Early Childhood Services' ELEVATE
Unlock the magic of early childhood with ELEVATE—a podcast dedicated to empowering parents and educators with the knowledge and tools to nurture the next generation. Join DHHS as we dive deep into the County’s world of early childhood, exploring topics like developmental milestones, the power of play, effective parenting strategies, and the latest in early education.
Each episode features local expert insights, real-life stories, and actionable advice, all aimed at helping you create a supportive and enriching environment for young children. Whether you’re a parent seeking guidance, a teacher looking for new ideas, or an advocate passionate about early childhood, ELEVATE offers something for everyone in Montgomery County.
Tune in ELEVATE to stay informed, inspired, and connected to the vibrant community of early childhood enthusiasts. Together, let’s build a strong foundation for the future—one child at a time.
Early Childhood Services' ELEVATE
Unlocking Child Care Support: Resources & Insights with Tamieka Thomasson
In this episode, hosts Jennifer Ferreira and Inette Bolden sit down with Tamieka Thomasson, Program Manager III of Child Care Support Services (CCSS) in Montgomery County. Tamieka shares her journey in early childhood education, her passion for play-based learning, and the mission of CCSS to ensure quality care for every child.
Listeners learn how CCSS supports:
- Families through Family Involvement Centers, one-on-one parenting support, and help navigating resources and child care options.
- Educators with on-site coaching, professional learning communities, training, and classroom consultation to strengthen teaching practices.
- Child care programs with guidance on licensing, quality improvement, business growth, and access to funding for facilities and materials.
Tamieka emphasizes CCSS’s commitment to access, quality, and equity, reminding the community: “We are here and we are your partner.”
The episode highlights how CCSS empowers families, strengthens providers, and uplifts educators to create a strong early care and education system across Montgomery County.
Unlock the magic of early childhood with Elevate. This podcast is brought to you by Early Childhood Services, a program within Montgomery County Maryland's Department of Health and Human Services. County Maryland's Department of Health and Human Services. We are dedicated to empowering parents and educators with the knowledge and tools to nurture the next generation.
Speaker 2:I'm Inet Bolden and I'm Jennifer Ferreira, and we're your hosts of Elevate. Today. We are talking about child care support services, and joining us today is Tamika Thomason, someone who is deeply involved in this work and passionate about building strong foundations for our youngest learners. Tamika is currently the manager who oversees Child Care Support Services, a program within Early Childhood Services in Human Development and Early Childhood Education from Howard University, as well as a master's degree in Human Development and Special Education from George Washington University. She is affectionately known as the Baby Whisperer by her friends and family and began her career in education at the age of 13 as a classroom aide child care center in Washington DC. She has remained in the field for over two decades, holding various educational roles, supporting and advocating for families and young children.
Speaker 1:Tamika joined the county in 2014 as a program manager within Early Childhood Services, managing two programs that promote high-quality early childhood programming the Child Care and Public Space Program and the Family Involvement Center. In 2024, tamika was promoted to the role as Program Manager 3 for the Child Care Support Services Unit. Tamika is a strong advocate for high-quality play-based learning in all early care settings and is passionate about educating stakeholders on the importance of play in all early childhood settings. Welcome, tamika. We are so excited to have you here on Elevate today.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for inviting me. I'm so excited to be here and really appreciate the opportunity to share how we support the community and child care support services. This work is so meaningful and it's great to have a place to talk about it. Thank you again.
Speaker 2:Tamika, let's start with the big picture here. For folks who may not be familiar, can you please give us a quick overview, like what exactly is child care support services and who do you serve?
Speaker 3:Absolutely. Child care support services is part of Early Childhood Services Division under Montgomery County's Department of Health and Human Services. Our team supports Montgomery County's early childhood community on a path to success. This includes families with young children from infancy to age five, early childhood educators and leaders, family and center-based child care providers and our broader early childhood system partners like community organizations, local coalitions and child care associations. So whether you're a parent searching for child care or needed resources, a new child care provider trying to get started, a child care program working on quality enhancement or an educator looking for professional growth, we're here to walk alongside with you.
