Guiding young children with developmental concerns through a
successful early childhood requires special training and specific
knowledge. This is true for both parents and the professionals
that work with them. Providers and parents learning the same
content matter will promote and enhance their joint ability to
communicate more effectively regarding the needs of the child,
and encourage an effective partnership between them. It is with
this in mind that Harbor Regional Center, funded by the Mental
Health Services Act in partnership with the California Department
of Developmental Services, is introducing “Side by
Side: Enriching Children’s Lives Through Parent-Provider
Partnerships” to the professionals and families of
our Early Start and early childhood community.
Between September 2018 and February of 2020, nationally and
internationally recognized experts in the fields of infant and
early childhood mental health will come to the South Bay to train
both providers and parents in a series of five concurrent
symposia and workshops. This series will culminate in a sixth
all-day symposium for families and cross-sector early
interventionists to learn, share, and collaborate, side by
side. The focus of these training events will be on infants,
toddlers, and young children from birth through five, addressing
the critical importance of relationships, early mental health,
and social emotional development, which is the foundation for all
other developmental success!
Goals of Side by Side
- Increase the competency of the early intervention workforce
- Guide future training of early intervention workforce
- Increase parental knowledge of child development, more
specifically, with respect to social and emotional development
- Improve engagement with families
- Increase progress in social-emotional development of very
young children, with potential improvement across other areas of
development
- Increase collaboration and coordination of services, across
sectors, on behalf of the child
