Steering Committee

The Council worked with a diverse group of 19 stakeholders from across Texas to develop the Guidelines.  The Steering Committee  divided into three small workgroups: Guidelines Development, Workforce and Professional Development, and Public Knowledge & Engagement.  Each of these workgroups tackled key tasks to support the development and implementation of the Guidelines.

Mission, Vision, and Guiding Principles

The Steering Committee developed a mission, vision, and guiding principles for the development of the new Guidelines.

Vision

For all infants and toddlers to grow and thrive in their families and in their communities.

Mission

The committee will engage in a comprehensive and collaborative process to develop and implement Texas Infant, Toddler, and Three-Year-Old Early Learning Guidelines.

Guiding Principles

The Guidelines must:

• Be evidence-based.
• Support differences in temperament and development.
• Be sensitive to family culture and linguistic differences.
• Be inclusive and address the needs of infants and toddlers with special needs, disabilities, and/or developmental delays.
• Link to best practices that support optimal growth in all developmental domains for infants and toddlers.
• Be useful to parents, the infant and toddler workforce and policymakers.

Potential Users and Characteristics

The Steering Committee developed the Guidelines for multiple users, especially parents, providers, and policymakers.  In order to be understandable and useful for multiple audiences, the Guidelines will feature these characteristics:

• Relationship-focused
• Infant/toddler mental health
• Social/emotional development principles
• Language level  to be on a 6th grade level
• Consistency in use of terms/vocabulary
• Breakdown of age groups
• All developmental domains covered
• Aligns with Texas Pre-K Standards
• Inclusive of children with disabilities and ELL
• Inform parents, providers, policymakers

Development Process

In October 2011, the Texas Early Learning Council released an RFP to hire a consultant to write the new Guidelines. Unfortunately, we did not receive any proposals.  The Council then decided to partner with a team of researchers at the Children's Learning Institute (CLI) to write the Guidelines, with direct input from the Subcommittee and Council Staff. The writing team at CLI began work on the Guidelines in January 2012. Throughout Spring and Summer 2012, the Steering Committee and the writing team worked to refine the document. In July 2012, the Council posted the Guidelines for public comment.

In December 2011, the Council also released an RFP for a marketing consultant to conduct research on parent perceptions of brain development and then create a marketing campaign to promote the Guidelines. In July 2012, the Council received the first marketing data from parents, conducted through phone interviews across Texas. In addition, the marketing consultant will conduct in-depth focus groups with parents in Laredo, Houston, Lubbock, and Jefferson County. This valuable information will be used to design a marketing campaign for the Guidelines and help the Council target specific at-risk groups in Texas. The Council will also use this data to inform the public outreach campaign on school readiness, which will begin in Summer 2013.