DRAFT Agenda & Sessions

March 17, 2020

Contents Wednesday, July 8 ........................................................................................................................................ 2

8:30 AM – 12:00 PM Pre-Conference Sessions (Pre-registration required) ......................................... 2

12:00 – 5:15 PM Sponsors’ Exhibition .................................................................................................. 3

1:00 – 3:15 PM Welcome and Opening Plenary Session ...................................................................... 3

3:15 – 3:30 PM Break ............................................................................................................................ 3

3:30 – 5:00 PM Topical Breakout Sessions ........................................................................................... 3

5:30 – 7:30 PM Sponsors’ Reception .................................................................................................... 7

Thursday, July 9 ............................................................................................................................................. 7

7:00 AM – 5:00 PM Sponsors’ Exhibition .............................................................................................. 7

8:00 – 10:00 AM Intensive Breakout Sessions ...................................................................................... 7

10:00 – 10:30 AM Break ........................................................................................................................ 9

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Topical Breakout Sessions .................................................................................. 9

12:00 – 12:15 PM Break ...................................................................................................................... 13

12:15 – 1:30 PM Lunch Sessions ......................................................................................................... 13

1:30 – 3:00 PM Plenary Session .......................................................................................................... 14

3:00 – 3:30 PM Break .......................................................................................................................... 14

3:30 – 4:30 PM Hot-Topic/Short-Take Sessions/State Showcase ....................................................... 14

4:45 – 5:45 PM State Team Time ........................................................................................................ 17

Friday, July 10 .............................................................................................................................................. 17

7:00 – 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast ................................................................................................ 17

7:00 AM – 12:00 PM Sponsors’ Exhibition .......................................................................................... 17

8:30 – 10:00 AM Topical Breakout Sessions ....................................................................................... 17

10:00 – 10:30 AM Break ...................................................................................................................... 21

10:30 – 12:00 PM Plenary Session ...................................................................................................... 21

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Wednesday, July 8 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM Pre-Conference Sessions (Pre-registration required) 100. New Research in Quality and Quality Improvement This preconference session will highlight a range of new research findings related to quality and quality improvement in early care and education. National and state projects will be highlighted. Multiple presenters will describe their work and then discuss findings and policy implications with participants. Presenters: Kelly Maxwell and Kathryn Tout, Child Trends 102. Meaningful Coaching Data and Documentation to Impact Sustainable Change at All System Levels We will Introduce a logic model and process for identifying meaningful data that can better inform and impact the diverse tiers of stakeholders in a coaching initiative, including practitioners, coaches, site supervisors, coaching supervisors, coaching-initiative decision makers, and funders. We will clarify how coaches can document and use specific data and sample forms to better inform their coaching practices as well as how to focus on and support the ongoing professional development of coaches. Presenters: Constant Hine and Robin Levy, Horizons in Learning 104. 2nd Order System Change: What it is, Why it Matters, and How to Make it Happen If you ever feel like your QRIS is unwieldy and cumbersome, or that your redesign meetings swirl around the same recurring themes, you are likely using 1st order (incremental) approaches to try to effect 2nd order (transformational) change. Such an approach is like pushing a boulder uphill -- exhausting and ineffective. Join us to learn how to distinguish 1st, 2nd, and 3rd order change and gain tools for figuring out how to create the conditions for authentic system transformation. Presenters: Ida Rose Florez, Early Childhood System Solutions, LLC 106. "Nothing About Me Without Me is For Me": Listening to the Voices Least Often Heard within Systems Presenters from School Readiness Consulting, and their Michigan, Montana, Oregon, and Washington (King County) partners, will lead participants in a deep examination of current family and community engagement practices, and what states are learning from efforts to share power and co-create solutions within communities. This session will center on family and community engagement as a racial equity objective and confront challenges that persist in these efforts. Participants will work individually and/or in state teams to define their own pathways forward. Presenters: Jennifer Caldwell and Thelma Wong, School Readiness Consulting; Lonias Gilmore, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services; Caitlin Jensen, Zero to Five Montana; Alicia Martinez, King County; Sara Mickelson, Oregon Early Learning Division 108. Committing to Equity: Policy Decisions that Promote Racial Equity in State Child Care Programs Creating racially equitable child care systems can seem like an enormous challenge, but stakeholders can move toward programs and policies designed in response to the needs of parents and providers, increasing equitable access to high-quality child care. In this interactive session we will discuss principles of racial equity in policy making, and specific opportunities to apply those principles in subsidy, QRIS design, and outreach to parents and providers. Participants will discuss specific strategies, applying them to their own work. Presenters: Kisha Davis, Illinois Department of Human Services; Jennifer Greppi, Parent Voices California; Cemeré James, National Black Child Development Institute; Christine Johnson-Staub, CLASP

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110. Funding Our Future Support for early care and education is growing. But funding gaps pose a significant challenge to ensuring quality early care and education for more children. Hear about planning and costing out of the ECE system, and state and local tax policies for expansion of public investment in early care and education. Interact with experts who work with states and communities on these issues, as well as state and local leaders who have led successful initiatives to expand revenue through innovative tax strategies. Presenters: Olivia Allen, Children’s Funding Project; Miriam Calderon, Oregon Division of Early Learning; Lisa Christensen Gee, Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy; Harriet Dichter, BUILD Initiative; Lynn Karoly, RAND Corporation; Annemarie Valdez, First Steps 112. Building Leadership for Systems Development and Sustainability: Essential Skills and Traits This preconference session will explore cross-system, cross-sector leadership development (with examples of current trends and initiatives across states), foundational concepts, and strategies for growing visionary and capable leaders who are primed to meet state or community challenges. The session will engage participants in a state self-assessment to identify important skill sets, resources, and strategies for developing future leaders. Presenters: Marsha Basloe, Child Care Services Association; Khari Garvin, Save the Children USPA; Sarah Heinemeier, Compass Evaluation and Research; Shannon Rudisill, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative 113. A Seat on the Rug: Strategies for Serving Children and Families with Complex Needs in Early Education Programs Explore strategies to ensure children and families with complex needs--such as those involved in the child welfare system, children with disabilities, or those who experience homelessness--are able to access and participate in early childhood programs, and that the professionals working in those programs have the supports they need to serve families effectively. Presenters will share examples of model policies and best practices, facilitate peer-to-peer learning, and support attendees in developing an action plan to take home. Presenters: Carrie Bires, Ounce of Prevention Fund; other presenters to be determined

12:00 – 5:15 PM Sponsors’ Exhibition 1:00 – 3:15 PM Welcome and Opening Plenary Session 3:15 – 3:30 PM Break 3:30 – 5:00 PM Topical Breakout Sessions 201. Tribes and State Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS) Approaches: Lessons Learned from Cultural Responsiveness with Infants and Toddlers Across the U.S. there are 573 federally recognized tribes. Tribes are sovereign nations with tribal government systems, tribal education systems, diverse cultures, and languages. Participants will reflect on examples from tribes across the nation and gain insights from cultural responsiveness with an infant and toddler lens. This session will provide peer-to-peer opportunities for small group discussion of state approaches and the importance of state QRIS consultation with tribes to increase cultural responsiveness, respect tribal sovereignty, and advance equity. Presenters: Zelda Boyd, National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance; Char Schank, National Center on Tribal Early Childhood Development; Holly Wilcher, Child Care State Capacity Building Center, Infant Toddler Specialist Network

