Infant Toddler Quality Enhancement Project (ITQEP)
The Infant Toddler Quality Enhancement Project (ITQEP) was established to improve the quality and availability of infant/toddler care in North Carolina through forging collaborative partnerships with teachers and directors.
The Infant Toddler Quality Enhancement Project (ITQEP) team provides services statewide, including technical assistance and coaching for child care programs and other community consultants, and training specific to infant and toddler high quality practices.
ITQEP uses a Practice-Based Coaching framework that involves building partnerships and shared goals with infant and toddler teachers and administrators to help them plan for and achieve high quality practices that are responsive to their communities and cultures.
The Infant Toddler Specialists provide hands-on individualized and tailored TA for teachers and administrators that includes:
- Building positive relationships with children, families and co-workers
- Creating environments to support social-emotional development and the developing capacity of infants and young children to:
- Form close and secure adult and peer relationships
- Experience, regulate and express emotions in socially and culturally appropriate ways
- Explore the environment and learn social skills
- Implementing high quality care practices for infant and toddler group care that provides a solid foundation for infant and toddler development
- Providing support for developmental monitoring and screening through the Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Learn the Signs Act Early materials
