Community Programs
Midtown Early Care and Education
Over the years, the USF Family Study Center has partnered with the Pinellas County early childhood community to pilot test new and innovative models for enhancing the socioemotional adjustment of young children, from infancy through kindergarten age. The Midtown Collaborative was one such initiative, a quality improvement project developed by the Family Study Center and funded through an appropriation to the Center by the state legislature. The one-time funding helped create and support high quality early care and education in pilot centers that served children ages 6 weeks to 6 years who came from the community’s most under resourced families. The project was led by a community collaborative of agencies and individual actors invested in high quality education and support services for families who guided, advised and ensured accountability.
Six centers were provided with Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation services by licensed therapists within a team of early childhood professionals. Over 20 hours of formal training was provided to every staff person in all six centers over the course of the first year. Training topics included Trauma Informed Care in Early Learning, Relationship Based Caregiving, Coparenting and Family Engagement, and Infant/Early Childhood Mental Health.
A summary of the project is available below.
The Family Study Center retains its longtime commitment to meaningful and targeted partnerships with the early childhood education community serving children birth to five, with special focus on children's experiences in care during their first three years. Center Staff participate as core members of relevant collective impact initiatives including the Juvenile Welfare Board's 0-3 Think Tank, Thrive by Five Pinellas, the COQEBS School Readiness Committee, and other collectives concerned with supporting social and emotional readiness.
For Questions or More Information
USF Family Study Center
100 5th Ave South St. Petersburg, FL 337011
Contact:
James McHale
727-873-4848