Jayne Smalls

  • Webinar: Powering EI so Families Can Thrive

    Hello, Hands & Voices will be hosting our next ASTra webinar titled – Powering EI so Families Can Thrive. Registration is now open. See detailed information below. We hope you can join us!  July 15th 9:00 am PT, 10:00 am MT, 11:00 am CT, 12:00 pm EST  Abstract:  Early Intervention (EI) for families with children who are…

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  • “Creating fun summer memories through play, while keeping debt away!” OEC Behavioral Health Initiatives webinar on Monday, June 16th

    Hello All,  Please join the Office of Early Childhood, Behavioral Health Initiatives’ upcoming webinar:  Creating fun summer memories through play, while keeping debt away! Warmer weather in June and school vacations…the summer season has arrived!  For some adults, thoughts about summer are met with enthusiasm for taking on new activities and adventures!  For others, summer…

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  • 2025 Pediatric Feeding Symposium, SLC Utah – Registration Now Open

    We’re excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2025 Pediatric Feeding Symposium, happening September 11–12, 2025 at the SLCC Miller Conference Center in Sandy, Utah! This two-day event will feature dynamic speakers from across the U.S., covering critical topics in pediatric feeding and swallowing. Whether you’re an SLP, OT, BCBA, RD, nurse, or another healthcare professional, this symposium…

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  • 2025 CT Fatherhood Initiative (CFI) Dear Dad Tour (DDT)

    WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE THE 2025 CFI DDT STOPS!!! Good afternoon, The four stops for the 2025 CT Fatherhood Initiative (CFI) Dear Dad Tour (DDT), which runs after Mother’s Day through the day before Father’s Day, have been confirmed! The CFI DDT is the CFI’s annual public awareness campaign, in the form of a…

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  • Early Feeding and Swallowing PD Training

    Your registration in this workshop was made possible by funding through the Lab School Initiative Investment (LSII). LSII is a CT Office of Early Childhood (CT OEC) and Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) partnership that uses ARPA funds to sustain and support Connecticut’s lab schools, the ECE workforce pipeline, and high-quality early childhood programming statewide.…

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  • UCONN – HELLO Lab Research

    Our participant pool is also open for any families that are interested in research but maybe are not a fit for any ongoing project. Signing up with the pool allows families to have their name in a contact database for personalized invitations to research studies they may be eligible for in the future. 

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  • UCONN – Swaddling (virtual)

    Swaddling (virtual) is our smallest study that looks at barriers to intervention access and decision making supports. We call it swaddling because we are “wrapping” the participants in information and support in their journey. This study will be open to any parent of a child with hearing outside of the typical range.

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  • UCONN – ABLE

    ABLE (come to Storrs CT or we come to the family) stands for Adjustment Behavior Language and Executive functioning. UConn is a collaborator on this project with Dr. Irina Castellanos at Indiana University. In this study, we are looking to follow children for a few years and check in on their development in psychosocial/executive functioning elements and…

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  • UCONN – Hello Lab Research

    Parents Infant Eyetracking—PIE (come to Storrs CT or we come to the family) stands for Parent Infant Eyetracking. In this study, we are looking at parent-child interactions and how elements of that interaction can support children who have cochlear implants in learning words. We are looking for children under 3 years of age who have…

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  • Help Us Share: Free Music Workshop for Early Childhood Educators

    Hosted by the University of Hartford Hartt School Date: Wednesday, March 12, 2025Time: 6:45 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.Locations: Berkman Recital Hall, The Hartt School, University of HartfordWhile attendance is free, registration is required for organizational purposes by February 20, 2025. We have provided easy registration, sign up using this link: Registration Link Sing, Play, Learn:…

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  • The Center for Children’s Advocacy

    Patient Assistance with Light And Heat Programs And Protections Please view the attached flyer.   The Center for Children’s Advocacy is now providing direct legal assistance to families struggling to pay their utility bills or have had their service terminated.  They do not provide money, but they do provide legal assistance to help families enter into affordable…

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  • Central Billing Office (CBO)

    Good Morning,   The Birth to Three system is procuring its Central Billing Office (CBO). Please find additional information here: Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Requests for Applications (RFAs), and Requests for Information (RFIs) – Connecticut Office of Early Childhood   The RFP Can be found specifically here: https://www.ctoec.org/birth-to-three-central-billing-office-rfp/ OEC is investing up to $1,850,000 in funding over…

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  • Upcoming Free Professional Development Opportunities

    Good afternoon! I am writing to inform you of an upcoming unique, free, web-based professional development opportunity for professionals working with children ages birth through 22 years of age. Who Are We? What Do We Offer For Free? How Is the Content Vetted? My Ask of You Please see the attached fliers regarding our series…

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  • Office of Early Childhood, Behavioral Health Initiatives’ upcoming webinar

    Hello All,   Please join the Office of Early Childhood, Behavioral Health Initiatives’ upcoming webinar:  Showing up or showing out? How professional learning promotes self-awareness and improves how one gives to others.  Whether one supports the growth and development of children from a home, center, school, or in the community, educators are constantly giving to others in…

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  • Trauma ScreenTIME Early Childhood Course Now Available!

    The Child Health and Development Institute (CHDI) has worked on developing the Trauma ScreenTIME Early Childhood Course. I am pleased to let you all know that this course has just launched! This is a free online training course on how to screen young children ages 0-6 for trauma. The course is intended for anybody who…

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  • CT Leadership Academy

    We are excited to announce the opening of applications for Cohort 4 of the Connecticut Leadership Academy for birth to three and preschool special education aspiring leaders. The academy will run from October 2024 to June 2025, featuring monthly in-person sessions led by national and state experts. All participants are required to attend all meetings.…

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  • Hands & Voices: Off to a Great Start

    Hands & Voices‘ new website, Off to a Great Start, offers providers and families resources and activities to support the early intervention (EI) journey for families of children who are deaf/hard of hearing. Key resources include: Source: https://www.handsandvoices.org/great-start

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  • Early Intervention Modules

    Understanding the perspectives of parents is a needed skill when working with infants and toddlers. The ED-funded National Center on Deafblindeness added new content to the “Early Intervention for Children Who Are Deafblind” module of their “Teaching Children Who Are Deafblind: Professional Development for Educators” series. The added information expands on the experiences of parents…

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