In Windham's School Readiness program, all applications for School Readiness funds are reviewed by an independent panel which consists of two early childhood professionals who do not work in the town, two Windham parents and a representative from the town government. The panel is staffed by the CFI Coordinator and receives consultation from the local Regional Education Service Center (RESC) early childhood specialist.

The goal of this panel is to approve applications to the School Readiness Council that increase the quality of care young children receive in Windham. The panel is also an advisory group to the town on contractual issues. The panel has articulated the need for higher wages in some programs and for consistent pay scales across the system of early care and education. The panel has recently recommended that the Council adopt the policy of requiring all programs to complete the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) accreditation instead of accepting other sources of accreditation. The panel aims to improve the credentials and curriculum of early care providers as well as improve program components such as family literacy and responses to behavioral challenges.

During the first year of school readiness funding, the First Selectman requested that all center-based childcare providers develop a collaborative application. This was accomplished in the first year.

Programs worked together to apply for slots and coordinated the initial application. A single point of entry was developed through the town government so that parents had a full picture of available programs and that enrollment in programs reflected increased diversity in each classroom.

The overall goal of the Council's Review Panel and Providers' Collaborative is to ensure consistent quality across the system of services to young children. In Windham, quality includes a significant emphasis on achieving diversity within each classroom and decreasing the de facto segregation that has resulted from the current pattern of funding childcare services.

The cost of implementing this planning process is largely staff time. The town government contributes significantly through the work of the Director of Human Services, who manages the School Readiness contracts and works closely with the Council and all the relevant teams. The local RESC provides considerable staff time through the early childhood consultant who contributes to planning and policy-making. During the second and third year of funding, quality enhancement funds have been used to provide formal facilitation of the Collaborative by RESC staff. The CFI project coordinator also provides staff support to coordinate all the work identified above.

The Providers' Collaborative is sustainable as long as the town government continues to provide a single point of entry. This process serves as the organizing issue, which stimulates the providers to meet together regularly. In addition, the availability of quality enhancement funds further supports the Collaborative. Even without these elements, it appears that providers would continue to coordinate efforts due to the mutually beneficial outcomes they have developed, particularly in terms of sharing resources and training.

Obstacles and challenges are numerous and include changes in funding levels, assorted and inconsistent funding guidelines from different sources, varied agency mandates and resources, and limited parent participation in decision-making activities.

Changes in the way of doing business in early childhood services are evident. Parents are regularly included in policy-making decisions. Programs are receiving feedback from local sources on a more regular basis. Issues of quality are raised regularly. Parents who seek resources for preschool and childcare have some support to do one-stop shopping to get an overview of what is available. Private centers are expanding their operations to consider developmentally appropriate curriculum, and diversity is a regular element in planning for children.

CFI itself has not operated in a way that would make it particularly "visible." The initiative, guided by the local School Readiness Council, has responded to opportunities available through new state preschool and childcare funding and dealt with priorities expressed by local providers and the needs of parents. CFI has largely functioned as a silent partner to local efforts to facilitate changes in the system on behalf of young children.

Windham CFI, (860) 423-4534

Don Muirhead serves as an administrator and grant writer for the School Readiness Council in Windham. In these roles, he has sat in on numerous meetings with child educators over the years. Since the Children's First Initiative began, he has noticed that agencies are "coming together as a group and are beginning to talk about issues as they affect children, birth to eight. This has led to our collaborating in ways that we have never had before, including bringing in the private for-profit childcare centers. In particular, we're bringing them into discussions in which they have never been involved and making everyone feel they are part of one system in the community as we talk about issues of transition to kindergarten and other similar topics."

This collaboration has led to programs and childcare centers gaining access to resources that have not been available or they have not known about in the past. Says Mr. Muirhead, "There is generally a new spirit of cooperation between the providers of care in the community."