Maryland Committee for Children

Maryland Committee for Children, Inc. (MCC), a private, non-profit organization founded in 1945, is an advocate and catalyst for the development of a strong system of quality child care, early education, and family support on a local, state, and national level. MCC has a rich history of action in matters affecting children, families, and the child care community of this state. 

 Whether it is improving early childhood education and development opportunities, providing technical assistance and training to current and prospective child care providers, promoting the establishment of child care programs and professional opportunities within the field, helping working parents in need of child care, working with employers on work/family policy issues, or stimulating the supply of child care resources across the state, Maryland Committee for Children addresses the issues head on and takes action.

Comprising of a professional staff of 73, a board of 15, and hundreds of members, supporters, and volunteers, Maryland Committee for Children is a private, non-profit, 501 (c)(3) charitable, educational institution which currently has an operating budget of approximately $8.5 million. Headquartered at 608 Water Street in Baltimore, MCC's building offers over 16,000 square feet of space for MCC's many activities, including office space, workshops, training, meeting rooms, and a library.  MCC's programmatic areas include Public Policy; the Maryland Child Care Resource Network; LOCATE: Child Care; Training and TECHNIC: Child Care; Development and Marketing, as well as the Baltimore City Child Care Resource Center.

To learn more about the Maryland Committee for Children, go to www.mdchildcare.org.

Recognition and Response Activities
Maryland is participating in the Recognition and Response Program by piloting the Early Identification Initiative in central Maryland to both licensed center based programs and licensed family child care providers to help them better identify young children who may be at risk for developing learning difficulties. The program will run from September 2006 through May 2007.  Participants in the program will be provided training and materials and will have scheduled technical assistance visits to their programs. The purpose of the E.I.I. Pilot Program is not to diagnose or label children, but to help child care providers learn about learning differences, and tailor the early care learning environment to better meet children’s individual needs. More specifically it seeks to:

• Becoming knowledgeable about the learning styles of the children in their care;
• Ensure that all children are receiving a high quality early learning experience;
• Modifying their educational settings to better adapt to children’s learning styles; and,
• Determining if children in their care have needs beyond what the normal child care environment offers.

A total of 21 clock hours of training toward the Maryland Child Care Credential will be provided to successful participants. Additionally, providers will be taught how to use a screening tool specifically designed for the purpose of identifying children who may be showing sign s of struggle. We believe that the training and the scheduled technical assistance will assist child care providers in significantly improving the quality of their learning environments, and in becoming more knowledgeable about their children’s learning styles. MCC staff will conduct environmental rating scale visits of their programs by staff prior to the training, and after the training.