I had the privilege and honor of working with the Center for Children's Initiatives for 3 years. I know of no other organization who works tirelessly for the betterment of New York's Children.
Having spent over 20 years of my life working in the non-profit sector, I have encountered countless staff and volunteers throughout my career. However, it is rare to find someone like Nancy Kolben and her staff who truly commit themselves to empowering parents, early childhood professionals and policy makers with the information they need to make informed choices about New York’s Children. The staff is creative, talented, selfless individuals with a commitment to give back. They are admired and respected for their dedication.
CCI has been an essential piece in regards to child care policy advocacy for many years and as a child care resource and referral agency, it has been crucial for them to exist to help families across NYC. Many kuddos to CCI for their excellent work in helping parents, Child care Center Staff, Family Day Care Providers and all in the field to gain so much knowledge adn expertiese in teh area of children and families.
First as an intern and now as a board member I have been impressed by CCI's integration of practice, research, and policy. These are the necessary ingredients for making sustainable change in the area of early childhood and early elementary school education. CCI is really at the cutting edge of the field.
For the past 10 years, I have been involved with CCI. These are professional dedicated people who are in the forefront of early care and education issues in America. Through their research and referral work, they know the needs and concerns of children and their parents. Through their training and community work with providers of infant and toddler care, before school, after school, and early care quality programs, gives CCI intimate knowledge of the issues faced by providers. They combine this intimate understanding of the changing early care dynamics to support policy formation and decision making. CCI plays a pivotal role in assuring bright futures for our children.
CCI has been at the forefront of child care policy advocacy for many years and as a child care resource and referral agency, it has been stellar. CCI is a leader in the NYC child care community in helping to increase availability of child care and ensuring and maintaining the highest standards of quality.
CCI is a very important resource for the Graham Windham Family Child Care Network. Our staff and providers have access to relevant and up-to-date information through the many trainings offered on an ongoing basis. Our providers have received hands ontrainingand technical assistance in promoting early literacy in their homes, through CCI's "Talk, Reach, Read" initiative. The response from providers has been overwhelmingly positive. CCI truly lives up to its mission of promoting quality learning, healthy development and care for all children.
My experience with CCI has been very positive. I have been attending Network Support Group meetings at CCI for the past 6 yeras. During this time I have had the opportunity to meet and network with other trainers in the field.CCI provides the opportunity to meet with representatives from different city and state agencies e.g. DOH,CACFP to discuss issues that affect child care providers as well as the child care networks. I also use the information obtained from the workshops I attend to further educate and inform providers during 30 hour trainings.The staff is always pleasant and helpful, and if they don'thave an answer to a question, they will refer you to someone who can help. CCI is a valuable resource for parents, providers and trainers, like me, and I hope to continue my affilation with them as I seek to improve as a trainer.