ECAP
The Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative at the University of Illinois is home to more than a dozen projects focused on the education, care, and parenting of young children.
Located at the Children's Research Center in a setting conducive to interdisciplinary research, teaching, and public service, these projects share their expertise and experience, a library, and common meeting spaces. Several projects share key personnel. The Early Childhood and Parenting (ECAP) Collaborative is managed by a steering committee of Principal Investigators of member projects. The structure provided by the ECAP enables us to articulate, clarify, and enhance the cooperative relationships that exist among these projects, and to strengthen their national visibility.
Established in 2003, the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative has a broad vision for its future. The projects under its umbrella are committed to ensuring that the Collaborative:
- Builds a national reputation for high-quality research, teaching, and service to young children and families
- Influences state and national policy through relevant research
- Provides a context for interdisciplinary training of students, direct service providers, technical assistance providers, and others whose work relates to young children and their families
- Actively fosters the links between research and practice
With this vision in mind, projects associated with ECAP are actively seeking funding to establish an endowment for operating the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative. Outside funding will enable ECAP to produce a bi-annual publication that highlights the research and other activities conducted at the Collaborative, attract students, share support personnel, compete for additional grants and contracts, strengthen the Collaborative's influence on policy and practice in Illinois and nationally, and in other ways build the national visibility and strengthen the influence of the Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative, and the University of Illinois.
Information Technology Group (ECAP/ITG)
Making effective use of technology to share information requires an understanding of the information needs—and information-seeking behaviors—of the people you want to serve. The Early Childhood and Parenting Collaborative Information Technology Group (ECAP/ITG) is unique as a technology partner because of our expertise in the areas of early childhood education, child care, and parenting. Guiding ECAP/ITG projects are Lilian G. Katz, Ph.D., an internationally respected authority on early childhood education and parenting, Dianne Rothenberg, an authority on information services and Web- and print-based dissemination of information to the early childhood community, and Bernard Cesarone, an experienced technology coordinator.
ECAP/ITG's staff consists of experienced writers and editors, Web designers and computer support personnel, and librarians with years of experience in responding to content-specific questions, preparing publications, providing training and presentations, and building Web sites on early education, child development, and parenting. ECAP/ITG Web sites have received numerous awards, most notably from the prestigious Child & Family Web Guide at Tufts University.
Services
ECAP/ITG offers a broad array of content and information technology services to the early childhood community:
AskECAP Question-Answering Service
ECAP/ITG operates a fee-based, expert question-answering service on education. This customized information service includes expert searches of the ERIC database and other social science databases, referrals to relevant organizations and Web sites, and links to full-text articles. Questions are received by email (ecap@uiuc.edu) or by toll-free telephone (877-275-3227), and most responses are delivered via email. Fees are based on the length of time needed to respond accurately to the question. The rate is $30.00 per hour. (University of Illinois faculty, staff, or students please call 217-333-1386 or 877-275-3227 for information about University of Illinois rates.) Please add $3.00 surcharge for responses delivered via postal mail. Responses to the majority of questions require 30-45 minutes of staff time, and responses are delivered within 2 working days of receipt of the question. For more information, call ECAP's toll-free telephone number.
Databases
The ECAP/ITG staff has designed and maintained a variety of databases over the last decade, ranging from databases of full-text materials for service providers, teachers, and parents, to detailed statistical and bibliographic databases for scholars and researchers. We offer Web-based input forms, Web-based search features with customized outputs, and a high level of quality control.
Web design and hosting
We specialize in all aspects of Web design, including simple to elaborate graphic design, online surveys and other Web-based input forms, Web-based databases, PDF files, RealMedia files, and many other features. Web sites are checked, using Bobby software, for accessibility to individuals with disabilities. We know that this feature is particularly important to the early childhood community.
Chat, listserv, and Web Talk capabilities
We host online interactive Chats and sponsor and manage Listservs on topics relevant to early childhood education. ECAP/ITG also hosts events that we call Web Talks—online forums that allow for discussion over several days between an invited guest and Web site visitors.
Online journals and other publication services
For many years, we have prepared publications that have enjoyed wide acceptance in the early childhood community. We created Early Childhood Research Quarterly nearly two decades ago, and more recently, Early Childhood Research & Practice, the first Internet-based, peer-reviewed journal in early childhood education. We offer editorial management and hosting of electronic journals, newsletters, and other publications.
Current technology partners
- Illinois Early Learning Project (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
- Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning (Vanderbilt University, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
- Academic Development Institute (Lincoln, Illinois)
- Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) Early Childhood Research Institute (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
For a full list of ECAP/ITG technology partners, see the ECAP Projects page.
For more information, or to discuss our services in more detail, please Contact Us.