It's been an active and productive spring for everyone at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute. In this quarterly update, we share a sampling of our new publications, speaking engagements, presentations, trainings, awards, milestones, and more.

Committed to delivering early intervention services in a family-centered way, Jessica Amsbary, PhD, is leading a new project, “Empowering Culturally Diverse Families in Early Autism Intervention for Toddlers.” Amsbary, a technical assistance specialist at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG), is collaborating with Jessica Kinard, PhD CCC-SLP. The project will be part of and complement the current modules of the Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM).

The Early Childhood Technical Assistance (ECTA) Center at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute (FPG) is excited to announce its implementation of a distributed leadership model. The leadership team was inspired by a report from the Building Movement Project, Structuring Leadership: Alternative Models for Distributing Power and Decision-Making in Nonprofit Organizations.

After receiving requests for assistance from state and entity leaders of early childhood systems throughout the country on how to be more intentional in making changes to address disparities in how diverse groups of children and families receive supports and experience positive outcomes through their state or entity Part C and Part B, Section 619 programs, Sherri Britt Williams has led a year-long process of engaging diverse critical perspectives in the development of competencies for equity and inclusion-focused leadership.

Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute Director Brian Boyd was recently appointed president-elect of the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR), a professional society that aims to engage in research and research-related activities in autism.

Trained as a development economist, Sean Sylvia, PhD, associate professor of health economics at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, focuses his work on using economic principles and behavioral psychology to improve the implementation of public health programs and health care delivery. Sylvia is also a faculty fellow at the UNC Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute.

Two new web articles from the Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center (ECTA) the Center for IDEA Early Childhood Data Systems (DaSy) at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute illustrate how they work to strengthen state systems and increase equitable and inclusive practices.

We are pleased to announce that FPG's National Implementation Research Network, in partnership with Capital City Public Charter School and EL Education, has been awarded one of eight grants by the Research Partnership for Professional Learning (RPPL) to enhance the knowledge base of professional learning in equitable math HQIM that supports Black, Latine, Native American, and students experiencing poverty.

FPG's Equity Research Action Coalition recently collaborated with the Erikson Institute and University of Delaware on The PreK in Family Child Care Project issue series. In four publications, the team explored strategies, successes, and challenges for implementing family child care and publicly funded pre-K across the U.S.