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202. Integrating Supportive Teacher-Child Interactions, High-Quality Curricula, and Ongoing Child Assessment: An Essential Step Toward Improving School Readiness for Children Join us to engage with experts and colleagues to hear the latest research, innovations, and lessons learned about QRIS, early childhood systems building, and continuous quality improvement efforts through using effective teacher-child interactions as a foundation upon which to build integration of high-quality curriculum and ongoing child assessment. We will review what supports are needed to do this well, and who is able to access such supports and who needs access to ensure equity within our early childhood systems. Presenters: Amy Cubbage and Manda Klein, Teachstone; Linda Warren, Early Childhood Associates 203. Equity-based Reframing of Family Engagement Add your voice and ideas to an interactive session designed to re-imagine our approaches to family engagement as a vehicle for creating equity in ECE. Agency staff and researchers from North Carolina will share their work, and a national expert on family engagement will share perspectives based on a consensus report from the National Academies of Science, followed by a discussion on the opportunities for incorporating family engagement into QRIS to advance equity, reduce bias, and leverage continuous quality improvement. Presenters: Iheoma Iruka, High Scope Educational Research Foundation; Mary Lee Porterfield and Catherine Scott-Little, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Kristi Snuggs, North Carolina Division of Child Development and Early Education 204. Pathways and Possibilities: Building and Sustaining Family Child Care Through Networks and Communities of Practice A significant number of family child care programs have left the early childhood field over the past decade. This is a critical loss for families and communities. This session hopes to raise awareness of the diversity among providers, stimulate discussion on challenges faced by providers to maintain a small business, and generate ideas from training and network models that support the unique needs of family child care providers in building and sustaining quality programs. Presenters: Sonia Crum-Knight, Carole Robertson Center for Learning; Barbara Volpe, McCormick Center for Early Childhood Leadership 206. The CARE Collaborative: BANANAS and Alameda County Build Childcare Support System For Unhoused Families Version 2.0 This workshop will share a process, logic model, and action plan so any size group can begin to envision how to replicate a system that supports families experiencing homelessness in their search for child care and subsidies. It will include prompts and tools to determine: 1) Infrastructure Needed To Connect And Support Unhoused Families to Obtain Childcare In Your Community. 2) Building A Workgroup: Who Needs To Be At The Table. 3)Thinking Big, Starting Small: Create a Family Navigation Plan. Presenters: Maria Hassel and Heather Lang, BANANAS 207. Harnessing the Power of Registries to Increase Equity in the Early Childhood Workforce We will examine the power of registry data in order for states, partners and stakeholders to have a clear picture of their early childhood workforce, pursue policy interventions and build high-quality systems that expand reach towards supporting and retaining a highly inclusive workforce. We will show how to utilize data to enhance impact and recognition to the profession, and advance equity by identifying targeted supports that build adult capabilities aligned with the current and diverse needs of the workforce.

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Presenters: Diana Diaz, NY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute at City University of New York; Kris Madden, Pennsylvania Key; Kelly Smith, Ohio Child Care Resource & Referral Association; Joellyn Whitehead, Illinois Network of Child Care Resource and R 208. Broadening the Levers for Change: Strengthening Leadership and Organizational Supports to Empower More Effective Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice and Models The proposed session presents three illustrations of innovative quality improvement thinking at state, organizational, and ECCE program levels: an innovative state-wide PD program on "ambitious instruction" to support outstanding teaching in publicly funded preschools; a research-practice partnership to build an aligned vision, language, metric, and improvement strategy that unites PreK and K-3 improvement frameworks and action; and a PEG research-practice partnership to use organizational data and rapid-cycles of improvement to strengthen supports teachers and practitioners receive in their daily implementation. Presenters: Michael Ames Connor, Oregon Department of Education Early Learning Division; Anne Douglass, Institute for Early Education, UMass Boston; Soobin Oh, Children's Institute; Debra Pacchiano, Ounce of Prevention Fund; 209. 'Are We There Yet?' Illinois' Journey in Supporting Early Childhood Systems Building Illinois has implemented promising initiatives that support system building at the local level. One is a publicly funded system of statewide supports that builds the capacity of community collaborations to continuously improve local early childhood systems. Another is a privately funded peer learning group that supports early childhood collaboration leaders develop their capacity to lead system change. Participants will examine the capacities needed to lead system building efforts and the supports that are essential to helping practitioners be effective. Presenters: Grace Araya, Illinois Action for Children; Janice Moenster, Children's Home & Aid, Greater East St. Louis Partnership for Early Learning; Trish Rooney, Strong Prepared And Ready for Kindergarten, Fox Valley United Way 212. Philanthropy's Role in Undoing Racism: Supporting Early Learning Systems Work from an Anti-Racist Perspective In this session, the presenters will engage in a critical discussion with leaders about the role of philanthropy and its role in undoing racism within and across early childhood systems. We will examine the impact of structural racism on building state and local early childhood systems. We will exchange ideas and pursue next steps amongst system leaders and early childhood funders about ways in which we can partner to interrupt structural racism. Presenters: Rebecca Gomez, Heising Simons Foundation; Rashanda Perryman, Vanguard; Shannon Rudisill, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative; Thelma Wong, School Readiness Consulting 213. Culturally Responsive, Relationship-Based Professional Development with Infant and Toddler Teachers Using Five Steps to Building Brain Architecture Learn how to create a culturally sensitive coaching model within QRIS that focuses on warm, responsive relationships to build brain architecture for infants and toddlers. Learn strategies for using relationship-based coaching, provider voice, and pacing for infant-toddler teachers that reflects and supports diverse learners. Community voices representative of caregivers and coaches will be emphasized. Presenters: Victor Cardenas, Catholic Charities Central Washington; Roxanne Garzon, Washington Department of Children, Youth & Families

