The Early Learning Branch is responsible for the Judith P. Hoyer Programs (i.e., Judy Centers and Enhancement Grants for Private Providers), the Maryland Model for School Readiness (MMSR), Early Childhood Accreditation, Public Pre-K and Kindergarten, and the Early Childhood Curriculum Project, as well as curriculum development and policy and programmatic issues related to prekindergarten and kindergarten.


The Collaboration and Program Improvement Branch issues and administers early care contracts and grants, including the Family Child Care Provider Grant and the Quality Improvement Grant. It also houses the:

• Head Start State Collaboration Project, which coordinates early learning and comprehensive services between local Head Start programs and state and local agencies,
•  Early Childhood Mental Health (ECMH) Project, which helps identify and address child behavioral issues in early learning environments, and
•  Program Administration Scale (PAS) Project, which promotes development of leadership and management skills in early childhood programs.
  

Current Division Publications and Projects:

NEW!  Click here for the Division of Early Childhood Development's Child Health Issues portal page.  This page provides child health-related information and Internet links for parents, child care providers and other early childhood programs, and the general community.  Visit this page for updates on preventing the spread of the flu (including the H1N1 influenza virus).

NEW!  Click here for "What Success Looks Like," the Maryland Early Childhood Advisory Council's 3-Year Action Plan for 2009-2012.  The Council is composed of early childhood educators, policy-makers, and community advocates, and its mission is to identify the most important factors and most effective strategies for making the greatest possible gains in early care and education so that every child in Maryland can enter kindergarten “fully school-ready.”

NEW! – “Infant and Toddler Expansion Project” for Family Providers and Child Care Centers. Go to www.eMarylandMarketplace.com, MD State Dept of Education, Solicitation No: R00SO261676, RFQ# R00R020067. This offer closes on January 12, 2010. For further information contact Allan Robinson, MSDE Procurement Officer at (410)767-0430.

Click here for the Child Care Development Fund Summary.

Click here to download a draft version of the 2010-2011 CCDF State Plan.

Click here for the 2008-2009 School Readiness Report.  Each year, MSDE publishes the report, Children Entering School Ready to Learn which provides information about the school readiness skills of Maryland kindergarteners.

Click here for The Division of Early Childhood Development (DECD) 3-year strategic plan.

Click here for the full text of Preschool for All in Maryland - Recommendations of the Task Force on Universal Preschool Education.  For a cost-benefit analysis of the recommendations, click here.  To read the proposed business plan for Preschool for All in Maryland, click here.

Click here for the State-Recommended Infants and Toddlers Curricula - includes a Press Release (January 23, 2008) and a Matrix of Curricular Information.

Click here for the DECD Office of Child Care's "Playground and Water Safety Guidelines" for child care and early education programs.

Click here to visit the DECD Office of Child Care's child care licensing inspection findings site.  This site provides free public access to findings from routine licensing inspections conducted since mid-2007.  The on-line inspection database is updated monthly to include recently conducted inspections.  NOTE: To make sure the site displays properly, please set your computer to accept cookies [How?].