Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8

To develop this plan, GPG facilitated a series of meetings that included various stakeholder groups with different levels of engagement with this process between November 2015 and September 2016. Leadership from First 5 California (F5CA) and the California Department of Education Early Education and Support Division (EESD) formed the Support Team which provided overall strategic direction for the planning process. GPG coordinated and facilitated meetings of the Support Team, particularly in the early stages of the project to discuss planning process structure and participants.

GPG provided overall coordination and facilitation support for a 30-member Action Planning Team (APT), that was co-convened by F5CA and EESD. The APT represented a broad range of early childhood stakeholders from across California that participated in five in-person meetings. The APT formed three workgroups to develop specific recommendations and objectives in the three priority areas that the team identified during its first meeting: 1) Permitting and Credentialing, 2) Professional Pathways, and 3) Higher Education and Ongoing Professional Learning. Each workgroup was led by two co-leads, who collectively formed the Core Team which participated in three national meetings coordinated by the National Academies of Medicine. The Core Team also held phone and in-person meetings before and after meetings of the full APT. GPG provided direct support for the APT workgroups and Core Team. GPG also served as the liaison between the National Academies of Medicine and California’s planning teams.

In addition, GPG designed and facilitated an in-person workshop and online survey to obtain feedback and input from a broader group of stakeholders on draft recommendations and objectives developed by the APT workgroups (See Appendix G of the Implementation Plan for additional details).

GPG provided extensive research and writing support for the development of the plan document, Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8: Implementation Plan for the State of California. As one example, this document includes a synthesis of relevant state and national reports, including the IOM/NRC report, based on GPG’s work to “crosswalk” recommendations from multiple reports to inform the work of the APT workgroups as they crafted Implementation Plan recommendations and objectives. Throughout the planning process, GPG worked closely with workgroup co-leads to clarify and refine recommendations and objectives both within and across priority areas. Additionally, GPG conducted research on specific topics to inform planning conversations and the development of content for narrative portions of the plan.

The final plan includes recommendations, objectives, suggested implementation partners, and timelines in the three priority identified by the APT:

1. Permitting and Credentialing
2. Professional Pathways
3. Higher Education and Ongoing Professional Learning