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215. Disrupting QRIS: A New Perspective on Business Leadership and Automation This workshop will focus on the role of business leadership in QRIS standards, coaching and TA. While acknowledging that skilled business leadership is an essential ingredient of sustainable, high-quality early care and education, participants will be challenged to question assumptions and explore alternative strategies to strengthen fiscal and administrative leadership. We will examine the potential role of: business metrics, automated child care management systems and administrative and fiscal staffing, while also exploring innovative approaches to QRIS business coaching. Presenters: Louise Stoney, Opportunities Exchange 216. Tools for Building an Effective Consumer Education Website: A Peer Learning Session Join us for an interactive session where facilitators will use real-world examples and free resources to demonstrate how to build and enhance engaging, accessible, and family-friendly QRIS-focused consumer education websites. Attendees will participate in a series of guided table-top discussions on the development and improvement of QRIS elements of consumer education websites. Walk away with clear, achievable action items for an improving the visibility and understanding of the QRIS through your consumer education website. Presenters: Melissa Banks and Amy Page, State Capacity Building Center; Dara Pressley, ICF Next 219. Using Data to Determine Reach and Evaluate Progress To Better Support Infants/Toddlers and Their Families States and communities are working to implement policies and initiatives to better support infants, toddlers and their families. However, many are grappling with how best to use data to document reach and progress made. This session presents work happening as part of the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers (NCIT). Researchers will partner with an NCIT state to highlight work being done to support infants and toddlers, with a focus on how to use data to determine reach and need. Presenters: Dale Epstein, Child Trends; Other presenters TBD 221. Implementing Innovation for Comprehensive Continuous Quality Improvement: Multiple States' Perspectives and Learnings QRIS are complex and determining equitable, innovative and effective strategies for technical assistance and support are essential for ensuring excellent outcomes. This session explores how three states are rethinking their QRIS and moving towards 3.0 models to raise quality and improve outcomes for young children. Through reflection, engaging a panel of leaders, and interacting in discussion groups, participants will learn from points of view on approaches to build quality, implementing innovation, and developing strategies for continuous improvement. Presenters: Michael Bachman, Indiana Spark Learning Lab; Rachael Brown-Kendall, Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families; Lori Connors-Tadros, National Institute of Early Education Research; Charlie Geier, Shine Early Learning; Amy Whitehead-Pleaux 222. Using Continuous Quality Improvement Methods to Support Practice Change and a Culture of Continuous Learning The goal of this session is to share findings from a recent study of continuous quality improvement in urban child care centers. The presenters will share information about the quality improvement method (the Breakthrough Series Collaborative), the outcomes for participants and programs and the mechanisms that drove the changes. Details will be provided about how changes in practice were supported and the tools used to measure changes in relational dynamics and organizational culture. This session will be interactive and offer opportunities for participants to apply key lessons to their own quality improvement work.

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Presenters: Jen Agosti, JRA Consulting Ltd.; Jennifer Cleveland and Tamara Halle, Child Trends; Anne Douglass, University of Massachusetts Boston 224. Strengthening the Measurement of Quality in Early Care and Education Settings This session will highlight issues in measuring quality in early care and education settings and strategies to strengthen measurement, such as ensuring that assessors are well trained and gather data reliably. Louisiana will describe their efforts, including the role of a university partner, to support local QRIS assessors. Pennsylvania will describe their efforts to increase reliability among QRIS assessors and support ERS and CLASS assessments. Presentations will be followed by a facilitated discussion of measurement issues. Presenters: Taylor Dunn, Louisiana Department of Education; Kelly Maxwell, Child Trends; Megan Showalter, Pennsylvania Key

5:30 – 7:30 PM Sponsors’ Reception

Thursday, July 9 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM Sponsors’ Exhibition 8:00 – 10:00 AM Intensive Breakout Sessions 301. 7 Marketing Strategies to Increase Consumer Awareness and Child Care Provider Participation Participants will interact throughout this deep dive designed to have participants leave with new strategies to improve parent engagement with your QRIS system along with strategies to increase child care provider participation within your QRIS system. Presenters: Jennifer Nizer, Maryland State Department of Education; Brian Siatkowski, The Johns Hopkins University School of Education's IDEALS Institute 305. Leading Equitable and Innovative Policy Change Through Powerful Systems Thinking Leadership development is an on-going process and it involves complex skills and abilities related to establishing vision and direction, providing motivation and guidance, and promoting collaboration within and across agencies and programs. Session participants will actively explore tools and resources designed to support knowledge and skill development in individual leaders and systems thinking. All content and exercises will enable leaders to successfully build and sustain high quality systems that implement evidence-based practices and result in equitable outcomes. Presenters: Tara Dwyer, Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning; Demetria Joyce, WIDA - University of Wisconsin; Erika Kelley, Division of Early Childhood Education at the NJ Department of Education; Jana Martella, Education Development Center 306. CQI Strategies at Work: Using the Environment Rating Scales to Improve Quality Imagine those working with children feeling safe, comfortable, and eager to share insights, struggles, and goals about quality early learning environments. As teachers and program leaders learn and grow, they become genuine agents of change. Together we will analyze and reflect on strategies to empower early childhood educators in making meaning and owning the change process for high-quality early learning using the Environment Rating Scales. Presenters: Ann Hentschel, Branagh Group; Pilla Parker, Capital Quality DC Enhanced QRIS; Jennifer Prince, North Dakota Child Care Aware; Megan Showalter, Pennsylvania Key

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307. Make Meeting Magic! A Mindset, Design Techniques, and Facilitation Approach for Successful Engagement of Meeting Participants Bring Your Agenda Ideas and Make Meeting MAGIC! Meetings.....can't live with them, can't live without them! Do you lead staff meetings, community gatherings, work groups, brainstorm sessions, committees or boards? Learn a framework called MAGIC to help you think about, design and create an agenda right in the session. Discover ways to prompt multiple voices, align ideas and foster agreements or conclusions. Leave the session with insights and a draft agenda for your next meeting! Presenters: Maggie McGlynn, McGlynn Leadership 309. Using State Administrative Data to Inform Policy and Practice Administrative data can be a powerful tool for better understanding early care and education (ECE) programs, children and families. Analyses of these data can help improve program quality and child outcomes, inform policy decisions, and tailor caregiver practices. In this interactive session, state administrators and researchers will share opportunities and challenges of utilizing state administrative data to measure and improve the quality of ECE programs, and engage attendees in evaluating how they can better use their administrative data. Presenters: Tracy Gebhart, Brenda Miranda and Nadia Orfali Hall, Child Trends; Randy Hudgins, Georgia DECAL; TBD, First Things First (Arizona) 310. Three States' Experiences Using Research and Data to Guide Improvement Approaches in Revised QRIS This interactive session, representing three diverse states (in terms of demographics and geographic variability), shares promising approaches to improvement activities in revised Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS). Leaders in Colorado, the District of Columbia (DC) and Indiana will describe how each is bringing an equity lens to the refinement of their QRIS. Each presenter will focus on how the state is using data to offer children and families more equitable access to high-quality ECE. Presenters: Karen Enboden, Colorado Shines Quality Rating and Improvement System; Charlie Geier, Shine Early Learning; Diane Schilder, Urban Institute; Kathryn Kigera and Eva Laguerre, District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education 311. Using Family Child Care Networks to Build Supply and Improve Access to High Quality Care for Infants and Toddlers Who will care for the babies? With the steady national decline of family child care (FCC) providers, many states and territories are increasing their efforts to recruit and retain FCC providers. This session will focus on how states and territories are using CCDF Funds to support staffed FCC networks as a way to strengthen and sustain FCC providers and ensure all infants and toddlers, children with special needs, and other vulnerable populations have access to high quality in-home care environments. Presenters: Zelda Boyd, National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance; Tina Jiminez, Child Care State Capacity Building Center, Infant Toddler Specialist Network 312. Shifting the Power Dynamic: Expanding Capacity to Co-Create with Family Ambassadors Follow the MI and NC journey toward shared decision-making with family ambassadors—shifting power dynamics from agency-led to co-creation and family-led. Bring your passion for family engagement to a community of practice that will explore the supports necessary to cultivate and sustain family leadership. Discuss concrete ideas to more effectively integrate family perspectives into agency priorities and cross-sector collaborations. Leave with strategies for building a pipeline of recipient families who are prepared to serve in consultant, partner, or change agent roles.

