PTAN is a grant-funded statewide technical assistance and training network that promotes quality, developmentally appropriate and culturally competent early childhood education and special education programs in New Hampshire.
The PTAN Child Care Inclusion Project provides FREE (grant-funded) services to NH child care teachers and directors to support their successful inclusion and retention of children with challenging behaviors and other special needs. Early childhood inclusion embodies the values, policies, and practices that support the right of every infant and young child to participate in a broad range of activities and contexts as full members of families, communities, and society regardless of ability.
A Life Remembered
The Coaches, Consultants, and Trainers who had the privilege of working with Joan Izen as members of the PTAN cohort (Preschool Technical Assistance Network) wish to honor her remarkable legacy following her passing on May 27, 2026.
Joan was deeply passionate about her work and devoted her career to supporting New Hampshire’s youngest children, their families, and the early childhood community. In 1992, she envisioned and created PTAN, a statewide grant-funded project dedicated to promoting high-quality early childhood programs throughout New Hampshire. Joan also served as the lead for the New Hampshire Pyramid Model Leadership Team, working to establish a sustainable statewide infrastructure that supports high-fidelity implementation of the Pyramid Model across all early childhood settings.
Joan was a visionary leader who approached her work with patience, collaboration, and thoughtful determination. She had a clear sense of purpose and a commitment to creating meaningful, lasting change. The PTAN cohort is committed to carrying her legacy forward by embodying the integrity, compassion, quality, respect, and patience that she demonstrated every day and that the field has come to value so highly.
Joan led with courage, transparency, and kindness while making sure every voice in the room was heard. Her expectations were clear, yet always grounded in respect and support for others. She championed the highest standards of professional development and believed wholeheartedly in the importance of this work. Her optimism encouraged others to view challenges through new perspectives, and she consistently guided conversations back to the fundamental question: Why?
For hundreds of professionals in the early childhood community, Joan was a mentor, advocate, and source of inspiration. She empowered others to recognize their strengths, believe in their abilities, and appreciate their own worth. The impact of her leadership, wisdom, and dedication will continue to be felt through the countless lives she touched and the important work she inspired.
PTAN Child Care Inclusion Project
The PTAN Child Care Inclusion Project provides child care teachers with consultation, training and resources to support their successful inclusion of all children in their program. Our goal is to reduce or eliminate expulsion and suspension of children from their child care setting and promote teacher retention.
PTAN services are available at no cost to NH child care programs, family- and center-based. Skilled and knowledgeable consultants provide telephone, onsite and virtual consultation depending upon the intensity of need. Services continue until program staff feel confident in their abilities to maintain the child in their program and promote his or her successful inclusion in program activities. PTAN services are grant funded by the NH DHHS Bureau of Child Development and Head Start Collaboration.
The PTAN Child Care Inclusion Project is a comprehensive statewide program that offers:
- Free and equitable access to consultation and training for NH child care programs
- Short- and long-term consultation and technical assistance to support a program’s efforts to maintain all children, including those whose behavior and/or special needs challenge them
- On-going, program improvement consultation and training to increase capacity of child care programs for parents of children with special needs
- Consultation that integrates Pyramid Model evidence-based practices to support children’s social and emotional development
PTAN services and supports for NH child care providers are grounded in the belief that:
- Children are capable individuals
- Behavior is a form of communication
- Describing behaviors and feelings is a more effective support to children than labeling them
- It is the teacher’s role and responsibility to teach children positive (pro-) social skills
- Time out is not an effective behavior management strategy because it doesn’t teach children pro-social skills
- Change in child behavior depends on change in the teacher’s behavior.
- PTAN Child Care Inclusion Consultants model respect and active listening in all interactions
- Reflective consultation is a form of professional development that has direct, positive impact on children’s behaviors
- Consultation is most effective when it is requested not mandated
- Establishing a strong consultative relationship with teachers and administrators is key to having a positive impact on children’s behaviors
Maintaining children with special needs in their child care setting benefits children, parents, providers and the community at-large; children are spared the trauma associated with expulsion, parents are secure in their child’s placement and able to focus on their workplace responsibilities and providers feel more confident and competent, decreasing the likelihood of provider turnover.
Information about the PTAN Child Care Inclusion Program
- PTAN Child Care Inclusion Project Flyer– Post this flyer in your program so that staff have access to information about FREE project services. To request services, contact the PTAN Project Coordinator at 603-865-7145 or [email protected].
PTAN Consultants, Coaches, and Trainers are professionals from the fields of education, special education and mental health who have the experience, knowledge and skills required to support early childhood professionals in their work with children with very challenging behaviors and other special needs.
