Center for Inclusive Child Care

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Center for Inclusive Child Care

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A network for promoting and supporting inclusion in all communities.

The CICC provides supports and learning opportunities to people interested in inclusive early childhood and school-age settings.

10/08/2026

Sometimes you can tell a situation is heading in the wrong direction before it actually gets there.

Maybe a child is getting frustrated. The room is getting louder, and you’re trying to keep an eye on everyone while also figuring out how to step in before someone gets hurt.

Those moments are exactly why active supervision is so important!

On October 22, join CICC’s Laura Walser for Predict, Prevent, Protect: Mastering Active Supervision, a FREE Mini-Coaching Event! We’ll talk about practical ways to spot potential safety concerns earlier, de-escalate unsafe behaviors, and think through what to do when challenging situations come up.

📅 Thursday, October 22
⏰ 1:00–2:00 p.m.
💻 Virtual
⭐ 1 hour of coaching credit in Develop – KCF VII.B.6

Registration priority is given to Minnesota educators.

If active supervision is something you think about every day (or something you’d like to feel a little more confident about), we’d love to have you join us.

🔗 Register today!

10/07/2026

Every child deserves to be seen for who they are and supported in all the ways they can grow. 💙💛

October is Down Syndrome Awareness Month, a time to celebrate children with Down syndrome, recognize their unique strengths, and continue building communities where every child belongs.

For parents, grandparents, teachers, and early childhood professionals, inclusion can sometimes come with questions: Am I supporting this child in the way they need? What can I do differently? Where can I turn for help?

You don’t have to have every answer to lead with confidence.

CICC offers resources, tools, and support to help you better understand and meet the individual needs of children with Down syndrome, so you can create environments where they feel welcomed, valued, supported, and included.

💙 Explore CICC’s resources this Down Syndrome Awareness Month and find tools to help you turn questions into confidence.

🔗 Visit our website to get started.

10/05/2026

Looking for something fun to do with the family next weekend? 🌲

Our friends at Camp Confidence are hosting Community Day on October 10, and everyone is invited!

Camp Confidence is a pretty special place. Located in Central Minnesota, they create accessible outdoor and recreational experiences for people with developmental and cognitive disabilities and their families. It’s a place to try new things, spend time together and, most importantly, feel like you belong.

Come see it for yourself at Community Day!

📅 Saturday, October 10
⏰ 12:00–4:00 p.m.
🎟️ Admission is FREE!

And if you’d like to learn a little more about Camp Confidence before you go, check out our Inclusion Matters Podcast conversation with Executive Director Travis Grossman. He shares more about the camp, the families they serve and why accessible outdoor experiences matter.

🔗 Learn more about Community Day and listen to the podcast below!

10/02/2026

What if your next job could help make early childhood care more inclusive for every child? 💛

CICC is growing, and we’re looking for passionate people who want their work to make a difference.

When you join CICC, you’re joining a team committed to supporting early childhood professionals, strengthening inclusive practices, and helping children and families thrive.

Know someone who would be a great fit? Tag them or share this post with them!

Ready to explore a career with CICC? Check out our current openings and apply today. 🔗

09/30/2026

What happens when a room full of early childhood professionals comes together with a shared goal? A quilt of ideas, commitment, and community!

At the Brain Development Conference, Brenda Lowe and Jacy Nylander presented Preventing Suspension and Expulsion in Early Childhood.

As part of the presentation, participants reflected on their own roles and wrote on colorful Post-it notes what they can do to help prevent suspensions and expulsions in early childhood settings.

When we brought all of those ideas together, they created something bigger than individual pieces-a colorful "quilt" representing the collective work it takes to support children, families and educators.

Just like a quilt, every piece matters. Reducing suspensions and expulsions takes all of us working together, within our unique roles, to create more inclusive and supportive early childhood environments.

What can you do in your role to reduce suspensions and expulsions in early childhood settings?

09/28/2026

Thirty years ago, CICC began with a belief that still drives our work today: every child deserves the opportunity to belong.

Not just to be present in a classroom or child care program, but to be welcomed, understood, supported, and fully included in the community around them.

For 30 years, the Center for Inclusive Child Care has worked toward a vision where all children have opportunities for successful inclusion in community settings, and where the parents and professionals who care for them have access to the resources they need to support each child’s optimal development.

We’ve spent three decades building a responsive network of resources, coaching, training, and support for the people caring for Minnesota’s youngest learners.

But 30 years isn’t the finish line.

Some children still have needs that are difficult for programs to meet. Families searching for care where their child will truly belong. Early childhood professionals who want to provide inclusive care but need the knowledge, tools, and support to do it well.

