Ideas Contributed by Participants at Working Forum for Multi-Site Early Childhood Organizations
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
Every center has a teacher who is paid extra and trained to be a:
• curriculum advocate
• Spanish advocate
• computer specialist
• medication administrator
Contributed by Rosemary Burton
Minneland
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
It is difficult to isolate ONE BIG idea that changed the organization — there are so many drivers for change that have a range of impact on the organization. These drivers are internal and external. However, in recent years perhaps the decision to focus on OUTCOMES FOR CHLDREN as opposed to OUTPUTS FROM SERVICES has been one of the key drivers for change.
NIPPA has, over the past two years, refocused all its work on outcomes for children which has been (and remains) a significant challenge and we are testing and assessing our work, processes, structure, and culture against the impact on the lives of young children. Part of the challenge is that we have found that we don’t know in many instances what impact our services are having on outcomes for children, so we have embarked on a research programme. This is risky but necessary. We will let you know how we get on.
Contributed by Colum Conway
NIPPA – The Early Years Organisation, Northern Ireland
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
Management Track Training Program:
While experiencing rapid growth, we found that we were not properly preparing for future directors. It is critical for our organization to promote from within. This is what contributes to staff retention and opportunity. In 2005 we rolled out the Management Track Training Program. Over 20 team members applied and through interviews and classroom observations we selected three fantastic candidates.
Throughout the year my organization invested over $5,000 in each candidate. They were trained in accounting, NAEYC, client services, HR, staff training, facilities, and licensing. In June of 2006 all three graduated from the program; of the three, one has been promoted to director and another as program supervisor. This year the three graduates are participating in the development and training of our next class. Four new candidates are already busy with the program and will be attending NAEYC national conference.
The overall feedback from our management team has been outstanding. The Management Track Training Program has helped address our need to recruit the best of the best. This program allows us to cultivate our future leaders and continue the goal of promoting from within. Truly an idea that helped change our organization!
Contributed by Fran Durekas
Children’s Creative Learning Centers
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
Networking, information sharing, and transparency have proved to be changing factors to our organization. We are well connected nationally, regionally, and internationally which enables us as the organization to be able to adjust our focus, approaches, and strategies in addressing early childhood care and development.
By networking, we have been able to participate in a number of coalitions countrywide with civil society coalitions; we have also been successful participants because Tanzania has a leadership organization in early childhood development.
We have a good working relationship with the government and development agencies working in the country in areas of early childhood care and development.
Contributed by Fortidas R. Bakuza
Amam Early Childhood Care and Development, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
In the early 1990s our board decided to invest in putting a computer into each of our centres. We undertook extensive training for our staff — many of our older staff had no experience in dealing with PCs or the Internet.
Today we have a well-established web site and an intranet that can be accessed by staff and parents. (Staff and parents are given passwords to gain access.) On our intranet is posted all our policies and procedures as well as current information and happenings in our various 148 programs. We use this extensively instead of posting by mail our fortnightly bulletin to staff and families; it is now on the intranet.
Staff can book in online for our extensive Professional Development Program and families can complete an Exit Questionnaire like when their child is leaving our program. This information is confidential and is linked to a database. We then collate this info regularly and look at any trends or issues we need to address as an organization. We are currently looking at providing online training to staff.
Contributed by Chris Legg
KU Children’s Services, Australia
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
CCSA is a membership-based support agency. It became very apparent that many of our services that were run by volunteer boards of management struggled with the complexities of service management. CCSA identified that main areas of concern were financial and employment responsibilities.
CCSA did not want to take over these services but wanted to provide an additional level of support. CCSA started what we call Business Solutions, which is a range of financial and employment services which members can buy in addition to membership.
This means the volunteer boards can concentrate on the policy aspects of managing, knowing that their financial and employment records are being done correctly. They still need to make decisions and approve finance, etc., but the level of reporting is much better.
Community retains ownership of the service and the service is more effective and efficient due to sound information and reporting informing future planning.
Contributed by Judy Kynaston
Country Children’s Services Association (CCSA), NSW, Australia
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
The Children’s Services Central Program:
• Australian Government changing the way resource and advisory organisation’s funded organizations was feeling threatened.
• I decided to be proactive — wrote a business case to Board of Directors to allocate resources to develop an alliance of several organisations which bring expertise in various areas and with different organisational/management structures to apply new programs.
• The Board approved business case, chose the organizations to be invited to Alliance.
• I engaged a business facilitation consultant (fellow of Australian Institute of Company Directors).
• Six organisations endorsed memorandum of understanding with Community Child Care NSW to apply for new funding.
• Four months before tender was released our tender was partially complete (background component, etc.).
• When tender advertised, the application was easily completed with clear consensus on program, etc.
• This Alliance with Community Child Care as lead agency won the tender and increased our income by 500%.
• Income for this program is more than $4 million p.a.
• We are responsible for professional development, management development, and support for inclusion for 3,037 services in NSW for children birth to 12 years.
• Operational since April 2006.
• Alliance: 5 community based and 2 private businesses.
• We are proactive, inclusive, strategic, and this will improve services to children.
Contributed by Carol Lymbery
Community Child Care NSW, Ltd. (since 1979)
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
In the early ‘90s, Children’s Discovery Center had two locations in the Toledo, Ohio (USA) area. When competition began to move into our area, we decided to look for ways to differentiate our product and ensure that parents would always select us as their provider. We studied the model of hands-on learning and discovery as it was incorporated in children’s museums, and began to design children’s museum pieces to be included as part of our Discovery Room in each location. Over the years, these have included: a child-sized rocketship; a large crane children operate to lift blocks; an interactive submarine which children climb into to view ocean life; a full-sized jeep in an African Safari room; large ball pits which resemble an ocean; a large, interactive castle; an international market; a full-size motorboat with cabin which is half inside the building and half outside, where children can engage in dramatic play; a water table which resembles the Great Lakes and incorporates locks and other water systems. These have become part of CDC, and enhance children’s learning by providing imaginative, provocative, hands-on discovery on a daily basis.
Contributed by MaryAnn Rody
Children’s Discovery Center, Inc., Toledo, Ohio, USA
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
Five years ago my agency researched how to best impact on the quality of our member early care and education programs and came to the decision to support them in achieving NAEYC program accreditation (www.naeyc.org/accreditation). Accreditation is a voluntary self-study process — and self-paced allowing programs to gain an understanding of their specific strengths, weaknesses, and how to effect change where needed.
Our project, now called Quality New York, is an accreditation facilitation program — 83 programs are now NAEYC accredited. We are currently working with 66 new programs — onsite consultants, director support groups, training for all levels of staff.
Choosing accreditation as the change agent for programs is an idea that works!
Contributed by Alison Pepper
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA), Quality New York (QNY) www.qualitynewyork.org
“This Idea Changed My Organization”
Mobile Creches, my organization, was growing very fast from construction sites to resettlements and slums in New Delhi. After working in the slums and resettlements for over 25 years, we realized that we were not able to make early childhood care a priority for the community. The community’s awareness on the issues concerning children remained limited. They thought we were fulfilling a job that probably we had to do and did not see their participation and ownership for the programme.
Our idea was to close operations (i.e., service provision in the resettlements and slums) and instead concentrate energies to build community awareness and train local women. We developed leadership from within the community and supported them to run day care facilities with their own initiatives as entrepreneurs. This experiment has helped raise community awareness; one location has a community-based organisation getting ready to register. There are about 15 – 20 women using Mobile Creches’ building and running child care centers for about 200 children.
Contributed by Amrita Jain
Mobile Creches