I had the chance yesterday to meet with the Hanna Perkins Center director, Tom Barrett, and several staff members of the Shaker Heights facility. This is one of several institutions strengthening the fabric of our community. The Center includes four integrated branches: a therapeutic preschool with programming for children from toddlerhood through kindergarten, a psychotherapy clinic, a research center, and a training program for early childhood educators and care givers. It’s exciting to talk with these professionals who seek to utilize their knowledge to reach a broad base of our region’s children with programs that show such a depth of understanding for how children develop.

They provided clear suggestions for ways to save money in the childcare industry and thereby leverage funding to childcare facilities in the region. Their consultation program for childcare staff in other centers has reaped significant rewards. It has decreased turnover of trained staff and has enabled children who might otherwise be passed from center to center (due to behavioral issues) to have their needs met at the first center they enter.

But don’t take my word for it. Read more about the Hanna Perkins Center and the commitment they have to children. Imagine a community that is able to provide more children with quality environments for learning. Contemplate the long-term possibilities for the growth of brainpower in Northeast Ohio.

The attached paper on Child Care and Consultation ex plains the approach the Center has used to attain high-quality care for children. It focuses on three crucial elements:

• Building positive, reliable relationships with caregivers enables children to learn in a teacher-pupil setting.
• The inner emotional lives of our children are expressed through their behavior. Children can be helped to understand and express these emotions, which can lead to improved behavior.
• A child’s mastering issues of self-care is a first step towards self-esteem and is the starting point for future learning.