This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) webpage includes CDC and partner resources and offers guidance in reducing stress children might encounter when transitioning back to in-person learning. Also included is the link to a CDC podcast entitled Transitioning Back to School or Early Child Education.

The third of a three-part series, this April 27, 2021 webinar from the Center for Health Care Strategies examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic reducing young children’s access to in-person early childhood and learning programs. Presentations covered approaches that states and communities might use to address development and learning needs as the children reenter early childhood and learning settings. Speakers included representatives from the Ohio Department of Education, the North Carolina Department of Health Benefits (Medicaid), and the Office of Head Start.

The second of a three-part series, this April 20, 2021 webinar from the Center for Health Care Strategies reviews challenges faced by families with young children in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic aftermath. Presentations covered opportunities to support families and connect them with community resources; strategies to increase parents’ knowledge of child development and communications skills while reducing their social isolation; mindfulness practices among staff at a supportive services agency; and the development of a virtual maternal-infant home visiting program. Speakers included representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics, Families First of Boston, La Cocina of Colorado, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and ZERO TO THREE.

Educare schools provide full-day, year-round early care and education for young children living in families from underserved communities. This brief illustrates the experiences and responses of Educare’s early childhood care and education (ECCE) staff during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as systemic inequities that Educare schools encountered. Interviews with staff from 18 Educare schools revealed three common themes: the importance of supporting the ECCE workforce’s physical and mental health and overall well-being; the redefinition of expectations and mechanisms for accountability; and the ECCE workforce’s ongoing commitment to professional development. The brief describes a set of identified challenges for each theme that the ECCE workforce encountered and overcame.

The Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse will host a webinar on September 29, 2021 from 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET to discuss how workforce development practitioners have adapted employment services to remotely offer work readiness activities or education and training services to low-income job seekers. Discussion will highlight a recent brief’s findings on common challenges that make it difficult for job seekers to utilize remote services and ways that practitioners can deliver services remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Presentations will also include a demonstration of where to find information about employment interventions, including remote service delivery within the Pathways to Work Evidence Clearinghouse.

The Urban Institute will host a free webinar on September 20, 2021 from 12:45 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. ET as part of its Strategies for Supporting Young People Transitioning Out of Foster Care Series. The webinar will review how parents in foster care need services and supports as they navigate to parenthood and adulthood. A panel of child welfare professionals and young parents with lived experience will discuss ways that child welfare systems could meet the needs of this population. Panelists include representatives from Chapin Hall, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, Children’s Village, and the Urban Institute.

The University of Wisconsin’s Institute for Research on Poverty will host a webinar on September 15, 2021 from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. ET to explore approaches to better serve children with an incarcerated parent. Presentations will examine the costs of children being separated from their parents due to incarceration, research on how to improve outcomes for children and their parents, and efforts made by law enforcement agencies and their partners to serve these families more effectively. Speakers include Julie Poehlmann-Tynan and Pajarita Charles, both from the University of Wisconsin at Madison, and Dane County (Wisconsin) Sheriff Kalvin Barrett.

The National Staff Development and Training Association (NSDTA), incorporated as an American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) affinity group, aims to develop professional and organizational capacity at the local, state, or federal level. NSDTA will host a hybrid event from October 3 through October 6, 2021. With an “Embrace Agility & Advance to New Heights” theme, presentations cover six tracks: Workforce Development and Planning; Human Services Leadership; Curriculum Design and Instructional Technology; Organizational Development/Organizational Effectiveness; Training & Facilitation; and Evaluation & Research. The live event will take place in Spokane, Washington. A registration fee is required for participation.

The New Models for Career Preparation project strives to create a better understanding of the design, financing, and institutional strategy principles that go into developing high-quality non-degree programs at community colleges. These programs address economic inequity among persons, particularly among women and people of color, who have no postsecondary education and lack time or money to earn a degree. As part of this project, New America has launched a Request for Proposal to fund six community colleges that excel at non-degree workforce development. Each selected college will receive $50,000 to work with New America for one year. Applications are due September 24, 2021 by close of business Pacific Time with winners announced by late October.

The Child Welfare League of America is offering a four-week training session, beginning on September 21, 2021 from 12 noon to 2:00 p.m. ET to support foster, adoptive, and kinship caregivers and social workers as they help improve the school performance of children who have experienced trauma. Training objectives include development of an understanding of common barriers to educational access and engagement, guidance on practical strategies for cultivating resilience at home, knowledge of the education system and supports available to children with special needs and circumstances, and expansion of collaboration and advocacy toolkits for youth affected by trauma. There is a fee for participation in this training.