About Us

The South Carolina Program for Infant/Toddler Care (PITC) Network supports infant and toddler teachers by offering comprehensive on-site training and technical assistance based in the PITC philosophy at no cost to eligible child care centers and family child care providers (including registered homes and licensed group homes).

Services include approximately 70 hours of training and mentoring over a 7-10 month period and are available to centers and groups of at least five family child care providers who care for children birth to 36 months of age and are enrolled in the ABC program.
All SC PITC Network trainings are certified by the Center for Child Care Career Development and will serve to help teachers meet DSS training requirements. Qualifying participants are eligible to receive $175 upon completion of the SC PITC Network training and mentoring plan. All programs participating in the SC PITC Network training will receive a $500 resource grant to enhance materials available in the infant/toddler classrooms.

PITC certified Infant/Toddler Specialists provide on-site support that is specific to the needs of the program or individual family child care provider. A reflective approach is utilized to help programs identify goals and develop strategies to achieve high quality using a relationship-based model of care through the implementation of PITC’s
six essential policies:

PITC is a responsive, relationship-based approach to infant/toddler care. The positions advocated by PITC and the South Carolina Network are based in sound child development and family support research, theory and practice. PITC is recognized nationally and internationally for their effective training strategies emphasizing an approach that encourages self-reflection and builds on the strengths of individual programs and teachers.

The South Carolina PITC Network grew out of summer train-the-trainer courses that have been offered at USC since 2001 through a collaboration between WestEd PITC in California, University of South Carolina, and the SC Department of Social Services. The South Carolina PITC Network was developed in response to the interest and enthusiasm expressed by those who have participated in these PITC train-the-trainer courses. The Network provides an opportunity for Infant/Toddler Specialists who have received specialized training in PITC Modules I – IV, to share their expertise with the infant and toddler child care providers who are helping to develop South Carolina's youngest citizens.

The South Carolina PITC Network is generously supported by the South Carolina Department of Social Services, ABC Program.