The Kansas State Interagency Coordinating Council (SICC) hosted an online fall retreat for members of Local Interagency Coordinating Councils (LICCs) on Nov. 3.

The role of SICC is to advise and assist in the integrated delivery of services to children birth to age 5 at risk for or with developmental delays.

There were 121 registered participants for the online retreat.

The agenda included:

• An update on early childhood in Kansas by Amanda Petersen, director of the Kansas State Department of Education’s (KSDE) Early Childhood team.
• A presentation by Tabatha Rosproy, 2020 National Teacher of the Year and an early childhood project coordinator for the Kansas Parent Information Resource Center (KPIRC), on “Positive Behavior Expectations Through Identification of Emotions and Self-Regulation.”
• A presentation by Jennifer James, an assistant teaching professor at Wichita State University, on “Building Positive Relationships and Effective Communication Between Service Providers, Child Care Providers and Families.
• An update by Tricia Waggoner, part B coordinator for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE), on changes in Part C baselines for state performance plans (SPPs) and annual performance reports (APRs).

This was the third LICC fall retreat hosted by SICC, and it will continue to be an annual event, said Stacy Clarke, an education program consultant on the KSDE Early Childhood team.

“Each year, the SICC gathers information from early childhood providers about current professional development needs, then plans the retreat content to address those needs through this free opportunity,” Clarke said.