Providers
Hillsborough County’s Infant and Toddler Initiative
The Hillsborough Infant & Toddler Initiative (HITI) strives to improve the quality of infant and toddler care in Hillsborough County.
The focus of the Initiative is to provide families with more opportunities to access quality childcare for children birth to 36 months. Programs who participate are committed to increasing their childcare slots for very young children, improving the quality of care they provide through age-appropriate learning environments, and improving teacher-child interactions through targeted professional development for infant & toddler teachers.
What is HITI 4.0?
The Hillsborough Infant & Toddler Initiative is entering into its 4th year of existence at the ELC. The 2022-2023 fiscal year includes changes to the Initiative to better serve families, provider and teachers. This year’s new changes to the Initiative is reflected in the phrase “HITI 4.0”.
Some of this year’s changes include the following:
- Programs can participate in additional zip codes, if school readiness contracted programs is a need in the community
- New school readiness providers may be eligible to participate
- T.E.A.C.H. Scholarship recipients may receive up to 3-years of incentives for teachers pursuing an Infant/Toddler CDA
Why Participate?
Programs and teachers can benefit from participating in HITI to:
- Serve more children and families in your local community
- Improve the quality of childcare provided to families with children aged birth to 36 months
- Engage families in program activities to increase their understanding of their child’s development
- Receive technical assistance on understanding SPRA scores
- Access opportunities for coaching, technical assistance, classroom materials, professional development stipends and reimbursement for training costs
How To Apply
For questions regarding your HITI application, email Theon Salley tsalley@elchc.org
New Program Eligibility Requirements:
Have space available to open an infant, toddler and/or 2’s classroom (birth to 24 months) or ample open slots to increase the enrollment of children receiving school readiness funding birth to 24 months
• Program (centers & FCCH’s) must be licensed for infants, ones and/or two-year-old’s by Hillsborough County Child Care Licensing or agree to be licensed in one or more of the age groups
• Programs must be licensed for one or more of the age groups (infants, ones and/or 2’s) to receive grant funds
• Programs must have a current School Readiness Contract with the ELCHC
• Programs who have received a fine resulting from a Class 1 Violation, three or more Class II Violations, or three or more of the same Class III Violation from Hillsborough County Child Care Licensing within the past year may not be eligible to participate.
• Programs may not be currently on probation or have a pending termination from the ELCHC.
