Our Vision: All young Nebraska children are secure, healthy, and successful.
The Office of Early Childhood provides leadership, guidance and support to:
- develop high quality environments for young children;
- promote equitable access to inclusive programs and services for all children from birth through age eight;
- facilitate state and community partnerships that address the needs of young children and their families; and,
- provide professional development, technical assistance and resources for personnel in early childhood care and education settings.
Activities of the Office of Early Childhood include the development and implementation of policy, data collection and evaluation, leadership for systems development of early childhood initiatives, and collaboration among programs and agencies.
The Office of Early Childhood carries out the work of the Early Childhood Training Center, which disseminates an extensive print and media collection of early childhood resources, maintains a comprehensive training calendar, manages a broad array of training opportunities for early childhood personnel and families, and facilitates the state’s integrated early childhood professional development system.
The Office of Early Childhood works jointly with the NDE Office of Special Education and the Head Start State Collaboration Office (HSSCO), and provides support for the Early Childhood Interagency Coordinating Council (ECICC).