The Kansas Early Learning Collaborative (KELC) is a group comprised of the following partners:
The Kansas Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (KACCRRA) is
the network of seven child care resource and referral agencies that serves all 105 counties in
Kansas. We work daily to ensure that families have access to affordable, high-quality child
care all across Kansas, through child care referrals and consumer education. KACCRRA
works with local R&Rs to support child care programs and providers through statewide quality
initiatives. KACCRRA is actively involved in both state and national advocacy efforts that
work to strengthen the early childhood field.
The Kansas Association for Infant & Early Childhood Mental Health (KAIMH) is an
association of professionals in Kansas who are concerned with the emotional development of
infants, toddlers, and families through relationship-based training and advocacy efforts.
Founded in 1995, KAIMH has three main goals: to encourage the realization that infancy is a
critical period in the psychosocial/emotional development of individuals; to disseminate
knowledge to its members and to combat the sense of isolation of those disciplines working in
the infancy field; and to provide information to the general public, which will enhance awareness
and bring to public attention the psychosocial/emotional needs of children in their first
years of life.
The Kansas Children’s Service League (KCSL) is a statewide not-for-profit agency standing
on 115 years of tradition, strengthened by a mission to protect and promote the well being of
children. KCSL provides Healthy Families America, a voluntary program that assists new parents
who are overburdened by stress factors. This national program model has been proven
successful in promoting healthy child development; increasing parent/child interaction; preventing
child abuse and neglect; and helping families link with necessary community resources.
The Kansas Division for Early Childhood (KDEC) has a mission to promote the education
of young children with exceptional needs and to encourage and promote professional growth
and research as a means of better understanding the unique needs related to young exceptional
children. KDEC seeks to work with local communities to strengthen and enhance services
within the tiny-k networks with specific focus on inclusion of all children across all early childhood
programs.
The Kansas Head Start Association (KHSA) represents all 28 Head Start and Early Head
Start programs in Kansas. Our programs serve over 9,000 children and families in 86 counties,
working toward dual goals of school-ready children and self-reliant families. KHSA
works to strengthen early learning programs through advocacy, professional development and
leadership, in collaboration with our state and local partners.
The Kansas Parents as Teachers Association (KPATA) is a 501(c)(3) statewide Kansas organization created to provide networking, leadership, visibility, research, funding, and advocacy
to build quality Parents as Teachers (PAT) programs. KPATA represents 232 school districts,
home visiting programs, child care centers and homes that exclusively utilize the PAT research based curriculums in their programs.
Taken from KACCRRA’s CCR&R Newsletter, September 2009