PTAN Consultant Documents and Forms
This folder includes the following documents:
- Expulsion Prevention Checklist
- Consultation Agreement
- Parent Permission Letter
- Consultation Action Plan Template
- Consultation Monthly Report Template
- Consultation Invoice Template
- Meeting/Training Invoice Template
- PTAN Child Care Consultation Guidelines
Coaching Documents and Forms
This folder includes the following documents:
- Coaching Action Plan Template
- Strength and Needs Assessment
- Program Wide Critical Elements Form
- Coaching Agreement
- Goal Setting Questions
- PIDS New User Form
- Coaching Invoice Templates (DHHS/PDG)
- Fidelity Tool Administration Invoice Templates (DHHS/DPG)
- Guidance for Determining Readiness for Implementing PTR-YC
- NH Program Coach Guidance
- PM Kit Guide
Training Facilitation Documents and Forms
This folder includes the following documents:
- Site Specific Training Details
- Evaluation Template
- Training Facilitation Invoice Template
Resources to Support Young Children Who Bite and Their Family:
How to Help Your Child Stop Biting
Responding To Your Child’s Bite
DEC Position Statement on Challenging Behavior and Young Children
The Division for Early Childhood (DEC)’s July 2017 Position Statement on Challenging Behavior and Young Children (https://tinyurl.com/y8omad5d) readdresses the significance of the healthy social-emotional competence of all children and provides guidance to practitioners, teachers, and families in preventing and effectively responding to challenging behaviors. DEC’s position includes culturally sustaining, family-focused practices, as well as a commitment to inclusion, professional development, technical assistance, and using approaches that eliminate suspension and expulsion.
The Backpack Connection for Teachers and Parents
The Backpack Connection Series includes twenty-five brief articles that address a variety of topics about supporting young’s children’s social emotional skill development. Each article includes content and suggested strategies intended to support teachers and family members. The articles are easy to download, copy and share and are an excellent resource to send home when a new strategy or skill is introduced in the classroom to inform parents about what their child is learning at school and to provide specific ideas on how to use the strategy or skill at home.
Nice Kids Finish First: Study Finds Social Skills Can Predict Future Success
This is a brief (4 minute) piece from NPR about the importance that ‘pro-social’ skills play in a child’s development.
What is expulsion?
- The complete and permanent removal of a child from an educational system, e.g., child care center (Gilliam & Shahar, 2006).
- Terminating the enrollment of a child or family in the regular group setting because of a challenging behavior or a health condition. (Caring for Our Children; National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3rd edition)
What is suspension?
- Reduction in the amount of time a child may be in attendance of the regular group setting, either by requiring the child to cease attendance for a particular period of time or reducing the number of days or amount of time that a child may attend. Requiring a child to attend the program in a special place away from the other children in the regular group setting is included in this definition. (Caring for Our Children; National Health and Safety Performance Standards Guidelines for Early Care and Education Programs, 3rd edition)
What are challenging behaviors?
- Any behavior that makes it difficult for a young child to be successful in a group environment. Such behaviors interfere with a child’s ability to positively interact with others and may disrupt the learning process or even pose health and/or safety risks. Such behaviors often frustrate adults because the behaviors do not respond to typical behavior intervention strategies. (Izen and Kalinowski, 2010)
- Any repeated pattern of behavior that interferes with or is at risk of interfering with optimal learning or engagement in prosocial interactions with peers and adults. (Powell, Fixsen, Smith, & Fox, 2007)
What is required by NH Child Care Regulations?
The NH Child Care Licensing Rules passed on November 3, 2017 include language specific to preventing the expulsion of young children from child care due to challenging behaviors. This language is included in the rule: He-C 4002.25 Behavior Guidance and Treatment of Children which can be found HERE (pages 81-82).
The rule states that:
(g) Programs shall develop and implement a written policy to address the limitations of expelling children from the child care program for challenging behaviors. The policy shall address at a minimum:
- The steps the program will take to assist the child in maintaining enrollment prior to expelling the child for challenging behaviors;
- Parent notification requirements regarding their child’s challenging behavior; and
- The responsibilities of the program if the challenging behavior results in a serious safety risk to the child or others within the program.
(h) The written policy in (g) above shall be provided to parents at enrollment.
(i) The expulsion policy shall only apply when addressing a child’s behavior and not a parent’s misconduct or the parent’s failure to comply with other child care rules or laws.
All NH licensed child care programs are required to have a policy in place by April 30, 2019. Licensed-exempt providers serving children birth to five years of age and their families are included in this requirement.
Where can I find resources to support the development and implementation of expulsion prevention policy?
For support on writing your expulsion prevention policy contact Child Care Aware of NH for technical assistance.
Call: 1-855-393-1731 or (603) 578-1386 ext. 32
This TEDx Talk by Rosemary Allen serves as a great introduction to suspension and expulsion. It provides insight into the core issues and helps you think about strategies to address the problem.
Resources to Share with Families contains articles, links, and tools that can either be directly shared with family members or used to help staff think about how to communicate with families about challenging behavior.
Preventing Suspensions and Expulsions in Early Childhood Settings: A Program Leader’s Guide to Supporting ALL Children’s Success is an excellent resource developed by national experts. The guide is a research-based tool aimed at helping you eliminate suspensions and expulsions in your early childhood program by addressing the underlying root causes. The guide provides information, recommended policies and practices, resources, and tools targeted at three levels or tiers of support to help program leaders. There are links to a variety of video clips and programs that may be useful for staff development, and a brief (5-7 minute) optional self-assessment is provided that will result in a tailored roadmap to navigating the guide.
A Guide for Developing an Expulsion Prevention Policy is a tool to help NH child care programs develop and implement a policy to prevent or to minimize expulsion. The tool offers suggestions and resources to support a program’s preparation, policy writing, informing families and staff, and implementation.
The Expulsion Prevention Self-Reflection Checklist is a checklist that includes steps teachers can take to support ALL children in their child care program. This tool is used to support PTAN consultation and can also be used by programs and teachers independently.
