Niagara Countys
Childhood Development Specialist
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Who we are:
Our Early Childhood Development Specialists are prepared to offer high-quality support to licensed/registered home and center-based programs serving children ages 3 to 12 years old. Our specialists are prepared to offer training and on-site assistance meant to guide programs in creating high-quality care practices, learning experiences, and environments for preschool and school-age children.
Get in Touch:
General Assistance In:
Assistance is free of charge and is typically provided in one-hour sessions based on the needs of your program.
Assistance In:
Developmentally Appropriate Practice
Daily Schedule
Rhythms/ Transitions and Routines
Supervision
Environment Layout & Structure
Freedom of Movement
Health & Safety
Handwashing Routines
Group Sizes & Ratios
Biting Support and Solutions
Challenging Behaviors
Reflective Supervision
Responsive Caregiving
Social Emotional Development
Navigating relationships with families
Assessment & Screening Tools
Community Education / Resources
Cultural Responsiveness
OCFS Regulations
Observation & Documentation Routines
Banking Time
Language and Literacy
Reflective Supervision
Curriculum & Activites
Administering Rating Scales
These take approximately 2–3 hours to complete, depending on the size and needs of the program.
Assessment Scales
ECERS-3: is designed to assess the quality of care for center-based programs serving children ages 3-5.
ITERS-3: is designed to assess the quality of care for center-based programs serving children birth through age 2.
FCCERS-3: The third edition of the FCCERS is designed to assess the quality of care for home-based programs for children from birth through age 12.
SACERS-U: designed to assess the quality of programs for school-age children (ages 5-12), during out-of-school time (e.g. before/after school care).
- Observation, documentation, and assessment of young children’s progress and achievements are ongoing, strategic, reflective, and purposeful.
- Anecdotal notations are taken throughout observations
- S.M.A.R.T. Goals
- Specific
- Measurtable
- Achievable
- Relevant
- Time-Bound
- Inteviews, conervations, and general correspondence with providers
ASQ: Ages & Stages Questionnaires®, Third Edition (ASQ®-3) is a developmental screening tool that pinpoints developmental progress in children between the ages of one month to 5 ½ years.
ASQ-SE: Ages & Stages Questionnaires®: Social-Emotional, Second Edition (ASQ®:SE-2) is a parent-completed, highly reliable system focused solely on social-emotional development in young children.
Trainings On & Off Site
Our trainings are always free and designed to support child care providers and families working with children from birth to three years old. These trainings focus on developmentally appropriate practices, required and relevant OCFS topics and regulations, and the impact of adverse childhood trauma (ACEs). These trainings also aim to help participants discover new and effective ways to build engagement, strengthen relationships, and improve communication with infants and toddlers.
Training topics may include, but are not limited to:
- Exploring engagement & curriculum activities
- Developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)
- Trauma-informed care and ACES
- Positive guidance and behavior support
- Building secure attachments
- Family engagement and communication strategies
- Health, safety, and nutrition
- Creating responsive caregiving environments
- Supporting early language and literacy
Request our services for FREE
Our Early Childhood Development Specialists focus on helping programs build strong, high-quality care practices for preschool and school-age children. Our specialists support programs serving children ages 3 to 12 by helping create engaging learning experiences, safe and welcoming environments, positive guidance practices, developmentally appropriate activities, strong daily routines, and overall program quality.
Frameworks that inform our work
Focused Oriented Services
Each technical assistance visit, training, quality improvement plan, or coaching session that the Early Childhood Development delivers aims to emphasize the high-quality early care that’s essential to a child’s long-term social, emotional, and intellectual development.
Data-Informed Training & Professional Development:
Training and professional development opportunities for our specialists & communities are thoughtfully designed using regional and statewide data to address the most pressing needs of preschool and school-age programs.
Responsive & Individualized Support:
Our Childhood Development Specialists are committed to providing responsive, relationship-based support tailored to the unique needs of each program. Whether a request falls within the Specialist’s scope or extends beyond it, every effort is made to connect programs & providers with appropriate resources, services, and partners.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS)
Funded by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Center on PBIS supports schools, districts, and states to build systems capacity for implementing a multi-tiered approach to social, emotional, and behavior support. The broad purpose of PBIS is to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, and equity of schools and other agencies. PBIS improves social, emotional, and academic outcomes for all students, including students with disabilities and students from underrepresented groups.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based, tiered framework for supporting students’ behavioral, academic, social, emotional, and mental health. When implemented with fidelity, PBIS improves social-emotional competence, academic success, and school climate. It also improves teacher health and well-being. It is a way to create positive, predictable, equitable, and safe learning environments where everyone thrives.
Tier 1 practices and systems establish a foundation of regular, proactive support while preventing unwanted behaviors. Schools provide these universal supports to all students, school-wide.
Tier 2 practices and systems support students who are at risk for developing more serious problem behaviors before those behaviors start. These supports help students develop the skills they need to benefit from core programs at the school.
At Tier 3, students receive more intensive, individualized support to improve their behavioral and academic outcomes. At this level, schools rely on formal assessments to determine a student’s need.
Conscious Discipline
Conscious Discipline is a transformational, adult-first approach to school improvement grounded in brain science. It creates the conditions where educators are supported, classrooms are calm and connected, and children are able to learn. Conscious Discipline is not a curriculum or short-term initiative. It is a whole-school implementation framework that builds the skills adults need to create safe, connected, and productive learning environments.
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Sustaining Leadership
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Assisting Adult Self-Regulation
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Fostering Community
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Engaging Classrooms