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Presenters: Safiyah Jackson, North Carolina Partnership for Children; Holly Wingard, Early Childhood Investment Corporation 314. Rate Setting to Ensure Equal Access to Quality Child Care: Gathering Data and Engaging Stakeholders This intensive session combining presentations and small group discussion will allow participants the opportunity to explore innovative strategies for collecting data needed for supporting a rate setting process and using stakeholders to share information about costs of quality child care and to serve as advocates for rate increases. Diverse state experiences in collecting data and working with stakeholders will be shared. Presenters: Michele Bowers, Division of Early Care and Education, South Carolina Department of Social Services; Patti Boulanger and Jeanie Mills, National Center for Subsidy Innovation and Accountability; State Leader TBD 320. Equitable Use of the CLASS in Culturally Diverse Early Childhood Settings: Examining Opportunities and Challenges Join us to explore the use of the CLASS in culturally diverse settings with a researcher, professional development specialist, and policy analyst. Review the implications for policy work in examining how CLASS is used within high-stakes systems such as Quality Rating and Improvement Systems and Head Start monitoring for culturally diverse settings, in relation to the allocation of resources, the collection of data, and the provision of professional development. Presenters: Amy Cubbage and Yvette Sanchez Fuentes, Teachstone; Veronica Fernandez, University of Miami; Erika Flores, ChildFlow 321. Increasing Infant and Toddlers' Access to High-Quality Services: National Collaborative For Infants and Toddlers The National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers (NCIT) brings together national partners and early childhood leaders from inside and outside government to create and strengthen promising policies and programs (and share what works) so that more states and communities can support the healthy development of our youngest children. This session will highlight local, innovative approaches for improving services for infants, toddlers and their families. Learn from NCIT cities and counties on ways to make significant strides in delivering high-quality services. Presenters: Emily Bustos, Denver's Early Childhood Council; Ngozi Lawal, Center for the Study of Social Policy

10:00 – 10:30 AM Break 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Topical Breakout Sessions 401. Building State Capacity to Improve Early Childhood Inclusionary Practices: A Cross-sector State Approach How is your state working to reduce exclusionary practices and promote access to high quality early childhood education? Through presentation and discussion, this session illustrates how Alaska used the Expulsion Policy Strategy tool for statewide assessment and to develop a cross-sector state initiative to decrease exclusionary practices and promote workforce wellness. Participants are invited into the discussion to identify alternative or modified approaches. Presenters: Meghan Johnson, Thread/Learn & Grow; Erin Kinavey Wennerstrom and Anders Wennerstrom, Raviant LLC; Sondra Stengenga, University of Utah

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402. Reframing Child Care Discussions: State Economies Depend on Access to Child Care The Committee for Economic Development report Child Care in State Economies--2019 Update, describes the economic impact of child care in and across states. Understanding this impact is important to help policymakers and other key stakeholders identify the connection between child care and economic development, such as labor force participation for families and child care subsidy. A small group activity using data will ensure participants go home ready to hit the ground running (with state fact sheets, talking points, and infographics). Presenters: Cindy Cisneros, Committee for Economic Development; Additional Speakers TBD 404. Diving Deep Into Continuous Quality Improvement: Perspectives and Learnings from Efforts to Go Beyond Compliance Join us for an interactive deep dive into the learnings of Indiana's journey of continuous improvement in professional development and technical assistance. A panel representing early childhood programs, the technical assistance provider, and state leadership will explore managing systemic changes, deploying support, developing partnerships, advancing equity, and utilizing data. Through discussion and interaction, participants will investigate what it means to go from QRIS participation and compliance to quality improvement and will leave with new ideas and strategies for local application. Presenters: Michael Bachman, Indiana Spark Learning Lab; Reggie Bicha, Shine Early Learning; Charlie Geier, Shine Early Learning; Martha Rae, a2z Academie; Rene Withers, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration 405. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Quality ECE Programs: A Tale of Two San Francisco Approaches Exploring Policy and Practice Implications At this polarized time in the US, how do we as a field understand and experience the recent finding that ece programs are among the most segregated in the U.S? What are the implications for policy and practice? This topical breakout will engage participants in shared learning and conversation, framed by a brief overview of current research and remarks of two visionary directors who are taking very different, intentional approaches to providing high-quality early education in San Francisco. Presenters: Brooke Geisen, The Community Preschool; September Jarrett, Heising-Simons Foundation; Yohana Quiroz, Felton Institute, NAEYC Governing Board 407. Born on the Bayou: Louisiana's Strategies for Incentivizing Local Investment in Quality Early Education for Infants and Toddlers This session will share lessons learned from urban and rural Louisiana efforts to incentivize funding to expand access to quality early care and education for infants and toddlers in urban and rural communities in Northeast and Southeast Louisiana. Strategies have included the use of tax credits, dedicating funds in municipal budgets, and leveraging matching and challenge grants (both public and private). Presenters: Lynn Clark, Children's Coalition of Northeast Louisiana; Jillian Delos Reyes; United Way of Southeast Louisiana; Dana Henry, Urban League of Louisiana; Hamilton Simons-Jones, ResourceFull Consulting, LLC 409. QRIS Redesign: Using Data and Promoting Buy-in This session will provide examples of state efforts to redesign their QRIS, using data, research, and stakeholder input to guide their work. It will include a panel of program staff and researchers from two states. Participants will learn about each state’s approach to redesigning their QRIS: the use of a virtual

