Providers

Hillsborough County’s Infant and Toddler Initiative

HITI logo

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.

HIT image of baby

Continuing our Goals

The Hillsborough Infant & Toddler Initiative is entering into its 5th year of existence at the ELC. The 2023-2024 fiscal year will launch July 1, 2023, with the continued focus to better serve families, providers, and infant & toddler teachers.

HITI will continue these efforts though the following opportunities:

  • 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
  • Infant & toddler teachers in School Readiness contracted programs may apply to receive technical assistance

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

APPLY NOW

For questions regarding your HITI application, email Theon Salley tsalley@elchc.org

HITI Participation 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

  • Programs (centers & FCCH’s) must be licensed for infants, ones and/or two-year-olds by the Department of Children and Families or Hillsborough County Child Care Licensing or agree to become licensed in one or more of these age groups
  • Programs must have a current School Readiness Contract with the ELCHC
  • Programs who have received a fine resulting from a Class 1 Violation in the last 2 years, three or more Class II Violations, or three or more of the same Class III Violations 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