First 5 LA Works to Help Prepare Prenatal through 3 Service Providers

Actually, it happened. A First 5 LA-funded Best Start LA initiative called the Best Start LA Workforce Development Project brought together Los Angeles County experts who, as a team, created a set of professional standards for prenatal through 3 service providers in L.A. County.

Over the past 19 months, a powerhouse of 15 experts from five different service sectors (mental health, early education, early intervention, child welfare and physical health) has met regularly to address this Herculean task. The result: A set of eight core competencies that, for the very first time, outline the essential knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary for prenatal through 3 service providers to successfully work with L.A. County's youngest children.

"This coming together of professionals and reaching consensus is monumental because it's never been done in L.A. County," said Leticia Lara, project director with national nonprofit ZERO TO THREE, who is leading the facilitation for Best Start LA Workforce Development Project alongside First 5 LA staff. "Every person in the workgroup has their own core competencies, but they've never sat down and said, 'These are the skills we need to work across disciplines.' Now, a mental health person can be made aware of what an early interventionist does when working with kids, and vice-versa."

Sam Chan, district chief at the L.A. County Department of Mental Health and workgroup member, attests to the group's shared commitment to young children's welfare. "We're desperately in need of building workforce capacity in the area of providing care to young children. It wasn't easy, but we came together and worked toward creating a product -- the tools of the trade."

Unveiled on January 21, the core competency domains are:

• Early childhood development
• Family-centered practice
• Relationship-based practice
• Health and developmental risk and protective factors
• Cultural and linguistic responsiveness
• Leadership and advocacy
• Professional and ethical practices.
• Service planning, coordination and collaboration

In the coming months, the Workforce Development Project will finalize training/learning approaches to support the implementation of core competencies in everyday work. The training/learning approaches will be field-tested in two communities selected by First 5 LA.

"First 5 LA is invested in building a qualified workforce," said Evelyn V. Martinez, executive director of First 5 LA. "This workgroup is facilitating the first step towards that vision by bridging practices."

A document outlining the core competencies in detail will be available to the public by June. For more information about the Best Start LA Workforce Development Project, contact John Bamberg at (213) 482-7515.

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