Taos Early Childhood Alliance (TECA)
Paso a Paso Network formed the Taos Early Childhood Alliance (TECA) in 2018 and is working to grow home-care options. TECA catalyzes initiatives to improve Taos’ early childhood system. A 2016 assessment showed gaps in early care and education access and availability: only 30 slots for infants and toddlers. Taos currently has 12 registered homes; only one cares for non-family members. With COVID 19, Paso colleagues’ families with very young children are now hesitant to return to center-based care.
TECA aims to raise the quality and availability of 15 new home-based early care businesses and increase leaderships’ understanding of high quality homebased value. Through partnerships with Taos County and UNM-Taos Early Childhood Education and Child Development Centers (ECECD) the outline is to connect homecare providers with center leaders and highly trained teachers to improve quality.
Three strategies will be implemented:
- Collaborate withy local policy makers and community partners in delivering the message that home care providers are essential workers
- Develop an innovative Home Care Peer Mentorship Network
- Expand online presence via the Paso website to reach potential and present homecare providers; create an easy to understand video from competing state paperwork to curriculum development for infants and toddlers.
Target population: Homecare educators and the children and families they serve as well as making the systems they use more accessible.