WISCONSIN MODEL EARLY LEARNING STANDARDS 129
responsibilities for state government child care assistance
programs. Our vision is to support low income families by
providing access to affordable, high quality child care and early
education experiences, to enhance children’s development and to
support their families in work and parenting roles.
Wisconsin Division for Early Childhood (WDEC)
923 East Garland Street
West Salem, WI 54669
Phone: 608-786-4844
Fax: 608-786-4801
http://www.dec-sped.org/Contact/Subdivisions
WDEC is a state chapter of the Division for Early Childhood
(DEC), one of 17 divisions of the Council for Exceptional Children
(CEC) - the largest international professional organization
dedicated to improving educational outcomes for individuals with
exceptionalities, students with disabilities, and/or the gifted. DEC
is especially for individuals who work with or on behalf of children
with special needs, birth through age eight, and their families.
Founded in 1973, the Division is dedicated to promoting policies
and practices that support families and enhance the optimal
development of children. DEC is an international community of
5,000 professionals and family members - in 50 U.S. states, 9
Canadian provinces, and 22 other countries - all working together
to support the development of young children with special needs
and to create a system of support for all young children and their
families.
WDEC established the Jenny Lange Scholarship Fund through
UW-Whitewater and is a co-sponsor of the annual WI Early
Childhood Education and Care Conference and the biennial
JoLyn Beeman Memorial Lecture Series. Membership in WDEC
provides reduced fees at these conferences; a state newsletter;
and monthly publications, including the Young Exceptional
Children journal.
Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA)
744 Williamson Street, Suite 200
Madison, WI 53703
Phone: 608-240-9880 or 1-800-783-9322
Fax: 608-240-9890
www.wisconsinearlychildhood.org
WECA is a statewide, nonprot organization serving as a
professional association whose members care for and educate
Wisconsin’s children, ages birth to eight. WECA is an afliate of
the National Association for the Education for Young Children
(NAEYC). WECA advocates for the child care profession, offers
training and professional development, sponsors a Child Care
Food Program, and administers the T.E.A.C.H. Early Childhood
® WISCONSIN Scholarship Program which offers scholarship
opportunities to teachers, family child care providers, center
directors and administrators for credit-based training. WECA also
administers the R.E.W.A.R.D. ™ WISCONSIN Stipend Program
that provides a statewide compensation initiative that awards
stipends directly to family child care providers, center teachers,
and program directors based on attained levels of education.
In addition to co-sponsoring a statewide conference annually,
WECA provides workshops and presentations on a variety of early
care and education topics. The WECA web pages identify training
and workshop opportunities that are offered.
Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners
Department of Public Instruction
P.O. Box 7841, Madison, WI 53707-7841
Fax: 608-266-2529
www.collaboratingpartners.com
“Working to Transform Early Childhood Care and Education,”
WECCP represents many public and private agencies,
associations, and individuals that care about our state’s young
children and their families. The Collaborating Partners have
come together to promote the blending of our state’s current
separate early childhood education and care systems. Their
goal is to develop a quality, comprehensive early childhood
system which shares responsibility among families, providers,
the public sector, and the private sector. Links to the following
activities and resources can be found: Early Childhood Special
Education, Professional Development, Early Childhood Economic
Development, 4-Year-Old Kindergarten and Community
Collaborations.
The WECCP listserv is designed to facilitate interactive, electronic
communication between agencies, associations, and individuals
providing services to Wisconsin’s young children (birth to age 8)
and their families. The focus of this listserv is on state, community
and interagency efforts to improve service delivery approaches for
young children and their families. http://ec.dpi.wi.gov/ec_eclistsv
WECCP information on community approaches to serving
children are available at:
www.collaboratingpartners.com/4k-community-approaches-about.php.
WI FACETS
600 W. Virginia Street, Suite 501
Milwaukee, WI 53204
Phone: 877-374-0511 or 414-374-4645
www.wifacets.org/
Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training &
Support, Inc. (WI FACETS) is a nonprot organization serving
Wisconsin children and adults with disabilities, their families
and those who support them. Services provided include: public
awareness, parent education, specialized workshops, parent
support, parent leadership, and promotion of partnership activities
between parents and professionals.
Wisconsin Family Child Care Association (WFCCA)
1112 N. Lake Street
Neenah, WI 54956
Phone: 920.722.6448
www.wisconsinfamilychildcare.org/
The Wisconsin Family Child Care Association, WFCCA, is a
statewide organization of Family Child Care providers and
their supporters, formed to provide support, involvement, and
communication with others in the profession.
The goal of the Association is to help maintain the high quality of
care that promotes the physical, intellectual, emotional, and social
development of children by:
• Promoting awareness of family child care as a viable choice in
child care.
• Promoting awareness of the professionalism of family child
care.
• Providing an opportunity for input into laws concerning children.
• Providing a statewide information/assistance network.
• Providing an opportunity for involvement, support, and
communication with others.