Our Mission

The New York City Early Childhood Professional Development Institute is a unique public/private partnership that brings together a range of City agencies, a consortium of private funders, and the nation’s largest urban university to create a center that coordinates training and career development services for individuals who work with young children in New York City. The Institute’s founding partners are the New York City Child Care and Early Education Fund, The Administration for Children’s Services, the Department of Education, the Human Resources Administration, and the City University of New York.

The mission of the Institute is to ensure that all New York City early childhood providers have access to a comprehensive system of training and professional development that supports high quality services for the City’s children and their families.

The Institute serves all types of early childhood professionals, including licensed teachers in school and community settings, teachers pursuing their permanent license, center directors and administrators, registered family child care providers, Head Start teachers and staff, and providers of unlicensed care.

Specifically the Institute will:

• Develop a website and related print materials geared towards individuals already working in the early childhood area as well as prospective students and workers. The content will include information on career paths, college/university degree and non-degree programs, other relevant training, financial aid information, and additional resources.
• Offer guidance focused on career ladders and structured professional development pathways.
• Strengthen the existing early childhood infrastructure and maximize available resources dedicated to training and professional development, bringing new resources to the system.
• Develop a citywide articulation plan among private and public institutions of higher education that supports the career mobility of early childhood professionals.
• Assess the training needs of early childhood professionals, and facilitate filling identified gaps.
• Focus public attention on the critical importance of professional development, and its key role in creating a unified system of high quality early childhood in New York City.