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Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: A strategic intervention geared towards building the capacity of early childhood staff, programs, families, and systems to prevent, identify, treat, and reduce the impact of mental health problems among children from birth to age six. In a child-focused consultation, the consultant may facilitate the development of an individualized plan for the child; in a classroom-focused consultation, the consultant may work with the teacher/caregiver to increase the level of Social-Emotional support for all the children in the class through observations, modeling, and sharing of resources and information; in a program focused-consultation, the consultant may help administrators address policies and procedures that benefit all children and adults in the program.
Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE): Specialized instruction that is provided by trained early childhood Special Education professionals to young children with disabilities in various early childhood settings such as Preschool, child care, Prekindergarten and Head Start, among others.
Early Head Start (EHS): A federally funded program that serves low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers to support the optimal child development while helping parents/families move toward economic independence. EHS programs generally offer the following core services: (1) high quality early care and education in and out of the home; (2) family support services, home visits and parent education; (3) comprehensive health and mental health services, including services for pregnant and postpartum women; (4) nutrition; (5) child care, and (6) ongoing support for parents through case management and peer support. Programs have a broad range of flexibility in how they provide these services.
Early Intervention (EI): Services that are designed to address the developmental needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth to three years, and their families. EI services are generally administered by qualified personnel and require the development of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).
Early Literacy: Refers to what children know about and are able to do as it relates to communication, language, reading, and writing before they can formally read and write. Children's experiences with conversation, books, print and stories (oral and written) all contribute to their early literacy skills.
Early Math/Numeracy: Refers to the foundations of mathematical reasoning that are acquired in early childhood, typically by way of number counting, measuring, sorting, noticing patterns and adding and subtracting numbers.
Educational Approach: Refers to the educational philosophy, method and/or pedagogical style adopted by early childhood providers. Examples of well-known and regarded educational approaches include Reggio-Emilia, Montessori, and Head Start.
English Language Learner (ELL): Refers to a child who is learning English and comes from a home or environment where the primary language is not English. ELLs are generally proficient in their own language but are usually unable to read, write, speak or understand English at a level comparable to their English proficient peers and native English speakers.
Environment Rating Scales (ERS): Refers to a series of research scales used to assess process quality in early childhood group care. There are four environment rating scales, each designed for a different segment of the early childhood field. See: ECERS-R, ITERS-R, and FCCERS-R.
Even Start: A family literacy program funded by the U.S. Department of Education that provided parents/families with instruction in a variety of literacy skills and assisted them in promoting their children's educational development.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): A 2015 federal law that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and replaced key requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The ESSA includes provisions to promote coordination in early learning among local communities; align preschool with early elementary school; and build the capacity of teachers, leaders and others serving young children to provide the highest-quality early learning opportunities. The ESSA also authorized Preschool Development Grants to support states' efforts to increase the number of children accessing high-quality preschool.
Evidence-Based Practice: A practice, regimen or service that is grounded in evidence and can demonstrate that it improves outcomes. Elements of evidence-based practice are standardized, replicable and effective within a given setting and for a particular group of participants.
Executive Function: A group of cognitive skills that contribute to the development of Self-Regulation. Executive function skills include: cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch attention between different rules; working memory, the ability to hold information in mind while working on a task; and inhibitory control, the ability to resist certain impulses in order to complete a goal.
Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE): Specialized instruction that is provided by trained early childhood Special Education professionals to young children with disabilities in various early childhood settings such as Preschool, child care, Prekindergarten and Head Start, among others.
Early Head Start (EHS): A federally funded program that serves low-income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers to support the optimal child development while helping parents/families move toward economic independence. EHS programs generally offer the following core services: (1) high quality early care and education in and out of the home; (2) family support services, home visits and parent education; (3) comprehensive health and mental health services, including services for pregnant and postpartum women; (4) nutrition; (5) child care, and (6) ongoing support for parents through case management and peer support. Programs have a broad range of flexibility in how they provide these services.
Early Intervention (EI): Services that are designed to address the developmental needs of infants and toddlers with disabilities, ages birth to three years, and their families. EI services are generally administered by qualified personnel and require the development of an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP).
Early Literacy: Refers to what children know about and are able to do as it relates to communication, language, reading, and writing before they can formally read and write. Children's experiences with conversation, books, print and stories (oral and written) all contribute to their early literacy skills.
Early Math/Numeracy: Refers to the foundations of mathematical reasoning that are acquired in early childhood, typically by way of number counting, measuring, sorting, noticing patterns and adding and subtracting numbers.
Educational Approach: Refers to the educational philosophy, method and/or pedagogical style adopted by early childhood providers. Examples of well-known and regarded educational approaches include Reggio-Emilia, Montessori, and Head Start.
English Language Learner (ELL): Refers to a child who is learning English and comes from a home or environment where the primary language is not English. ELLs are generally proficient in their own language but are usually unable to read, write, speak or understand English at a level comparable to their English proficient peers and native English speakers.
Environment Rating Scales (ERS): Refers to a series of research scales used to assess process quality in early childhood group care. There are four environment rating scales, each designed for a different segment of the early childhood field. See: ECERS-R, ITERS-R, and FCCERS-R.
Even Start: A family literacy program funded by the U.S. Department of Education that provided parents/families with instruction in a variety of literacy skills and assisted them in promoting their children's educational development.
Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): A 2015 federal law that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and replaced key requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). The ESSA includes provisions to promote coordination in early learning among local communities; align preschool with early elementary school; and build the capacity of teachers, leaders and others serving young children to provide the highest-quality early learning opportunities. The ESSA also authorized Preschool Development Grants to support states' efforts to increase the number of children accessing high-quality preschool.
Evidence-Based Practice: A practice, regimen or service that is grounded in evidence and can demonstrate that it improves outcomes. Elements of evidence-based practice are standardized, replicable and effective within a given setting and for a particular group of participants.
Executive Function: A group of cognitive skills that contribute to the development of Self-Regulation. Executive function skills include: cognitive flexibility, the ability to switch attention between different rules; working memory, the ability to hold information in mind while working on a task; and inhibitory control, the ability to resist certain impulses in order to complete a goal.