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pilot in Vermont and a field test in Arizona. Participants will also learn about each state’s strategies to develop buy-in from ECE stakeholders about the redesign process. Presenters: Nadia Orfali Hall and Kate Steber, Child Trends; Melissa Riegel-Garrett, Vermont; TBD, First Things First 410. Indicators of High-Quality Family Engagement: What Are They and How to Measure Them in QRIS Family engagement is an integral component of high-quality early childcare and education policy and programs. In this session we will present eight research-based indicators of high-quality family engagement and options for how to measure these indicators within QRIS. Measurement tools were identified through a scan of standardized family engagement measurement tools intended to assess the indicators of high-quality family engagement in early childhood programs. Opportunities to discuss, reconcile, and align program and state expectations with our work will be offered. Presenters: Catherine Ayoub, Brazelton Touchpoints Center; Yolanda Deane, Kreative Kids Home-based Child Care; Manica Ramos, Child Trends; Amy Whitehead-Pleaux, MA Dept of Early Education and Care 411. Child Care Licensing: Learn About the Latest Trends and Use Data to Drive Advocacy Efforts Without high quality data and information about child care licensing across the country, it is difficult to understand the child care licensing landscape and where advocates need to focus their efforts. This joint presentation will engage the audience to help them understand the importance of evidence-based data for documenting changes in licensing policy, as well as for telling stories that are easily understood and aid in communicating needed changes in licensing policies. Presenters: Dionne Dobbins, Child Care Aware of America; Sheri Fischer, National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance; Tara Orlowski, National Association for Regulatory Administration; State Pilot Team Member TBD 412. Effectively Utilizing eLearning to Enhance Your Professional Development Structure Across the country, states are utilizing eLearning to provide high quality professional development to their early education workforce. This Community of Practice (CoP) session will be a facilitated think tank for developing solutions to real-life challenges facing states in utilizing eLearning in professional development. Scenarios for discussion will be solicited in advance of the BUILD Conference. The session will also include brief presentations from select states who will discuss their “lessons learnedâ€� in utilizing eLearning for workforce equity. Presenters: Kim DeMars, Quality Assist, Inc.; Kara Lehnhardt, WRMA; Nutan Robinson, Rutgers University/Grow New Jersey Kids; Pilar Torres, Fathum Learning Solutions/Latinas United for the Children of America 413. Mental Health Consultation: Cross-system Building of ECE Capacity to Meet the Needs of Families, Children and the ECE Workforce The session will present the model for infant and early childhood mental health consultation (IECMHC) and data on its effectiveness as means of building ECE capacity at the policy, program, and classroom level to address the needs of children, families and providers. Effective strategies and challenges related to the implementation of IECMHC will be discussed in this interactive session. Presenters will draw on their own experience implementing IECMHC with diverse programs and communities, including Tribal communities and urban settings. Presenters: Marcella I. Adolph and Whitney Danz, CSKT Project LAUNCH; Catherine C. Ayoub and Debra Sosin, Brazelton Touchpoints Center & Harvard Medical School

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414. The Partnership Between Georgia's Early Childhood Professional Development and Quality Rated Systems This session will highlight how Georgia supports credential and degree attainment for the early learning workforce. Presenters will discuss how Georgia plans to use lessons learned from the QRIS process to shape the future of ECE professional development. Participants will have an opportunity to share their successes and struggles in meeting professional development needs in their states. Presenters: Christi Moore, Bright from the Start, Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning; Charlotte Pelz, Care Solutions, Inc.; TBD (Tashena Nelson, Clifton Schools) 415. Expanding Access, Knowledge and Choice: How to Build a Portal into a Complex Public System Do families in your state have trouble understanding and accessing all of the public programs available to them? Are you working to close gaps between eligible and enrolled? Early childhood systems can feel like a maze. Learn how Colorado and South Carolina have broken down barriers to access for families through cross-system collaboration and stakeholder engagement. Both states have built single portals into complex, multi-agency systems. Learn from the architects and each other in this interactive session. Presenters: Patrick Kelly, Boulder County Department of Housing and Human Services; Georgia Mjartan, South Carolina First Steps and South Carolina Early Childhood Advisory Council 417. CLASS in Statewide Systems: Supporting Regional and Local Capacity-Building for Program Improvement The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) is the most highly researched measure for observing the elements of teaching that matters most for children - daily interactions. California and Florida both implement a regional approach to continuous quality improvement with statewide implementation of the CLASS tool. Participants will hear about each states CLASS journey, how they have strategically leveraged funds to support statewide systems for program quality improvement, and how to scale to build ongoing development of leaders, coaches, and teachers. Presenters: Lindsay Carson, Early Learning Coalition of Pinellas County, FL; Denise Gale, El Dorado County, CA Office of Education; Bridget Hamre, Teachstone; Melissa Wheelahan, Orange County, CA Department of Education 419. Building Quality: The National Early Childhood Inclusion Indicators Initiative The National Early Childhood Inclusion Indicator Initiative, with cross-sector early childhood stakeholder input has developed and is field testing new inclusion indicators that address state, local program, community, and early care and education environment system levels. This session will share new resources and tools and discuss strategies for improving and increasing high quality inclusive programs for children with disabilities and their families. Discussions will address use of the indicators and self-assessment tools as a strategy for building quality Presenters: Alissa Rausch, PELE Center, University of Denver; Pattie Ryan, National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance; Kathy T. Whaley, ECTA Center , FPG Child Development Institute 420. Building Local Capacity & Innovation to Improve Equitable Access to Quality Care and Education in Rural, Suburban and Urban Communities. From Northern VA/DC suburbs to the rural Southwest, Virginia's communities are remarkably diverse and variable. This session will focus on Virginia's current strategic efforts related to integrating and aligning the early care and education system at the state and local levels. Local leaders representing rural, suburban and urban communities will provide examples of how they are building capacity and improving equitable access and quality through the alignment of Quality Standards, Mixed Delivery & Preschool Development Grant opportunities.

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Presenters: Kris Meyers, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation; Jessica Rhodes, United Way Roanoke Valley; Katie Squibb, Virginia Early Childhood Foundation; Lisa Thompson, ChildSavers 422. Supporting Early Learning Directors Across the Spectrum This session will explore one state's approach to supporting center directors to improve instructional leadership with a focus on teacher-child interactions, while opening a dialogue with others to consider new approaches. Louisiana's early learning directors have widely varying needs. The highly interactive session will describe Louisiana's approach to engaging directors to increase instructional leadership through the Site Improvement Process for struggling centers, and the Louisiana Early Leaders Academy for Proficient and Excellent centers. Presenters: Emmy DaCosta Gomez-O'Dwyer, Louisiana Department of Education; Niki Da'jon, SEA3 Academy; Leslie Doyle, Louisiana Early Leaders Academy

12:00 – 12:15 PM Break 12:15 – 1:30 PM Lunch Sessions 501. Promoting Efficiency Through Shared Services Louisiana is researching, incubating, and evaluating shared services approaches in early learning centers to use every penny efficiently. In 2019, through referral agencies and non-profit coalitions, the state has sponsored a number of pilot initiatives. We would like to create a dialogue with other state leaders and regional entities about shared services and how we can use systems to support early learning centers with infrastructure, efficiency, and cost savings. Presenters: Emmy DaCosta Gomez-O'Dwyer, Louisiana Department of Education; Monique Rouege, Carlie Care Kids 502. Supporting Early Childhood Inclusion in QRIS Individuals in roles that support early childhood inclusion through training, technical assistance, and development and implementation of QRIS activities will reflect, network, and share resources. Session facilitators representing multiple early childhood sectors from Idaho, South Carolina, Illinois, and North Carolina will facilitate reflection and discussion of progress over the last year, new innovations, opportunities, and resources that support inclusion in QRIS. Opportunities for on-going collaboration among participants will be discussed. Presenters: Melissa A. Crist, University of Idaho Center on Disabilities and Human Development; Heather Googe, South Carolina Child Care Inclusion Collaborative; Ann Kremer, Early CHOICES; Kathy Thompson Whaley, ECTA Center at Frank Porter Graham Child Development In 503. Let's Talk About Child Assessment and Implementing a tool to Fidelity. Administrators of programs using child assessment tools coming together with their peers to discuss and share challenges they have faced to implementing a tool, lessons learned, pitfall to avoid, successes and what child assessment looks like moving forward as well as how getting to know children through an assessment tool can have a positive impact on the diverse children and families we serve. Presenters: Ashley Higgins and Sandra Schultz, Early Learning Coalition of Palm Beach County 505. Lunch and Learn with Pritzker Fellows This session will feature the inaugural cohort of Pritzker Fellows, dedicated leaders in prenatal-to-three in communities participating in the National Collaborative for Infants and Toddlers, which is catalyzed by the Pritzker Children's Initiative. Pritzker Fellows will share their stories of how the Fellowship has