Speaker 1:That's such an important role and clearly it touches so many parts of the early childhood landscape. Let's dig in a bit. What kinds of supports do you offer to these different groups?
Speaker 3:Great question. So let's start with families. We offer support in a few ways. We have our three family involvement centers, located across the county and are designed to be welcoming, accessible spaces for families. They provide parenting education through a modeling approach, meaning our staff model strategies and routines in real time, and parents and caregivers also get one-on-one support in group parent training sessions to help with everyday challenges and to build skills to strengthen the parent-child relationship. We also have our family resource specialists who help families connect to the county's resources, parent trainings and navigate in the child care system. So, whether that's finding diapers or finding a child care provider that fits their needs, they're here to support in any way that they can.
Speaker 2:That sounds like a game changer for families. What about educators? How do you support the professionals working directly with children?
Speaker 3:Well, we know that the early childhood educators are the backbones of the early childhood system, and so we put a lot of energy in supporting their professional growth and well-being. We offer on-site coaching and consultation for both new and experienced educators, classroom observations with feedback grounded in best practice, access to professional learning communities or communities of practice where educators can share strategies and problem-solve together. And ongoing professional development opportunities, including workshops, trainings, conferences and symposiums. Opportunities including workshops, trainings, conferences and symposiums. Our goal is to support educators in ways that feel meaningful and practical. We want to build their confidence and help them to feel connected to a larger network.
Speaker 2:I absolutely love that, because this work can sometimes feel so isolated, but your approach helps people feel like part of something bigger. Now you also work directly with child care programs. Is that correct?
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely. We support both family child care providers and center-based programs. Our work includes helping new providers with program startup, everything from licensing requirements to building strong business practices. Supporting sustainability and growth by offering consultation on operations, budgeting and staffing. And helping programs participate in statewide initiatives like Maryland's Blueprint for Education, as well as assisting them in meeting quality standards both within the state and nationally. We also provide funding support for eligible programs to expand or improve their facilities, materials or staffing, which is crucial when trying to meet rising demand or improving quality.
Speaker 1:You know that's such a comprehensive approach, you're really touching every layer of the system. So let's say, someone listening only remembers one thing from today's conversation. What would you want that to be?
Speaker 3:Oh, such a great question. I would say that we're here. We're here. We are here and we are here with you. Whether you're a parent looking for care, an educator looking to grow, an owner trying to improve quality or a partner in the broader early childhood system, we are not just a service, we are your partner. We're working every day to increase child care access, elevate educator capacity and ensure that quality care is the standard across our county. Our vision is rooted in access, quality and equality. We want young children to grow up in safe, nurturing and enriching environments, every family to have access to affordable, high-quality child care, educators to be valued and supported and programs to thrive. That's what Child Care Support Services is all about.
Speaker 2:I love that we are your partner. That's what community is all about, and it's such a powerful message and a reminder that none of us does this work alone. Thank you so much, tamika, for sharing your time and your insights, and thank you for the incredible work you and your team does to elevate early childhood in Montgomery.
Speaker 3:County. Thank you so much, Jennifer and Annette for having me.
Speaker 1:Thank you again. Thank you. So, listeners, be sure to tune in to future episodes, where we'll take a deeper dive into the various programs that CCSS offers and we'll explore more supports and community resources available to those who nurture young children. Stay informed, inspired and connected to the vibrant community of early childhood enthusiasts. Together, let's build a strong foundation for the future, one child at a time, and thanks for tuning in to Elevate Podcast.
Speaker 2:Stay connected and join the conversation by following us on social media at DHHSCCSS, and we'll see you next time.
Speaker 4:This podcast is brought to you by County Cable Montgomery, your source for news and information from the Montgomery County Government. Connect with us via cable, facebook, instagram or YouTube by searching for County Cable MoCo.