That's why your gift matters.

When you give to CICC, you’re helping build the capacity of the people and programs children rely on every day. You’re helping educators access support earlier. You’re helping families feel less alone. And you’re helping create more Minnesota communities where a child’s individual needs are met with resources and possibilities—not barriers to participation.

Our goal for the next 30 years is ambitious: a Minnesota where every child has access to the care, resources, and support they need to thrive, and where inclusion is an expectation, not an exception.

We cannot build that future alone.

💛 Celebrate 30 years of CICC by making a gift today. Help us ensure the next generation of Minnesota’s children has every opportunity to belong, participate, grow, and thrive.

09/27/2026

What looks like “difficult behavior” may be a child asking, “Am I safe here? Can I trust you? Are you going to stay?”

For young children in foster and kinship care, trauma, separation, and uncertainty can shape how they behave, connect, and respond to the adults around them. When you understand what might be happening beneath the behavior, you can respond more appropriately.

Our NEW self-study, Safe, Seen and Supported: Caring for Children in Foster and Kinship Care in Early Education, will help you better understand the experiences of these children and the important role relationships can play in supporting safety, connection, and resilience.

You’ll explore:
⭐ The experiences and needs of young children in foster and kinship care
⭐ How trauma can affect development, behavior, and relationships
⭐ Ways to partner with birth families, caregivers, and other professionals
⭐ Trauma-informed, relationship-based strategies for everyday practice

Complete this Level 1 self-study at your own pace and earn 10 Approved Clock Hours on your Learning Record. Thanks to generous funding from Greater Twin Cities United Way’s 80x3 – Resilient from the Start, the training is available FREE of charge.

Written by Michele Fallon, LICSW, IMH-E®, this self-study brings decades of experience working alongside young children, families, and caregivers into practical learning you can use in your work.

You may not be able to change what a child has experienced. But you can help shape what they experience with you.

🔗 Start the FREE self-study today! Link below.

09/25/2026

We’re growing our team!

CICC is looking for part-time Early Childhood Coaches in the Duluth, Rochester, and Twin Cities Metro areas.

If you have early childhood experience and love helping other educators work through challenges, build their skills, and feel more confident in what they do, we’d love to hear from you.

Our coaches work alongside early childhood professionals, offering practical support that helps them in their day-to-day work with young children and families.

We’re also committed to building a team that reflects the communities we serve and encourage people of color and bilingual candidates, particularly those fluent in Spanish, to apply.

Interested? Know someone who might be a great fit?

🔗 Learn more and apply at the link below—and please share this post with someone who should see it!

09/24/2026

You know that moment when you’ve been watching a child for a while, and you start thinking, “Is this something I should be concerned about?”

Maybe their language isn’t developing as you expected. They’re struggling with skills other children their age seem to have. Or something keeps catching your attention, but you’re not sure if it’s time to bring it up with their family.

Those situations can be tricky. You don’t want to overreact. You definitely don’t want to worry a family unnecessarily. But you also know that when a child needs additional support, recognizing it early matters.

That’s exactly why we created our new self-study, Child Development: Milestones and Concerns.

It walks you through what to look for across different areas of development, how to use observation and developmental screening to better understand what you’re seeing, and what your next steps can look like when you do have a concern.

And importantly, it helps with the part that can feel especially intimidating: partnering with families and connecting them with the right resources and referrals.

If you’ve ever thought, “I’m noticing something…but now what?” this course was made for you.

You can complete it at your own pace and earn 10 Approved Clock Hours on your learning record (KCF Area I, CDA Content Area VIII, Level 1).

🔗 Register today and feel more prepared the next time your instincts tell you a child may need a little more support.

09/23/2026

When asked about her favorite season with children, we think Jacy Nylander, our Coach Lead, is spot on! 👏

The fall season brings great opportunities for new sensory experiences and exploration! Leaves crunch under little feet, pumpkins feel smooth, bumpy, heavy and cool, and the colors and smells of fall invite children (and adults!) to slow down and notice the world around them.

When young children explore with their hands, eyes and ears, and even their sense of smell, they are building connections through hands-on experiences that make learning meaningful!

Fall sensory exploration doesn't have to be complicated or require special materials. A walk outside, moving reading time outside, a pile of leaves, a few pumpkins, or simply noticing the changes happening in nature can be an opportunity and invitation for children to wonder, investigate, compare, describe and discover!

What's one fall sensory experience you and your children are going to experience this week? 🍂

Address

10520 Wayzata Boulevard, Suite 200
Minnetonka, MN
55305

Telephone

+16516418339

Website

http://www.inclusivechildcare.org/, https://linktr.ee/inclusionmatters

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