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moved the needle in their communities for infants, toddlers, and their families. Attendees will learn about the drivers for success to creating a strong local initiative that is connected to a national prenatal-to-three movement. Presenters: Melissa Franklin, First 5 LA; Mary Jamsek, Austin Public Health; Hoda Shawky, First 5 Orange County; Elizabeth VanSant-Webb, Sorenson Impact Center

1:30 – 3:00 PM Plenary Session 3:00 – 3:30 PM Break 3:30 – 4:30 PM Hot-Topic/Short-Take Sessions/State Showcase 601. The Road to Quality School-Age Programs Through QRIS Revving up the standard of quality in school-age programs is essential for our communities- but isn't smooth sailing! How do we cruise toward greater quality? DMPS Metro Kids program has been on a voyage of evaluating all 30 sites using the QRS. DMPS has partnered with Iowa DHS to develop a specific school-age care QRS application.This short take session will provide a roadmap of our work and the realization that continuous improvement is more about the journey than the destination. Presenters: Mykala Robinson, Iowa Department of Human Services; Bobbie Jo Sheridan, Des Moines Public Schools 602. Pritzker Fellows: Lessons from the Inaugural Cohort Three representatives from the inaugural cohort of Pritzker Fellows will share lessons learned from their work as dedicated staff in their local communities focused on ambitious prenatal-to-three plans. These leaders will share what has worked the lessons they learned to create systemic change leading to improved child and family outcomes. Topics covered in this short take session will range from healthy beginnings, supported families, and quality care and learning. Presenters: Crystal Kelly, The Children's Council; Elizabeth Majestic, First 5 Ventura County; Allison Nicholson, Sorenson Impact Center; Deby Ziesmer, Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board; 603. Creating Tomorrow's Leaders Today: An Innovative Fellowship for Emerging Leaders in Pennsylvania Pennsylvania's Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL) identified a gap in the early childhood career pathway, in which there were limited opportunities for development and advancement for emerging leaders. Learn more in this short take session about the unique Fellowship Learning Model and Curriculum that OCDEL developed in response, which provides emerging leaders the opportunity to gain the skills and experiences necessary for advancement, and how you could replicate it in your own state or region! Presenters: Sadia Batool, OCDEL Policy Fellowship Alumni; Gina Federico, Early Intervention Technical Assistance 606. Advancing Statewide Conversations Around the Child Care Workforce to Support a State QRIS This short take session will share the voices advancing the child care workforce in Ohio and share effective strategies for advancing state and local conversations around the workforce. Panelists will discuss how to effectively articulate the critical nature of highly-qualified and fairly compensated early educators to a QRIS, the importance of data to advance race and rural equity in the workforce, strategies for accessing and sharing data to advance conversations around supporting early educators. Presenters: Rozlyn Grant, The Centers for Families and Children; Julia Hohner, Groundwork Ohio; Judith Santmire, Ohio Child Care Resource and Referral Association

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607. This Is Your Ideal QRIS: Reimagining Beyond the Stars What would an ideal QRIS look like from the perspectives of families, providers, quality support staff, and state administrators? Participants will explore a hypothetical QRIS model informed by four "big ideas"� that integrate concepts derived from unlikely sources such as FitBit, match.com, and Response to Intervention into an innovative new QRIS model. Participants will be encouraged to question assumptions of traditional QRIS models and will have time to brainstorm, share, and discuss ideas with colleagues in this hot topic session. Presenters: Jeffrey Capizzano and Kelly Etter, The Policy Equity Group; Melissa Dahlin, University of California, Irvine 608. Environment Rating Scale (ERS) and the QRIS: How Do I Train an Entire System? QRIS Administrators quickly learn that training on the Environment Rating Scale (ERS) is complex. They find themselves asking "How do I train an entire System on the ERS? How do I fund the cost of ERS Training?" New Jersey has developed an ERS Sustainability Model to support system-wide training and implementation of the ERS. In this short take session, the ERS Sustainability Model will be shared with participants with time for discussion about success stories and challenges from other states/regions/territories. Presenters: Syreeta Garbarini and Kimberly Owens, NJ Department of Human Services, Office of Special Projects; Shonda Laurel, NJ Department of Human Services, Office of Child Care 609. Innovation in Progress: Aligning State-level Quality Improvement Efforts to Achieve Maximum Impact In California, funding for quality improvement has historically been allocated separately. In an effort to build our system and reduce the complexity of blending funding for counties, First 5 California and the California Department of Education have expanded our partnership, branded as Quality Counts California, to unify funding requirements, reporting, and supports. This short take session will provide opportunities for participants to engage in discussions that can be used to inform systems building and expansion of their state QRIS. Presenters: Erin Dubey and Kristin Torres, First 5 California; Kim Taniguchi, California Department of Education 611. Have You Considered all Quality Options? In this hot topic session, discuss how quality activities engaged in the following activities can stand alone or be leveraged to support an integrated early childhood system: supporting training and professional development; developing and implementing early learning guidelines; supporting tiered quality rating and improvement systems; improving the supply of quality care for infants and toddlers; establishing or expanding child care resource and referral services; facilitating health and safety compliance; evaluating and assessing quality and effectiveness; supporting accreditation; developing additional high quality standards, and carrying out other activities to improve quality. Presenters: Zelda Boyd, Carol Hartman, and Kristie Lewis National Center on Early Childhood Quality Assurance 612. An Honest Discussion about Challenging Issues: The Cost of Care and Teacher Compensation How can we better understand the cost of child care with an eye to improved teacher compensation? What new roles might advocates and technical assistance staff play? How can providers implement change in their programs and budgets? This short take session will explore inequities in rates and compensation, including analyzing the cost/price gap by age of child, managing the Iron Triangle of Early Care and Education Finance, and shifting resources from administration to classroom.

