Training and Technical Assistance Services in Region IV

In ACF Region IV, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, STGi's Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) Specialists help deliver the support services that enable Head Start and Early Head Start grantees to accomplish significant outcomes for children and families.

Since 2003, in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, and Kentucky, STGi has supported more than 150,000 children and families through 116 Head Start grantees, and more than 12,000 infants, toddlers, and pregnant women through 108 Early Head Start grantees, 30 of which received funding through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

In addition to helping the Region IV Program Office promote regional interests among the Department of Health and Human Services and other Federal agencies, STGi provides each of the Region's eight states with a team of Content Specialists for collaborative, statewide efforts aimed at professional development and improved services for children and families, as well as numerous OHS national initiatives like Emergency Preparedness, CLASS Training, and Early Head Start expansion. STGi also has established teaming partnerships with Sheltering Arms and the National Center for Family Literacy who provide specialized training and targeted technical assistance for the Head Start and early childhood community.

Frequently partnering with Head Start State Associations, Head Start State Collaboration Offices, the Region IV Head Start State Association, and other statewide entities, our notable initiatives include:

• A partnership with the Tennessee Department of Human Services to ensure training credit recognition for statewide child care providers
• Working with the Florida Head Start State Collaboration Office on the Expanding Opportunities Committee on Inclusion
• Helping to plan and facilitate the first-ever Georgia Family Forum in October, 2009
• Developing and disseminating monthly newsletters to Kentucky's Head Start and Early Head Start programs
• Partnering with the North Carolina Department of Corrections and UNC-Chapel Hill to offer joint training efforts focused on supporting children with incarcerated mothers
• Distributing an electronic H1N1 Toolkit to grantees and education professionals in South Carolina
• Running a statewide Family Development Institute offering certification in the 90-hour Cornell University Family Development Credential (FDC) for grantee trainers in Montgomery, Alabama
• Working with the Coastal Plains Interagency Collaboration Council to address service gaps for infants and toddlers with disabilities in five Mississippi Coastal Counties

STGi also supplies the ACF Regional Office with a cadre of Grantee Performance Support Specialists (GPSS). In partnership with OHS Program Specialists and Fiscal Operation Specialists, STGi's highly skilled T/TA professionals operate as joint problem solvers, observers, and technical assistance consultants—helping individual Head Start and Early Head Start grantees meet all laws and standards, while enhancing collaboration with other early childhood entities at the state and local levels.

STGi's GPSS Program Manager lends management support to the Regional Office, directs the Regional support specialists, and coordinates Training and Technical Assistance collaboration with each of the Region's eight state-based offices. Recent collaborations include joint training sessions at the 2009 Region IV Head Start Association Conference and statewide cluster trainings.

In fact, given our unwavering commitment, one might say that "Support to Grantees" is the STG in STGi.