Periodic Statewide Needs Assessment

The Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) of West Virginia has been charged with development and implementation of a periodic statewide needs assessment concerning the quality and availability of early childhood education and development programs and services for children from birth to school entry.

Collaboration and Coordination of Efforts

Collaboration and coordination of efforts are critical factors that are continuously examined and addressed by the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) of West Virginia. The ECAC has been charged with identifying opportunities for, and barriers to, collaboration and coordination among federally funded and state funded child development, childcare, and early childhood education programs and services. The ECAC is also responsible for recommending new areas for collaboration and coordination among state agencies.

Central to the establishment of collaborative and coordinating efforts is the work of the Executive Committee.

Executive Committee

Chair: Heather Foster, Volunteer West Virginia, Heather.R.Foster@wv.gov

Membership of this committee is specified by the Governor via Executive Order. The Executive Committee is charged with providing staff support to the Council, this may include the following: developing policies and procedures, creating meeting agendas, posting meetings with the Secretary of State, developing a public hearing process, and providing other ongoing supports to implement the Council charge. The Executive Committee works with the Council to conduct a periodic needs assessment and make recommendations annually to the Governor, Legislature, the State Department of Health and Human Resources, the State Department of Education, and the State Director of the Head Start Collaboration.

Children’s Health and Well-Being

The Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) of West Virginia takes children’s health and well-being seriously.  Recommendations for increasing the overall health and well-being of children from birth to school entry, including supports for families and programs, are discussed as part of the ECAC Health Committee and its Sub Committees. For more information about the ECAC Health Committee and its Sub Committees, see below.

Health Committee

Co-Chairs: Jackie Newson, WV Office of Maternal, Child and Family Health, Jackie.J.Newson@wv.gov & Kim Tieman, Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, Ktieman@benedum.org.

This committee is responsible for increasing the overall health and well-being of children from birth to school entry.  The committee creates goals, makes recommendations, and considers systems for tracking the effectiveness of existing and planned early childhood health programming. The Health Committee operates subgroups including: Obesity Prevention; Medical & Dental Home Integration; and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs).

The Health Committee meets every other month on the third Wednesday of the month from 2:00-4:00 p.m. at the CAMC Cancer Center in Kanawha City.

Family Engagement Committee

Co-Chairs: TBD

This committee is new in August 2019. This committee will take the lead in creating a needs assessment and developing recommendations for support programs for families including kinship care families, foster care families and others. A meeting schedule will be announced as soon as one is available.

Data Privacy, Collection, and Systems

Data privacy is critically important to the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) of West Virginia.  The ECAC is charged with developing recommendations for data collection, data privacy, and data systems for public early childhood education and development programs and services throughout the state.

An example memorandum of understanding is provided below that allows for data privacy and collection between two public entities:

Professional Development and Career Advancement

The work of the Early Childhood Advisory Council (ECAC) of West Virginia focusing on professional development and career advancement is based on the Governor’s Executive Order that establishes how the ECAC must develop recommendations regarding statewide professional development processes and career advancement plans for early childhood educators in West Virginia.  The capacity and effectiveness of two- and four-year public and private institutions of higher education in the state will also be examined through the lens of supporting the development of early childhood educators.

This work is achieved through two committees, the ECAC Higher Education Committee and the ECAC Professional Development Committee. For more information about each, please see below:

Professional Development

Co-Chairs: Natalie Snider, WV STARS Distance Learning Consultant, nsnider@rvcds.org & Pam Roush, WV Office of Maternal Child and Family Health, Pam.S.Roush@wv.gov.

This committee is responsible for meeting regularly to define goals for Early Childcare provider professional development. This committee takes the lead in developing recommendations for the Council regarding statewide professional development and career advancement plans for Early Childhood educators. The committee makes recommendations and considers systems for tracking the effectiveness of existing and planned professional development programs.

The Professional Development Committee meets via Go-To Meeting on the Third Thursday of each month at 10:00 a.m.
Remaining 2019 meeting dates include: August 15, September 19, October 17, and December 19.

Higher Education

Co-Chairs: Kerri Ferro, WV Higher Education Policy Commission, Keri Ferro Keri.Ferro@wvhepc.edu & Melanie Clark, WV Bureau for Children and Families, Melanie.A.Clark@wv.gov

This committee is responsible for meeting regularly to develop an effective early childhood education strategy for two-and four-year public and private institutions of higher education.  The committee makes recommendations and considers systems for tracking the effectiveness of existing and planned higher education programs. The committee strives to remain up to date on the latest early childhood needs in WV to produce a knowledgeable, caring workforce to ensure high quality care to children in WV.  The current workplan includes working on a state-wide MOU with the Community College System and partners, and creation of eLearning courses through WVDE.

The Higher Ed committee usually meets once in the fall, winter, and spring with subcommittee meetings as needed.