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Presenters: Louise Stoney, Opportunities Exchange 613. How to Care for Young Children in the Hidden Early Childhood System Infants, toddlers and preschoolers enter the child welfare system in higher numbers than any other age group, but the response to their distinct developmental needs is insufficient. These children and their families need the care and attention of early childhood system leaders, in partnership with child welfare system leaders. In this short take session, state leaders representing both systems will share how they are building relationships, creating plans and directing financing for cross-system approaches, especially in the era of the Family First Prevention Services Act. Presenters: Debra Andersen, Oklahoma Partnership for School Readiness; Marlo Nash, Saint Francis Ministries; Keitha Wilson, Oklahoma Department of Human Services, Child Welfare Division 614. Early Childhood Works: Missouri's Comprehensive Career Pathways Learn about Missouri's Career Pathways developed by state leaders and higher education faculty to improve early childhood workforce development in the state. The expanded model organizes over 50 occupations into four categories and presents a map for advancement and changing occupations across a career working with or for young children. Graphic presentations of the pathways will guide interactive discussion in this short take session about how to turn educational"cul-de-sac" into "roundabouts" so individuals can change direction without starting over. Presenters: Michael Abel, UMKC Institute for Human Development; Lana Brooks, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 615. Leveraging Partners to Support the Implementation of Pennsylvania's Family Engagement Framework This short take session will explore the development and initial implementation of one of the first, statewide birth through grade 12 family engagement frameworks (FEF). Utilizing a stakeholder process to develop the FEF and partnering with two national organizations, Fred Rodgers Center and the Mid-Atlantic Equity Consortium, Pennsylvania developed an innovative approach to the implementation of family engagement strategies. This session will highlight initial efforts, lessons learned and provide participants an opportunity to identify potential strategies they could replicate in their state. Presenters: Marjorie Anderson, Family Leader; Sarah Holland, Pennsylvania Office of Child Development and Early Learning 617. Integrating Developmental Promotion, Early Detection, Referral, and Linkage within Early Learning & QRIS: Lessons from a National Learning Community Help Me Grow ensures a comprehensive approach to developmental promotion and serves as a resource for early learning providers seeking to prioritize developmental assessment. This short take session will: describe results of a national learning community designed to strengthen the collaboration between local HMG affiliates and early learning settings through technology, professional development, and processes for information sharing; and provide an in-depth look at the work of three HMG affiliates: Long Island, New York; Shasta County, California; and South Carolina. Presenters: Joy Connolly, Child Care Council of Nassau, Inc.; Wendy Dickens, First 5 Shasta County; Stephanie Luczak, Help Me Grow National Center; Jane Witowski, Help Me Grow South Carolina 618. Child Care Contracts to Support Quality Standards: Moving Away from Market-Based Rates Staff turnover, low pay and attendance-based reimbursement create unstable environments and undermine quality improvement work. In this hot topic session, states are invited to share their experiences or thinking about supporting the structural elements of quality, including staffing levels and

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compensation, by using child care contracts rather than market rates. How do you structure contracts? Do you require higher quality for programs with contracts? What issues have you encountered? Presenters: Tom Layman, Illinois Governor's Office of Early Childhood Development; Vani Tangella, Early Milestones Colorado; Cynthia Tate, BUILD Initiative 619. Supporting Successful Implementation of QRIS in Public School Settings By examining challenges and opportunities to support the successful implementation of QRIS in public school settings, this hot topic session will assist educational decision-makers throughout the early care and education system by addressing policies that support implementation, as well as classroom level coaching and support strategies. Presenters: Vincent Costanza, Teaching Strategies; Anne Flynn, Little Egg Harbor Public Schools 620. Big Investment in the Big Easy: Lessons Learned in Coalition Building While many cities across the nation have expanded quality pre-k funding, New Orleans is one of the only communities in the nation that has successfully implemented and sustained a market-rate, locally funded scholarship program for children ages 0-2. Participants in this hot topic session will hear about the advocacy lessons learned and then engage in a learning studio where they will identify and strategize for how to solve their biggest challenge to securing local funding. Presenters: Jennifer Roberts, Agenda for Children; Libbie Sonnier-Netto, Louisiana Policy Institute for Children 621. Measuring the Quality of Housing Programs to Meet the Needs of Young Children Experiencing Homelessness While young children experiencing homelessness are disproportionately represented in shelter programs, we know very little about the quality of these programs. The Early Childhood Self-Assessment Tool for Family Shelters was designed to assess the environmental quality of housing programs and their connections with early childhood providers including early care and education. This short take session will explore the purpose for developing the tool, how it is currently being used in housing programs, and a study exploring the psychometric properties of the tool. Presenters: Marsha Basloe, Child Care Services Association; Tasha Melvin, Families Moving Forward; Sara Shaw, Child Trends

4:45 – 5:45 PM State Team Time

Friday, July 10 7:00 – 8:30 AM Continental Breakfast 7:00 AM – 12:00 PM Sponsors’ Exhibition 8:30 – 10:00 AM Topical Breakout Sessions 701. Moving from Trauma-Informed to Trauma-Responsive for the Infants, Toddlers, and Families in Your State or Territory As states and territories wrestle with the impact of trauma on young children, including the impact of substance misuse and a lack of attachment, how does a state or territory move from being educated on the impact of trauma to being responsive to trauma? This session will review the latest research, explore state success stories, and examine strategies to support the workforce in becoming responsive to those experiencing trauma, with a focus on the infant and toddler population.

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Presenters: Tina Jiminez, Alexa Watkins, and Holly Wilcher, Child Care State Capacity Building Center, Infant Toddler Specialist Network 704. Mecklenburg & Durham Counties, NC: Locally-financed Birth to Five Initiatives Ideas for You to Bring Home! Mecklenburg and Durham counties in North Carolina are in the process of implementing locally-financed birth to five initiatives to expand access to early childhood education (tied to QRIS). Our objective is to inform and inspire other communities to consider and develop locally-financed early learning initiatives. A panel will offer insight on county leadership, business leader engagement, and public will building, share lessons learned, and offer participants an opportunity to develop a roadmap to start their own locally-financed early learning initiative. Presenters: Marsha Basloe and Linda Chappel, Child Care Services Association; Tameika Leslie, Mecklenburg County Manager's Office; Grace Reef, Early Learning Policy Group 705. Power of Collaborative Wisdom: Exploring how Florida and Georgia's Professional Development Systems Have Implemented Relationship-Based Strategies to Empower Professionals There is power in collaborative wisdom. In this interactive, topical session, participants will examine how Florida and Georgia in partnership with the Lastinger Center for Learning at the University of Florida have implemented relationship-based strategies to engage early childhood professionals in order to improve quality programs. Collaborative tools and processes have been used as a cross-sector vehicle to celebrate successes and collaborative problem solve. Participants will share their own wisdom and create action plans to utilize in their respective workplace. Presenters: Raquel Diaz and Liza Leonard, University of Florida Lastinger Center; Christie Moore, Department of Early Care and Learning; Antrica Morgan, Office of Early Learning 706. Communities in Action: Grassroots and Grass Tops Creating a Movement Through a Shared Data Set Communities from across Illinois will share their journeys in partnership with Erikson Institute around a common data set called the Early Development Instrument (EDI). This tool, presented as interactive heat maps by census tracts, has helped communities in creating a movement that enhances their current work, engages their residents, families, and influential stakeholders around contextualizing precise data to drive equitable distribution and access of resources, systems alignment and policy change. Presenters: Anisha Grimmet, Alignment Rockford; Rebecca Halperin and Jaclyn Vasquez, Erikson Institute; Janice Moenster, Children's Home and Aid; Kimberly Nelson, Rockford Public Schools; Joanna Varda, Swift Child Care Early Childhood Centers 707. Measuring and Messaging Community-Level Prenatal-to-Three Impact The Sorenson Impact Center will discuss their work with three communities to share their community's story of PN-3 impact measurement and messaging. They will provide examples of data visualizations, designed collateral, success stories, as well as barriers and lessons learned from this important work to increase support for PN-3 initiatives. Participants will engage with promising examples of how to effectively communicate PN-3 strategies and be led through ways to translate these data-informed messaging strategies to their own local context. Presenters: Anissa Eddie, First Steps Kent; Helena Girouard, One Voice for Volusia; Nancy Lee, Ramsey County Health and Wellness Division; Gwen Reynolds, Sorenson Impact Center

