Q & A

Cathy Battista is the director of two Family Resource Centers in Meriden and is finishing her first year as president of the Family Resource Center Alliance.

Q: What is your background in early care and education? How did you first start off on this track? Have you always been involved with Family Resource Centers?

Dr. Barbara Hamlin started the State-Funded Director's Forum in the 1970s and opened the Children's Center in New Milford. Today, the State-Funded Director's Forum still thrives and meets on a regular basis to discuss issues that impact the state-funded early childhood centers.

Q: What interested you in the field of early care and education?

Harriet Feldlaufer, the former chief of the Bureau of Early Childhood at the State Department of Education, is now chief of the Bureau of Teaching and Learning. The Bureau of Early Childhood Education is no longer a separate bureau and has merged with the Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction. Feldlaufer said early care and education will remain a priority, even though the work is now part of a larger bureau.

Q: What interested you in the field of early care and education?

Who is Debra Johnson? She works for the Department of Public Health in the Community Based Regulation Section, as the manager responsible for the licensing of child day care and youth camp programs. We sat down with Debra to discuss her job, how DPH goes through the licensing process, investigates complaints and other pertinent questions related to her position at DPH.

Q: How long have you been with the Community-Based Regulation Section? With the state of Connecticut?

You may know who these people are, running into them at meetings and conferences, but do you know anything about their backgrounds or how they got into their field? The CT Early Childhood Alliance is introducing a new column to its monthly newsletter, interviewing people who hold positions in different aspects of the early care and education world. If you know of anyone who should be profiled, please contact Jessica at ciparelli.ceca@gmail.com.