transform practice to include empathic attunement with the humanity of diverse people.  Robert (Bob) Emde explored development from the perspective of continuity and transformational change. Great change requires upheaval. Effective action requires reflection and recognition of the role of intense emotions in relationships. Amid atrocities, we can raise our collective consciousness and advance essential transformations—together.

Important note on accessing plenary sessions

Each day's plenary will be streamed using MediaCenter. To ensure that you are able to join the live plenary session, perform a browser test here. 

The site will ask for your first and last name and email to launch the test. If you see the video and hear music that means you passed and can close that window. 

If you are unable to see the video, please visit the FAQ page here for troubleshooting tips. As a reminder, all plenaries will be recorded and available after the conference. 

There is the concept of Sacred Bundles that are used in traditional ceremonies of American Indian spiritual teachings. This presentation will provide an understanding of the Sacred Bundle of life from conception, birth, infancy, and early childhood with stories, teachings, examples, and images. Teachings will cover how children are viewed and expectations with the concept of a Sacred Bundle.

Important note on accessing plenary sessions

Each day's plenary will be streamed using MediaCenter. To ensure that you are able to join the live plenary session, perform a browser test here. 

The site will ask for your first and last name and email to launch the test. If you see the video and hear music that means you passed and can close that window. 

If you are unable to see the video, please visit the FAQ page here for troubleshooting tips. As a reminder, all plenaries will be recorded and available after the conference. 

Dolores Subia BigFoot, PhD,

Paul Spicer, PhD,

In this dynamic and uplifting speech, Maria will talk about how important it is to think about a future where white America will no longer be a majority and everyone learns about true equality and representation. This is a moment to think about data that will give us hope and making sure that we take care of ourselves before we take care of the rest of the world and the country. But we can do both! Based on personal experiences in her reporting and recent trips around the country, Maria will provide context for concern and also for joy about the future.

Maria Hinojosa,

Ernestine Benedict,

Baby Talk 4: Developmentally Appropriate Practice And Advancing Equity: What Educators Should Know About NAEYC’s Newest Position Statements

This session focuses on key messages from both NAEYC's Advancing Equity and DAP Position Statements. The presenter will highlight tools and resources all educators who work with young children (teachers, program directors, trainers) can use as they advance equity and offer joyful learning opportunities in their work with young children.

Speakers: Alissa Mwenelupembe, NAEYC and Susan B Friedman, NAEYC

Baby Talk 5: Somos Las FAVAS: FFN Care That Is "For Latinx, By Latinx"

This session will focus on our community-participatory, culturally relevant, liberation-framed approach to infancy and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) for Latinx Friends, Family, and Neighbors child care providers (FAVAS). Participants will learn through narrative examples from the FAVAS themselves regarding their experiences co-creating a program both for them and by them.

Speakers: Elizabeth (Buffy) Trent Wolf, La Cocina,  Karen Sandoval, La Cocina, and Sandra "Aby" Garcia, La Cocina

Baby Talk 6: Promoting Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health: A Teleconsultation Pilot For Cross-Sector Early Childhood Providers

The session reviews a statewide teleconsultation pilot, beginning with concept formation and steps leading to implementation, and transitioning to an overview of the components of the teleconsultation pilot. Participants will explore initial outcomes and challenges within the pilot and reflect on ways to incorporate similar practices in their own work.

Speakers: Jennifer Mitchell, The Children's Center

Alissa Mwenelupembe, NAEYC

Susan Friedman, Senior Director of Publishing and Content Development

Karen Sandoval, Mil Dias de Amor Program Coordinator

Aby Garcia, Bilingual Mental Health Provider

Elizabeth Trent Wolf, Clinical Director

Jennifer Mitchell, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant

This session is for home visiting stakeholders interested in engaging refugee/immigrant families using diversity, equity, and inclusion-focused books and relational engagement strategies. A panel of model developers, researchers, and refugee home visitors share preliminary findings from a pilot project conducted in a home visiting program at a Chicago-based refugee resettlement agency.

Aimee Hilado, Assistant Professor

Cindy Bardeleben, Executive Director

Manar Matti, Home Visitor

Child development, promotion, prevention, and intervention all occur within the context of a relationship. This plenary will examine the task of bridging relationships. What does the early childhood professional bring in terms of their experience and cultural lens to their relationships with children and families? Children and families are holding their relationship with the early childhood professional, relationship history, cultural lens, and much more. How do issues of social injustice, structural racism, microaggression, and implicit bias impact these relationships? Explore ways we can contribute to powerful and positive bridge building across and through our relationships.

Barbara Stroud, Psychologist

Eva Marie Shivers, Executive Director

Framed through the 3Ps Equity Framework of Protecting, Promoting, and Preserving, this presentation identifies and elevates the cultural wealth of Black families and other families of color as they continue to deal with the global pandemic, systemic racism, and other inequities. Professionals must attend to child and family healthy supports, economic stability, and upward mobility as well as equitable access, experiences, and outcomes in early learning spaces for young children and their families. Examine how you protect babies and families from trauma and stress; promote their health, wealth, and educational excellence; and preserve their cultural identity and assets. Engage in the uncomfortable truths while recognizing the opportunity for transforming early childhood education to meet the needs of children, families, educators, and communities.

Iheoma Iruka, Research Professor of Public Policy and Fellow

Early childhood professionals know firsthand the need for more public investment to support equitable access to high-quality services and support for families with infants and toddlers. Sharing your experiences with policymakers and community leaders can be an important catalyst for change. In this session, Dr. Tiffany Manuel (Dr. T), President and CEO of the TheCaseMade will share her expertise in powerfully and intentionally making the case to improve systems. With a strong focus on racial equity and inclusion, Dr. T will share guidance on advocacy messages and strategies that can help you to effectively advocate for what infants and toddlers need in your community.

Tiffany Manuel, President and CEO

Discuss the modification of an existing proxy measurement of attachment—the Working Model of the Child Interview—to explore how Black caregivers' racial and environmental experiences impact their representations of their Black children. Presenters will highlight the need for new methods and frameworks in researching Black attachment relationships.

Haley Peele,

Ashlee Yates Flanagan,

Monica Daniels,