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708. Transitioning to New Tools: State QRIS Experiences Moving to Third Edition ECERS-3, ITERS-3, FCCERS The third editions of the family of ERS--ECERS-3, ITERS-3, and FCCERS-3--are all now published and being incorporated into state QRISs. This session will provide information about transitioning to these new editions. A panel discussion by officials from three states will include issues associated with planning and timelines, assessor training and reliability, provider technical assistance, use of the tools in diverse settings, and costs and will include ample time for audience discussion and questions. Presenters: Heather Hamre and Allegra Jackson, Leap Early Learning Partners; Jennifer Kalas, Silver State Stars QRIS; Scott Schweiger, Supporting Families Together Association; Noreen Yazejian, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 709. Learning from Continuous Quality Improvement Projects This session will examine implementation of a continuous quality improvement method (the Breakthrough Series Collaborative) in two projects, one with urban center-based programs and one with family child care networks. The presenters will share lessons learned across the projects and discuss the feasibility of embedding CQI methods into larger ECE quality and regulatory systems. Session participants will explore the unique features of CQI methods that promote engagement, changes in practice and improvements in organizational culture. Presenters: Juliet Bromer, Erikson Institute; Anne Douglass, University of Massachusetts Boston; Kathryn Tout, Child Trends 710. Enabling Smart Early Childhood Technology in Public Systems: Where We Are and What Comes Next The Early Learning Lab in partnership with Early Edge California, the Ounce of Prevention Fund, and Texans Care for Children examined current technology adoption and public funding streams in California, Illinois, and Texas. The session will explores the critical ways that technology can and should be used across early childhood settings to support high-quality adult-child interactions, enhance program and service operations, and streamline and coordinate systems level data. Join us to learn concrete strategies to better support technology adoption. Presenters: Catherine Atkin, Early Learning Lab; Rebecca Berlin, Ounce of Prevention; Patricia Lozano, Early Edge California 712. QRIS, Family Engagement, and Continuous Quality Improvement: Aligning Measurement with QRIS Policy and Program Supports During this session, we will discuss the alignment of QRIS policy and family engagement activities. We will suggest ways to effectively and efficiently measure family engagement in a manner that is consistent with QRIS policies and informs program engagement strategies. Opportunities to use continuous quality improvement (CQI) as a means of recognizing programs' strengths and challenges to develop a systematic process for building quality will also be discussed. Presenters: Shela Jooma and Joanne Roberts, Brazelton Touchpoints Center; Manica Ramos, Child Trends; Amy Whitehead-Pleaux, MA Dept of Early Education and Care 713. Asset Framing: Approaches to Center Community Strengths in Early Childhood Systems Building Framing matters. The words that are used to represent the characteristics and lived experiences of children, families and their surrounding communities can have a great impact. Join leaders from Michigan to discuss strategies for working within an asset frame and how strengths-based narratives of people and places have advanced equity within their work. Participants will be invited to join the

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dialogue by sharing successes and lessons learned, asking pressing questions, and envisioning opportunities advance efforts in the early childhood field. Presenters: Iheoma U. Iruka, HighScope Educational Research Foundation; Jonathan C. Hui --OR-- Joi James, The Kresge Foundation; Joy Potter Milano, Michigan Department of Education; Nicole Sharpe, School Readiness Consulting 714. Approaches to Effectively Tailoring Quality Improvement Supports This session will explore how different states are approaching their work to support quality improvement given limited resources. States will share strategies that they have used to effectively and efficiently deploy resources such as technical assistance given these limitations. Presenters will also share approaches to using research and evaluation to help make these decisions. Presenters: Julianna Carlson and Dale Epstein, Child Trends; Karen Enboden, Colorado SHINES 717. Listening to Parent Voices and Choices: How Partnering With Grassroots Organizers Can Improve Early Childhood Systems We all agree that parent voice is critical to making early childhood systems better, but often struggle to ensure authentic voices are part of policy development and implementation. Grassroots organizers start with the parents to determine what priorities should be. What can systems leaders learn from grassroots organizers? Come engage with passionate parent leaders and organizers and learn about methods, challenges, and successes they have had advocating for equitable access to quality child care and creating momentum for system change. Presenters: Leng Leng Chancey, 9to5 National Association for Working Women; Marina Marcou-O'Malley, New York Alliance for Quality Education; Shannon Rudisill, Early Childhood Funders Collaborative; GA 9to5 Lead TBD 718. Using Technology to Engage and Improve the Quality of Family Child Care and Family, Friend, and Neighbor Care This session discusses an innovative Colorado pilot program using "talk pedometer" technology to enhance the language environments of family child care and other home-based settings. The program provides data to tailor professional development and serves as an entry point for home-based providers into the formal ECE system. Participants will discuss challenges/opportunities to improve children's language environments; ways to better meet the needs of FCC and informal care providers; and how talk pedometer technology can be leveraged to improve ECE quality. Presenters: Ky Lindberg, LENA; Lisa Matter, Colorado Department of Human Services; Coach TBD; FCC Provider TBD 719. City, County and State Governments Aligning for Early Childhood Success Beginning with Infants and Toddlers This session will highlight key elements used by local, county and state leaders to align and improve outcomes beginning with infants and toddlers and working across the early childhood age span. Participants will share how they are engaging their city and state governments to improve alignment. Using small group and reflective activities, participants will have the opportunity to consider how they can deepen their collaboration with their city and state leaders and develop a plan for next steps. Presenters: Rashida Brown, National Association of Counties; Nancy Lim, National League of Cities 721. Shovel Ready or Not? How States Finance Early Care and Education Facilities Investments The early childhood system's physical infrastructure has been long neglected, and caregivers are often forced to place children in substandard settings. Advocates from Illinois (Ounce of Prevention, IFF),

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Washington (Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families), and Michigan (Thrive Community Building) will discuss the scope of the problem and describe specific financing initiatives currently underway in their states. The examples will be presented as case studies, and attendees will contemplate whether similar strategies could be implemented back home. Presenters: Rachael Brown-Kendall, Washington Department of Children, Youth, and Families; Jose Cerda, IFF; Jonathan Doster, Ounce of Prevention Fund; Monica Duncan, Thrive Community Building

10:00 – 10:30 AM Break 10:30 – 12:00 PM Plenary Session